A review of linkedIn as a job search tool

In recent years LinkedIn has become the largest of the social networks in regards to job searching online. With networking becoming a large part of both employers and applicants efforts to find the right match, the success of LinkedIn has not gone unnoticed.

Once you get set up on LinkedIn with your own profile you begin to see the reasoning behind the success of this social networking site. You can build a network by inviting people to become linked to you. Once they agree, you gain access to view their networks thereby expanding your own. This has made LinkedIn a good networking tool for job searching, recruiting and business looking for the right connections.

Membership

The membership of LinkedIn is not limited to job seekers. All of the Fortune 500 companies are represented on this social networking site. There are members from 130 different industries and fields as well as 130,000 recruiters online.

You will need to be introduced to connections by people you already know on the site. While this may sound complicated or difficult, consider how easy it is to obtain an introduction from someone you already know.

There are four levels of membership on LinkedIn. The first is free while the rest are different levels of paid monthly memberships.

The free membership gets you the following aids:

• Receive requests for introductions
• Public profile
• Send requests for introductions
• Receive InMails
• Network Search results

The next two levels are paid memberships which include all the features of the free membership plus the following:

• OpenLink membership
• Expanded network profile views
• Priority customer service
• Send InMail
• Reference searches

The fourth level of membership is reserved specifically for Human Resource persons and recruiters who are conducting networking to find people searching for jobs in their fields.

Applications

• Blog Link - connect your blog to your LinkedIn profile to showcase your job search efforts
• Wordpress Link - this is a Wordpress link which acts like a personal newsletter sent out to all your contacts
• Google Presentations - allows you to upload or use an online presentation to present your skills or resume
• Boxfiles - load files and documents into your profile to share with others
• Slide Share Presentations - another way to upload and share your resume and presentations to contacts and others in their network

Uses

When you are job searching on a social networking site such as LinkedIn there are several ways to use the site. Some of the many networking possibilities include:

• Using the Jobs section to search by keyword and location
• Using the Profile section to connect to others in your field
• Advertise your skills and availability
• Joining Groups of people in your field
• Sharing your resume through either Google Presentations or Slide Share
• Connecting your job search blog to your LinkedIn profile

Groups

When it comes to social networking, most sites have Groups. These are areas where people of similar interests and abilities get together to share and communicate. The Groups section on LinkedIn not only allows you to connect to people in your field but also network and find others who might need your talents. There are hundreds of Groups on this site.

Ease of Use

With membership being free, getting started with LinkedIn is simple.

• Build your profile
• List your work experience, education, and other professional credits
• Download the LinkedIn Toolbar which shows which email contacts are already on LinkedIn
• Invite associates, friends, and others to join you on LinkedIn which starts your network.

You can also browse industries under the 'Company' tab, ask and answer questions you know about under the 'Answers' tab, and conduct job searches under the 'Jobs' tab on this social network.

One thing to note about using LinkedIn to network is remembering social networks like this are meant for business and job contacts, not to start up a walking club or to gain popularity. LinkedIn is on the opposite end of the spectrum to sites like MySpace.