You Need a Linkedin Account

Listen. According to Experian Hitwise, 86 million people are on Linkedin. That makes it the fourth popular social networking site, behind Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. So why aren’t you on it? Not saying you need to sign up for every social media account, but I mean this one has benefits. Linkedin has been around for over ten years (I know right?) and is a great source for professional networking. And there are a few other perks to being on this website.

It makes it easy to apply for jobs.

A lot of HR websites have Linkedin-integration, so you don’t have to update your resume, save it, and upload it into the server. This allows you to just connect to your profile and allow all your information to automatically pull itself in. Linkedin also has job postings on their platform, which works out if you’re interested in something new or want to find something for a friend or family member. And applying for those jobs are often easy as submitting your Linkedin profile. The site also tells you if you have any connections in common with the HR manager that posted the job. If so, you could always send them a message to let them know you might be down.

You can also look up potential interviewers, managers, and coworkers too. After receiving my interview calendar request, I looked up the people that were going to interview me days later. This gave me a glimpse into their background which actually led into a conversation during my interview. (Just don’t request to connect if you don’t know them.)

There are a lot of lurk opportunities.

Besides the example just mentioned above, there are a lot of educated, working men on Linkedin. Not necessarily suggesting that you use the social networking site for love, but…I mean it’s nice to glance at the eye candy around you. Honestly, it’s nice to see twenty and thirty-something year old Black men involved in professional organizations with graduate degrees and full-time jobs in their field. However, Linkedin also snitches when you look at someone’s profile so unless you change that setting, he’ll know you came across his page.

So if you thought Linkedin was just a boring social media platform, you’re not completely wrong but you’re not completely right either. It isn’t a bad account to have and the advantages listed above should help prove why you need a Linkedin account.