5 Reasons Why YOU Need to be On LinkedIn

5 Reasons to be on LinkedIn

I have something to get off my chest. It’s a bit embarassing to admit this but… here it goes. You know I love LinkedIn. My life REVOLVES around LinkedIn. I write about LinkedIn, I record videos about LinkedIn and I speak to groups about LinkedIn.

Now here’s the embarassing thing…

I am dating a man who does not have a LinkedIn account!

Don’t get the wrong impression! He’s a professional and a LinkedIn account makes perfect sense for him.

So the other day at dinner, he asked me how I wanted to spend the rest of evening. I responded, “I think it’s time we create a LinkedIn profile for you.”

“Donna! Why? What’s so important about LinkedIn? Why do you keep pressing me to create an account?”

Thirty minutes of conversation later, I realized this was information other people could use.

5 Reasons Why YOU Need to be On LinkedIn

1. BRANDING

You are who you say you are. You control other people’s perceptions of you. By having a strong, optimized LinkedIn profile, you are branding yourself as a high performing professional. Your LinkedIn profile is the place to tout your accomplishments and showcase endorsements and recommendations. If you don’t highlight your accomplishments, I can assure you NO ONE ELSE WILL.

People are researching you. What do you want them to find? No results? The most bland and boring LinkedIn Profile ever? Or a professional branding statement that showcases you as a professional and someone who deserves to be noticed?

5 Reasons to be on LinkedIn

2. CAREER STRATEGY

By having an optimized LinkedIn profile, you will be approached by recruiters. Even if you aren’t looking, this is a good thing. You will quickly find out if your skillsets are relevant in today’s marketplace AND you’ll learn about compensation for positions for which you are qualified.

Using LinkedIn, you can also see what your colleagues are up to. How well are they preparing for their future? Are they taking courses and receiving certifications that you aren’t?

You can also research people in positions you would like to one day reach and see what they’ve done to get to that next level.

3. NETWORKING MADE EASY

Your network is everything! The next job you get will have less to do with a classified ad job posting and more to do with knowing a person who can open the door for you.

I say: Dig your well before you are thirsty.

So many people reach out to me when they are just laid off… now they want to build their network. It’s too late. You need to cultivate relationships, add value, and help people along the way so when it’s time for you to ask for help, people want to help you.

LinkedIn is the perfect vehicle for easy networking. At one time you had to pick up the phone and ask people out for coffee. With LinkedIn, you can send them interesting articles, introduce them to people within your network that offer synergy, interact with them on Groups, recommend & endorse them and comment on updates they post to their newsfeed. AND YOU CAN DO ALL OF THIS IN YOUR PAJAMAS!

4. YOUR KIDS

This might be shocking but nepotism got most of us to where we are now. Right out of college, my father hired me to help run his sales territory. That little bit of nepotistic assistance got my foot in the door with the company he represented and kick started my career.

Are you leveraging your network so when your kids need help finding an internship or getting an out of college job, you have people to call who will help?

5. STAY RELEVANT & CURRENT

As much as I say that LinkedIn is a sales tool designed to help you find opportunities, it’s also a Social Media channel. By not having a LinkedIn account, you are proving that you are OUT OF TOUCH WITH TODAY. The future is technology and social media. Successful people embrace the tools of today and learn how to best leverage them.

LinkedIn also provides an amazing compendium of business articles loctaed on their home page. By simply logging in and reading the LinkedIn Today section and skimming through the updates of your connections, you are keeping current with what’s going on with your connections, in business and the world.

In Summary…

I think I convinced the man I am dating to get a LinkedIn profile. Of course, rather than spending the evening creating a LinkedIn profile for him we watched Love It or List It on HGTV. My hopes are high that before the end of the month, he will have a LinkedIn profile that showcases him as the high performer I know he is. 🙂

Can you think of any other reasons why a person should be on LinkedIn? I’d love to hear what you think in the comments section! Scroll down and opine away!

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3 Comments

  1. Well, now, see, here’s the thing….

    I work in mining in Australia. I teach people to drive mining dump trucks. Not exactly a high-flying power profession.

    You say networking is what gets “most” people their jobs these days. Here in Australia, sure, there are “headhunters”, there always will be. But here, the way of “I can get you a job here” have gone by the wayside. Mining used to be the main proponent of getting a friend a job, but now, the law says all jobs have to be advertised publicly, rarely being able to be simply advertised solely within the company. Networking doesn’t seem to fit in this situation.

    Add to this that, of course, you can’t browse Linkedin profiles without joining up, I see no benefit in making a profile, just to see what it’s all about.

    So I ask you, in my situation, why is it that I need a profile on Linkedin? What will be the benefit to me, aside from remembering yet another set of login details?

    Perhaps I also need to add that I’m not exactly a social media fan in a big way, as I have no Twitter, and keep Facebook very private. I’m personally not caring to share every single thing I do with everyone else on the planet.

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