LinkedIn, as most of us are aware of, is akin to a social networking site like Facebook to be precise. But LinkedIn is mostly being used for the professional purpose. This is a platform which you can utilize to showcase your skills, expertise, education, experience, etc. You might be thinking that a resume also can do these things, but one thing to keep in mind – resumes are not launched or sent to someone until you personally do it. You can update your resumes to job sites, but who sees them? I am sure not many.

But if you update your profile in LinkedIn, chances are there that the number of audiences will increase. Basically, through Linked you can let the job world know about yourself in a bit detailed manner. So, a well written LinkedIn profile come into the picture.

Whether recruiters accept the fact or not, they Google candidates name before hiring just to check the background which is essential for them to know before they hire you. Now that we know what LinkedIn is, it is essential to know why having a LinkedIn profile is so important? Let’s see why it is important?

• Will connect you: If you want to get connected with different professionals from diverse industries, domains, and backgrounds, it is time for you to be active on LinkedIn because it provides ample opportunity to get to know about like-minded people.

• To know about Job Postings: If you want to remain updated about the ongoing hiring trends in different companies, LinkedIn will help you to a great extent. People, who are looking for a job can follow the company pages on LinkedIn. By doing so, they will always be updated as and when the company posts any openings.

• To Appear in Recruiter’s Search: This is another benefit of being updated on LinkedIn. If your profile is updated on LinkedIn, it also appears in Google search list. This automatically increases the chances of being hired or at least viewed. Many of my friends directly have got several job offers through LinkedIn because it is easy and quick for the recruiters as well.

• Globalization: By being active on LinkedIn, you are making your profile available for a broader audience. LinkedIn is not only being used in India but overseas as well to a great extent. So, once you complete your profile on LinkedIn with the right choice of Keywords and content, it will be visible to them beyond the country’s barriers.

• Personal Branding: By developing and keeping your profile updated on LinkedIn, you are creating your own brand. LinkedIn comes with features like recommendations and endorsements. People who know you and might have worked with you can also write a testimonial for you which further validate and reinforces your areas of expertise. This makes it bit more real and interesting. It is good to know about a person who is being endorsed and commended by someone senior.

• A good mate: Having a LinkedIn profile is like keeping your diary but for professional use. Whenever you win an award, undertake a project or volunteer a task, just update that on your LinkedIn profile. By doing so, you will not miss any of the important details which a recruiter must know in order to hire you for a particular organization.

• Real and Truthful: Apart from some mock profile, LinkedIn seems to be real and authentic as it takes all the original and accurate information. People, upload their own picture and update their own professional and educational background. Most of us do use LinkedIn for professional purpose. Unless and until we upload correct information, we will not get anything relevant and it will not be useful. Hence people usually avoid mentioning fake details or false information.

• Limited but correct Information: LinkedIn has its own character/words limitations. So, people do not have the chance to write unnecessary and lengthy information, unlike a resume. In a resume, if you see, there is no limit to filling up information.

  Although we suggest and most of the hiring managers suggest not exceeding the page of the resume more than 2 pages, people still tend to add on information to a resume which is not essential. Hence many of the resumes find a place in junk or garbage bucket. Whereas LinkedIn will not allow you to exceed even a single character if the limit goes beyond the prescribed rule.

• Something more about you: This is the best part of LinkedIn. It does not or rather it should not just talk about the laundry list of mere job description. It goes a step beyond. It talks about you as a professional. Some people just paste their whole profile on LinkedIn and dare to think that their profile is 100% complete which is a wrong notion altogether. The summary part of your LinkedIn should not be copied and pasted from your resume. Rather give it some time to think.

  Think about how you would introduce yourself to someone. Think on those lines and accordingly update your Summary of LinkedIn. In the experience section, share the learnings which you might have accumulated while working in your current company. The challenges that you have faced, how you overcame them, how did you add value to where you have worked? Let the reader peep into you as a professional.

• Active Job Search: when you send your resume to a company, what do you do usually? You send the resume and then wait. But here in LinkedIn, rather than being a passive job seeker, you can actively follow up with the company or the hiring manager. Without sounding too desperate, you can follow up with the recruiter which will show that you are a proactive professional in the job world.

• Know more about people: LinkedIn, nowadays, has become a platform to gain and share knowledge. It is like the exchange of knowledge and values. This gives you a platform to know great things from Influencers. They keep publishing posts, articles and many more knowledgeable things about the industry. Young professionals can reap great benefits from using LinkedIn.

• Your Own Identity: LinkedIn is your own professional identity and a platform to showcase your skills. If someone is a good writer, he/she can write articles and post it on LinkedIn. It will be viewed by many, and you never know a good opportunity somewhere might be waiting for you. For a person who is running his own business, he/she can use this platform to promote his products or services which his company is offering. This platform can be equally used for advertisement and promotion.

• Good way to be in touch: In today’s busy world, we usually do not get time to physically network with our colleagues, peers, and ex-colleagues. LinkedIn gives you an opportunity to remain in touch with your professional world. And if you are not active on LinkedIn you might lose a good opportunity. If the hiring manager does not find you on Google search, it will give an impression that you may not be tech savvy and care less to get connected with a world of professionals.

So get Linked and get connected!