Do you need a LinkedIn profile? The answer is yes.
Why you need a LinkedIn profile
Of all the websites worldwide that allow you a public profile, LinkedIn is the largest. Ranked by Alexa as the 18th most trafficked website in the world, LinkedIn has the most activity around job postings, job seekers and especially recruiters. To make sure your career is kept healthily moving along, surely it’s a no-brainer to have a profile there? It would seem strange that some people even ask if they should have a LinkedIn profile
Yet, many employees do not have or update their profiles. They cite things such as the effort to update it as reasons not to . Other excuses are usually that they don’t want they private information displayed publicly or that .
Be in it to win it
The fact is, whatever you think about LinkedIn, that to be available to hear about great opportunities, you have to be on the platform. There may be other listing platforms that are more prominent in your industry (e.g. github for developers), but unless you are searchable, you simply won’t be in the running for the jobs you want.
This is simply because not only does LinkedIn have the most users on it (i.e. job seekers), but the activity from recruiters and companies is the highest as well. Companies and recruitment agents make massive use of LinkedIn, so to be seen, you have to have a good LinkedIn profile ready and waiting.
Control what is seen
LinkedIn profiles are customisable in many, many ways. You can have a profile that your connections can see and also one that is seen by people logged in, but not connected to you, as well as a profile that people see when they are not logged in at all.
Your privacy is managed by you. You have ample ability to remove all notifications, all emails sent to you, and so on until you only see something once a month when you log in, unless someone messages you (or whatever you’ve set LinkedIn to do).
Sell yourself
You have to sell yourself in life. Sorry to those who think this isn’t necessary. Some find it hard in interviews to do this, but others do not. Guess who gets further in their career? It’s not ideal, but you don’t have to sell much to get far. Your LinkedIn profile is one of the passive ways you can do that.
Applying for a job? The recruiter or company is going to look for your LinkedIn profile. Working a contract for a new company. Guess where they will be looking to check you out. Met someone at a party for working-age people all out of college? You know it…
Your LinkedIn profile is necessary, because that is the way the world works nowadays, whether you like it or not. You can easily manage your privacy and security and keep a “low” profile (excuse the pun!), but the bottom line is that without it, you will be worse off. Log in now and make sure you’re displaying the truth on your online CV.
