What comes to your mind when you hear of LinkedIn? Job application, Long epistles, Career advice, and Networking?
According to a survey by Statista, over 32.8% of Nigerians are active on LinkedIn. The reason for this low percentage of active users is because the majority of Nigerian job seekers do not fully understand what they can gain from LinkedIn.
In this article, we’ll be looking at what’s but LinkedIn is, its original purpose, and how Nigerian job seekers can get a job through it.
What is LinkedIn?
The success of Myspace and Facebook motivated Reid Hoffman, Eric Ly, Allen Blue, Konstantin Guercke, and Jean-Luc Valliant in 2002 to launch LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a platform that offers users professional networking, career development, and outsourcing. With over 740 million users worldwide, it is the largest professional network in the world.
LinkedIn was created to serve the following purpose;
- The purpose LinkedIn was created to serve include;
- Build professional connections through networking.
- Develop businesses.
- Help skilled people find jobs.
- Serve as a portfolio/CV.
- Upskill people.
Getting a job
Getting a job through LinkedIn is quite an easy process as long as you understand how the platform works and how to strategically position yourself to an employer. Here are a few steps in getting a job from LinkedIn;
- Join LinkedIn: You can’t possibly be looking for a way to get a job through LinkedIn without having an account on the platform. All you need is to go to visit linkedin.com or download the mobile application via the Play Store or app store and sign for an account. Keep in mind that LinkedIn is a professional platform and you have to create a professional profile for yourself. Picture your LinkedIn account as your digital CV, have your profile updated with vital information about you.
- Highlight your top skills: LinkedIn provides an avenue for you to select skills you possess; these skills will be visible to anyone checking out your page. Carefully select skills that you are good at when creating your account and ensure you include them in your bio also.
- Take LinkedIn courses: Many courses are available to help in upgrading your skills. The most amazing thing about these courses is; not only are their certificates widely recognized by recruiters, but some are also free. All you need to take them is your time and data. Hurry up and start working on yourself today.
- Connect with people: Once you have been able to build a profile on LinkedIn, the next step is to connect with people. You can connect with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and mentors. This helps in building your professional network. Always remember to check your dashboard, this is where you will get to see the data of people who viewed your profile, posts and searched for your page. You can also connect with people who view your profile, this means they have an interest in what you do.
- Apply for jobs: An interesting aspect of LinkedIn is that you get to receive job updates that are in line with your experience and skills. You can apply for jobs through these updates or make use of the “jobs” button at the lower right corner of the page to search and apply for jobs. Also, remember to keep your notifications on at all times. You can also upgrade to the LinkedIn Premium membership. This will help you in getting automatic access to connections and jobs that fit your skills.
In conclusion, be positive before attempting to look for a job on LinkedIn. If it didn’t work for someone you know, that doesn’t mean it won’t work for you.
You need to have that positive drive in you.
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