Take career to heights

Students should invest time in making a profile on social networking sites because it is the best way to build a remarkable career, says ABHAY GUPTA

Social networking sites are the best way forward when it comes to get noticed professionally. One such site that helps is LinkedIn. It is the world’s largest professional networking platform with 59 million users from India itself, as of July 2019. What makes it tick? It’s an excellent way to network with your professional contacts, build lucrative relationships, helps recruiters, companies and candidates to connect on a common platform, highlights your professional history and experience, and moreover, it helps students to build a career. According to a study by Pew Research Center in 2018, LinkedIn is a favourite and is quite popular among college students.

You study hard and you’ve good grades, and now it’s time to look for a job. LinkedIn is that perfect platform where you can jumpstart your job search. Like Facebook is for posting daily updates about your life, Instagram for photos, similarly, LinkedIn will tell all about your skills and achievements to the world. Create a powerful profile and make it stand out to be found by hundreds of recruiters. A survey by the website says that when people look for new jobs, social professional networks form 56 per cent of the top channels people go to.

Let’s look at some statistics that will re-emphasise the power and importance:

• It is the number one source of quality candidates, and then comes Internet job boards and employee referrals.
• More than 75 per cent of people who changed their jobs, used LinkedIn to update all of their connections.
• Candidates who are hired using LinkedIn are 40 per cent less likely to quit the job/organisation.
• Due to the quality, the candidates hired using LinkedIn are two times more in demand than usual and are considered above average.
• 89 per cent of the candidates say they’re contacted by recruiters directly, and that makes them accept the job more quickly.

Students should invest time in making a profile on LinkedIn because it is the best way to build a remarkable career.

Here are some benefits:

• Connect not only with other students but also professionals in the field you’re interested in.
• Get endorsed or get recommendations by classmates, professors, or your colleagues from your internship.
• Market yourself to the top companies and make them see your potential as a knowledgeable and deserving job candidate.
• Helps you find your dream job.

How it helps in career growth:

It can function as an excellent career planning and management tool for you. Let’s see in what ways.

• Allows you to network: This is important even when you’re not on the job lookout. This helps in building long-lasting relationships with other professional connections, whom you can reach out to when you're looking for a job. Your network can have your family, professors, classmates, and even people whom you simply admire but don't know personally. You can find out professionals working in the company you want to get into, they could help you out with your career doubts regarding any particular field. All your connections can help you decide on your career options when you talk to them regarding your choices.
• Helps in job search: Now, companies all have internal openings too which get filled easily. LinkedIn contains all those openings which the companies want to fill externally. With every job-opening you check, you can check how you're related to the person who posted the job or who among your connections work at that same organisation. If you find someone, then you can very well ask for a recommendation. You can also set job alerts which will save your preferences of a particular job title, geographical area etc.
• Helps you stay updated: It is that one place where you’ll get all the latest news and updates about your industry. You can follow companies and influencers you admire and get all latest updates. You can also join groups which are a great way to know more about your career path because the group will have like-minded professionals like you who are interested in the same field. Keep sharing articles and opinions about the latest trends so that your activity is visible to all. This will help in increasing your reach and make you popular among your network.

Use the app to the fullest to reap its complete results and leverage it to build your career!

The writer is Co-founder, Board Infinity