A new age of professional success - LinkedIn

Hello again, I'm back!

I hope you enjoyed the last post, it's the first ever time I've done a guest post and I'm so grateful to Caroline for doing it for me! She's awesome!

Today's post is about something which is becoming more and more popular in the professional world as a business tool, for bloggers and everyone else: LinkedIn.

I've been a member of LinkedIn for quite a while now. My dad is a successful business entrepreneur and he recommended it to me because he said that he's gained a lot of business connections from it. I'd never heard of it until then, and at first I was a little confused by it. I thought it was a social network, which in part it is, but I was confused about all of the details it was asking me. I was used to the usual name, age, relationship status and hobbies kind of social network profile, and being asked about my skills and work experience was something that I was not expecting. That's because LinkedIn is totally different to other social networks, and by different, I mean better.

The mistake I made at first was thinking of it as a social network, because really, it's a disguised online CV. You're putting your professional profile, contact details, past work, skills and education on your profile the same way that you would on a traditional curriculum vitae, for the exact same purpose: to showcase yourself to possible future employers. There is one huge difference though that plays massively to the user's advantage. Gone are the days when potential employers would call past workplaces for a reference; now they can see every one of your positive qualities and skills in one handy section, backed up not by one person but by many people who know you and have seen your skills in action first-hand, and endorse you for them accordingly.

So as you can see, it has huge advantages over the traditional CV for users and employers alike, and for that reason it is becoming the growing preferred route of enquiry for many businesses, who are now simply asking for links to LinkedIn profiles from potential staff instead of a CV due to the site's widespread use. Most people in the professional world now use LinkedIn, which is why it's important to make sure you are, too.

LinkedIn also allows you to make great connections. Not only can it aid you in getting a job once you've found one you're interested in, it can also help you find a job to apply for in the first place, or find people who will collaborate and work with you if you already have one. I know many people, my professional studies tutor included, who have gained valuable jobs through business connections and been very successful in them, so it's important to make as many as possible in your industry.

It also allows you to upload your work to showcase what you've done in the past: a portfolio and CV all in one, which is particularly valuable in the creative industry. If you're not on LinkedIn already, I would highly recommend that you sign up right away!

If you would like to view my profile or follow me on LinkedIn, click here.

Lauren xxx

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