by John Huetteman

Created on: March 08, 2010

How LinkedIn Can Help You Find A Job

LinkedIn, a two-time 2007 Webby Award recipient in the Service and Social Networking categories, is a growing professional social network of 60 million professionals in 150 industries from 200 countries across the globe. Founded by Reid Hoffman in 2002 and launched in 2003 with headquarters in Mountain View, California, half of LinkedIn’s users are within the United States, eleven million in Europe, India with the fastest growing population of LinkedIn users and the Netherlands with the highest adoption rate.  Today, LinkedIn is valuated at slightly over over 1 billion dollars and is run by Chief Executive Officer, 

Jeff Weiner, formerly of Yahoo, Inc.

Upon joining LinkedIn for which a basic membership is free, users create a profile that summarizes their professional expertise and accomplishments.   The site’s purpose is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they recognize and are sufficiently comfortable with in business, their “connections.”  Registered users can invite anyone, whether registered with LinkedIn or not, to become a connection.  A contact network is thereby built within the registered user’s profile and consists of connections, the connections of each of their connections (second-degree connections), and also the connections of second-degree connections (third-degree connections).  Every time a connection is added, the network grows.  One particular way that LinkedIn benefits registered users is that through the registered users’ established networks, LinkedIn assists in determining who in their network can assist them in introducing them to a potential employer.  LinkedIn also allows registered users to review the profiles of those potential employers’ hiring managers.

Relationships on LinkedIn must be confirmed mutually so no one appears in the LinkedIn Network without knowledge and explicit consent. Through the established network, registered users can also manage professional information publicly available about them, locate recommendations for potential clients and/or employers, service providers, experts, collaborate on projects, gather data, share files and solve problems.  Additionally, LinkedIn registered users can locate business opportunities, network with potential partners, participate in various discussions and discover inside connections that can help them close deals. 

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