LinkedIn has carved a niche for itself in the big mad world of social media. Its unique positioning as a professional social network is unmatched. Anyone from a student to a CEO has a presence on LinkedIn.
The website gives you ample space to showcase your work experience, your education, skills and expertise and so on. You can have links to your blog and most importantly, have some very kind words about you on display from your colleagues and seniors.
LinkedIn (LI) has found its way into CVs of most professionals today who want head hunters/ Personnel managers, Talent acquisition executives to know more about them through their LI profiles.
At this point, if I ask whether it adds “value” to have a LinkedIn profile, I can expect a unanimous affirmative from LI users.
However, I am tempted to think of the other side, the other end of the table in the recruitment/talent acquisition game. I have observed that most of the LI users are dormant but for having created a profile.
If you regularly login to LI, you will surely be able to sieve the dormant ones from the active users. I have been observing the LI users in my network for some time. It is surprising to note that more than 50% of them fall in the dormant category.
However, there are times when I start believing that someone is in the dormant category and he/she suddenly becomes very active. I can suddenly see a host of recommendations coming, a new profile picture, enhancement in the skills and expertise section and even tweets which are displayed on the LI profile.
This is where it gets interesting, not only for me but for a host of Talent acquisition/HR professionals .
If you are to observe such LI behavior which may include sudden activity, host of LI recommendations, all in a short span of time, especially after a dormant phase, it might be sending clear signals to the shrewd HR professionals of your intentions to switch jobs. The most blatant indications may be joining Alumni Group, job groups and connecting to recruiters, head hunters etc.
If this very professional’s CV is screened for an interview through a job site, say www.naukri.com , and a smart, well-researched and social media savvy HR professional (let’s call him Joe) is on the other side, he might fancy his chances of recruiting the professional at a lesser cost to company (CTC) than he otherwise would have.
Are you really benefiting from the LI profile and self-branding in this case? Yes and No depending on your LI behavior.
Let’s assume three conditions here:
1. Sudden activity on LinkedIn after a dormant phase: If Joe were to note sudden activity on your LinkedIn and draw a conclusion that you are looking for a job, you may get a lot of interview calls but you are unlikely to get the “true value” for your showcased “skills and expertise, education, work experience”. Such LI behavior will make you Joe’s soft target and will, if at all it does, translate into a Naukri (job) which is less lucrative. I am sure we don’t want to extend Joe such favors.
2. Dormant for long after having created a profile: If Joe were to note such LI behavior, he will either assume you aren’t really looking to switch jobs, or may assume you aren’t tech savvy. He may assume you are lazy are not up-to-date. You can put on Joe’s thinking cap and decide the conclusion.
3. Regular Updates: If Joe were to note that you are regularly updating your Linkedin profile, sharing relevant updates related to your area of work, and thinks of you as an active user, he may have an unbiased view of you while thinking of calling you for an interview/ screening your CV for a suitable vacancy.
Lessons:
Sudden spurt of LI activity may translate to less “value”, wrong signals and weaken your CTC negotiation muscle.
Regular LinkedIn updates may translate to more “value”, more Naukri, and right impressions.
One should ideally become the Joe whenever he/she logs into LinkedIn to leverage this wonderful professional networking website to its fullest.
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