Not on LinkedIn? You are missing out.

You are professional, academic, experienced and most importantly, good at what you do; so why aren’t you shouting about it on LinkedIn?

I still come across many candidates who don’t have a LinkedIn profile and it baffles me. Especially when it comes to leaving yourself accessible to new opportunities and career options. Yes, we know that everyone isn’t looking for a new job and they may be extremely happy in their current role. But if your dream job came along would you not at least like to have a look at the job role?

LinkedIn gives you a great opportunity to be visible to recruiters on your terms. If they invite you to connect you don’t have to accept and even if you do accept you can choose to ignore their offer to talk. But it gives you the option.  

I think LinkedIn is also a great way to showcase your talents and expertise in a way that is now considered ‘the norm’ and leaves you highly accessible to potential new employers.

I had a great example when I was actively approached by a candidate on LinkedIn. She wasn’t looking for a move but was interested to talk as the position I was recruiting for offered her a step up into a new role that matched her career aspirations.  She successfully secured the role – something that wouldn’t have been possible without LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is not the main channel through which we contact and engage with potential candidates but it is one that we are seeing rapidly increase. Social media is of course playing a huge part in all our lives and this type of instant 1-1 engagement is one that can work very well for the recruitment model.

So if you don’t have a LinkedIn profile then why not create one? Even if you aren’t looking for a new role what harm is there is leaving yourself open to possibilities.