LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking service mainly used for professional networking. It was founded in 2002 and launched in 2003. As of 2015, LinkedIn had over 400 million users in more than 200 countries. The site allows users to create profiles, connect with colleagues and professionals, and find career opportunities. Both recruiters and job seekers use LinkedIn to search for potential candidates and open positions. While requiring time and effort to build an effective profile, LinkedIn provides advantages like being easily discoverable by recruiters, allowing users to directly network with potential employers, and presenting profiles in a standard format.

1. INTRODUCTION
LinkedIn /ˌlɪŋkt.ˈɪn/ is a business-oriented social networking service. Founded in December 2002
and launched on May 5, 2003,[2]
it is mainly used for professional networking. As of 2015, most of the
site's revenue comes from selling access to information about its users to recruiters.[8]
In 2006, LinkedIn increased to 20 million members.[9]
As of October 2015, LinkedIn reports more
than 400 million acquired users in more than 200 countries and territories.[7][10]
The site is available in 24 l
anguages,[11]
including Arabic, Chinese, English, French,German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish,
Dutch Swedish, Danish, Romanian, Russian,Turkish, Japanese, Czech, Polish, Korean, Indonesian
Malay, and Tagalog.[12][13]
As of 2 July 2013, Quantcast reports LinkedIn has 65.6 million monthly
unique U.S. visitors and 178.4 million globally,[14]
a number that as of 29 October 2013 has increased
to 184 million.[15]
In June 2011, LinkedIn had 33.9 million unique visitors, up 63 percent from a year
earlier and surpassing MySpace.[16]
LinkedIn filed for an initial public offering in January 2011 and
traded its first shares on May 19, 2011, under the NYSE symbol "LNKD".[17]

3. Founding to 2010
The company was founded by Reid Hoffman and founding team members from PayPal and
Socialnet.com (Allen Blue, Eric Ly, Jean-Luc Vaillant, Lee Howler, Konstantin Guericke, Stephen
Beitzel, David Eves, Ian McNish, Yan Pujante, and Chris Saccheri).
In late 2003, Sequoia Capital led the Series An investment in the company.[23]
In June 2008, Sequoia
Capital, Greylock
Partners, and other capital firms purchased a 5% stake in the company for $53 million, giving the
company a post-money valuation of approximately $1 billion.[24]
In 2010, LinkedIn opened an International Headquarters in Dublin, Ireland,[25]
received a $20 million
investment from Tiger Global Management LLC at a valuation of approximately $2 billion,[26]
and
announced its first acquisition, Misspoke,[27]
and improved its 1% premium subscription ratio.[28]
In
October of that year Silicon Valley Insider ranked the company No. 10 on its Top 100 List of most
valuable start ups.[29]
By December, the company was valued at $1.575 billion in private markets.[30]
2011 to present
LinkedIn filed for an initial public offering in January 2011. The company traded its first shares on
May 19, 2011, under the NYSE symbol "LNKD", at $45 per share. Shares of LinkedIn rose as much
as 171 percent in their first day of trade on the New York Stock Exchange and closed at $94.25,
more than 109 percent above IPO price. Shortly after the IPO, the site's
underlying infrastructure was revised to allow accelerated revision-release cycles.[11]
In 2011, LinkedIn earned $154.6 million in advertising revenue alone, surpassing Twitter, which
earned $139.5 million.[31]
LinkedIn’s fourth-quarter 2011 earnings soared due to the company's
increase in success in the social media world.[32]
In spring 2012, LinkedIn leased 57,120 square feet on three floors of the One Montgomery
Tower building in the Financial District of San Francisco, which was expanded to 135,000 square
feet by 2014.[33][34]
In May 2012, LinkedIn announced its 2012 Q1 revenues were up to $188.5 million
compared to $93.9 million in Q1 2011. Net income increased 140% over Q1 2011 to $5 million.
Revenue for Q2 was estimated to be between $210 to $215 million.[35]
In November 2012, LinkedIn released their third quarter earnings, reporting earnings-per-share of
$0.22 on revenue of $252 million. As a result of these numbers, LinkedIn's stock increased in value,
trading at roughly $112 a share.[36]
In April 2014 it was announced that LinkedIn had leased 222 Second Street, a 26-story building
under construction in San Francisco's SoMa district, to accommodate up to 2,500 of its
employees.[34]

4. Applications
In October 2008, LinkedIn enabled an "applications platform" that allows other online services to be
embedded within a member's profile page. Among the initial applications were an Amazon Reading
List that allows LinkedIn members to display books they are reading, a connection to Trip it, and
a Six Apart, Word Press and Type Pad application that allows members to display their latest blog
postings within their LinkedIn profile.[69]
In November 2010, LinkedIn allowed businesses to list products and services on company profile
pages; it also permitted LinkedIn members to "recommend" products and services and write
reviews.[70]
Mobile
A mobile version of the site was launched in February 2008, which gives access to a reduced
feature set over a mobile phone. The mobile service is available in six languages: Chinese, English,
French, German, Japanese and Spanish.[71]
In January 2011, LinkedIn acquired Card Munch, a mobile app maker that scans business cards and
converts into contacts.[72]
In June 2013, Card Munch was noted as an available LinkedIn app.[11]
In
August 2011, LinkedIn revamped its mobile applications on the iphone, Android and HTML5. Mobile
page views of the application have increased roughly 400% year over year according to CEO Jeff
Weiner.[73]
In October 2013, LinkedIn announced a service for iPhone users called "Intro", which inserts a
thumbnail of a person's LinkedIn profile in correspondence with that person when reading mail
messages in the native iOS Mail program.[74]
This is accomplished by re-routing all emails from and
to the iPhone through LinkedIn servers, which security firm Bishop Fox asserts has serious privacy
implications, violates many organizations' security policies, and resembles a man-in-the-middle
attack.[75][76]
Groups
LinkedIn also supports the formation of interest groups, and as of March 29, 2012 there are
1,248,019 such groups whose membership varies from 1 to 744,662.[77][78]
The majority of the largest
groups are employment related, although a very wide range of topics are covered mainly around
professional and career issues, and there are currently 128,000 groups for both academic and
corporate alumni.
Groups support a limited form of discussion area, moderated by the group owners and
managers.[79]
Since groups offer the ability to reach a wide audience without so easily falling foul of
anti-spam solutions, there is a constant stream of spam postings, and there now exist a range of

5. firms who offer a spamming service for this very purpose. LinkedIn has devised a few mechanisms
to reduce the volume of spam,[80]
but recently took the decision to remove the ability of group owners
to inspect the email address of new members in order to determine if they were spammers. Groups
also keep their members informed through emails with updates to the group, including most talked
about discussions within your professional circles. Groups may be private, accessible to members
only or may be open to Internet users in general to read, though they must join in order to post
messages.
In December 2011, LinkedIn announced that they are rolling out polls to groups.[82]
In November 2013, LinkedIn announced the addition of Showcase Pages to the platform.[83]
In 2014,
LinkedIn announced they were going to be removing Product and Services Pages [84]
paving the way
for a greater focus on Showcase Pages [85]
Job listings
LinkedIn allows users to research companies with which they may be interested in working. When
typing the name of a given company in the search box, statistics about the company are provided.
These may include the ratio of female to male employees, the percentage of the most common
titles/positions held within the company, the location of the company's headquarters and offices, or a
list of present and former employees.
In July 2011, LinkedIn launched a new feature allowing companies to include an "Apply with
LinkedIn" button on job listing pages.[86]
The new plug in will allow potential employees to apply for
positions using their LinkedIn profiles as resumes. All applications will also be saved under a "Saved
Jobs" tab.[86]
Online Recruiting
Job recruiters, head hunters, and HR personnel are increasingly using LinkedIn as a source for
finding potential candidates. By using the Advanced search tools, recruiters can find members
matching their specific key words with a click of a button. They then can reach out to those members
by sending a request to connect or by sending In Mail about a specific job opportunity he or she may
have. Recruiters also often join industry based groups on LinkedIn to create connections with
professionals in that line of business.[87]
Skills
From September 2012, LinkedIn allows users to endorse each other's skills. This feature also allows
users to efficiently provide commentary on other users’ profiles – network building is reinforced.
However, there is no way of flagging anything other than positive content.[88]

6. LinkedIn solicits endorsements based on algorithms that generate skills members might have.
Members cannot opt out of such solicitations; with the result that it sometimes appears that a
member is soliciting an endorsement for a non-existent skill.[89]
Publishing Platform
LinkedIn continues to add different services to its platform to expand the ways that people use it. On
May 7, 2015, LinkedIn added an analytics tool to its publishing platform. The tool allows authors to
better track traffic that their posts rece
ive.[90]
Influencers
The LinkedIn Influencers program launched in October 2012 and brings together 300+ of the world's
top thought leaders to share their professional insights with LinkedIn's 259 million members.
Influencer is an invite-only program that features notable leaders from a vast range of industries
including Richard, Narendra Modi, Arianna Huffington, Greg McKeown, Rahm Emanuel, Jamie
Dimon, Martha Stewart, Deepak Chopra, Jack Welch, and Bill.[91][92]
Advertising and for-pay research
In mid-2008, LinkedIn launched LinkedIn DirectAds as a form of sponsored advertising.[93]
In October 2008, LinkedIn revealed plans to open its social network of 30 million professionals
globally as a potential sample for business-to-business research. It is testing a potential social
network revenue model - research that to some appears more promising than advertising.[94]
On July 23, 2013 LinkedIn announced their Sponsored Updates ad service. Individuals and
companies can now pay a fee to have LinkedIn sponsor their content and spread it to their user
base. This is a common way for social media sites such as LinkedIn to generate revenue.[95]
Peter Daisyme LinkedIn Screenshot 3.24.14
Behavioral health expert Shannon Freedle encourages young adults to “Keep
in mind that LinkedIn should not be used as your resume. The difference is that a
resume informs others what you’ve done, while LinkedIn tells viewers you who you
are.”
Freedle further advises, “While sharing a summary of your past education and
experience are important, it’s more vital to illustrate your value and what you can
bring to the table.”

7. Advantage 1. Quick easy way to be found
The 4th Annual report on Australian Recruiting Trends by LinkedIn Talent Solutions
(2015) has foundthat hiring volumes continue to outstrip hiring budgets. This
means that recruiters must do more with less. An obvious way they may
achieve this, is to rely on social media search and networking tools, such as
LinkedIn.
In support of this advice, the survey also found that recruiting highly skilled
talent and improving the quality of hire are the two highest priorities for 2015
according to Australian recruiters.
This is good news for you if you’re a job seeker. LinkedIn’s big advantage is
that it enables you to establish high quality profile and it’s a cheap way for
recruiters to find you.
Unfortunately, even if you have the world’s greatest profile, sometimes it’s not
what you know but who you know when job hunting.
Advantage 2: Quick easy way to find
recruiters
According to the Recruitment experience, one in three job vacancies are not
advertised. They are obtained as a result of the job seekerindependently
approaching the employer.

8. Another advantage of LinkedIn is that it facilitates you doing exactly this,
without appearing over eager or just plain weird for what might be construed
as corporate stalking.
First you do need to spend time building a great profile. Investigate LinkedIn
profile writing tips and learn from great LinkedIn profile examples. Research
the types of organizations you wish to work for. Now identify the decision
makers in those organizations. Join the groups they are in so you can connect
with them. And start networking. Introduce yourself. Be nice. Send them a
little gift in the form of a post that you think might be relevant. Once or twice
is enough contact. Now wait for the right opportunity to approach them over
the phone to inquire about vacancies.
You see? It takes time and effort. The upside of this is that not many people
can be bothered, so doing so, elevates you from the masses.
Advantage 3: Standard, familiar format
The Department of Employment survey also found that the five most common
reasons employers reject applicants are:
1. Insufficient technical experience
2. A misfit in soft skills
3. Insufficient qualifications
4. Wrong location

9. 5. Poorly presented application
Interestingly when the same question is askedof job seekers, they only cite
three reasons:
1. Insufficient technical experience
2. Insufficient qualifications
3. Wrong location
Herein lies another LinkedIn recruitment insight. LinkedIn has the advantage
of presenting your resume in a standard, familiar format. All you have to do is
ensure it is error free and contains a good sprinkling of essential soft skills
keywords, such as:
 Reliability
 Teamwork
 Flexibility
 Enthusiasm (or positive attitude)
 Social skills
 Customer service skills
Advantage 4: Your profile is well positioned
for future trends

10. Amazingly, both global and Australian talent acquisition leaders are in sync on
the future of recruiting. They believe that sourcing passive candidates and
better matching of candidates with jobs will be the new norm in five to 10
years. Given how rapidly recruiting has evolved in only four short years,
perhaps change will come soonerthan we think.
Disadvantage 1: Requires time and effort
A disadvantage of LinkedIn is that it requires time and effort. Sorry, I
understand those two words represent the antithesis of your desire for a quick
fix. But maybe your resume will be the one to stand out from the masses if
you just send it out blindly in response to a LinkedIn job advertisement.
Maybe your13 plus years of experience will compete favorably with all the
other candidates offering 13 plus years of experience in almost exactly the
same field? But probably not. My guess is that you’ll need a more strategic
approach.
Perhaps instead of just posting yourprofile and regularly checking yournews
feed, you could also engage in meaningful ways to other people’s posts,
participate in group discussions, share expertise and highlight interesting
articles.

11. Disadvantage 2: Difficult to tailor your
profile to each job
One of the job search tips in the Employment Department’s survey is to tailor
your resume according to each new job vacancy.
This is one of LinkedIn’s disadvantages and one you can’t really circumvent,
unless you sacrifice some lower level detail and provide just a higher level
overview of your experience. And with more than one third of employers using
social media to screen potential job candidates, you must ensure that the
information you provide online about your accomplishments are also
consistent with what’s in yourresume.
CONCLUSION
Linkedln is a social networking site designed specifically for the business community. The goal
of the site is to allow registered members to establish and document networks of people they know
and trust professionally. a LinkedIn member’s profile page, which emphasizes employment history
and education, has professional network news feeds and a limited number of customizable modules.
Basic membership for linkedln is free. Network members are called connections. Unlike others social
networking sites like face book or twitter, linkedln requires connections to have a pre-existing
relationships. It is very useful for business community.

12. References
 ^ Jump up to:a b
"LinkedIn - About". LinkedIn Corporation. 2015.Archived from the original on
August 1, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2015
 Jump up^ Reid Hoffman (May 5, 2013). Matter”. LinkedIn Blog. LinkedIn
Corporation. Archived from the original on August 1, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
 Jump up^ "LinkedIn Technology". LinkedIn.com. Retrieved2015-04-10.
 Jump up^ Eishay Smith (June 18, 2008). "LinkedIn is 99% Java but 100% Mac". Google
Groups. Google. Archived from the original on August 1, 2013. Retrieved September 25,2012.

17. "LinkedIn launches in Japan". TranslateMedia. October 20, 2011. Archived from the original on October 26,
2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.