LinkedIn is a social networking site for professional connections. It was founded in 2002 and launched in 2003, and now has over 300 million members from around the world. The site allows users to create profiles, connect with colleagues and professionals, find jobs and business opportunities, and stay updated with other members' news feeds. While basic membership is free, LinkedIn is meant for professional networking among existing connections only. It has become a popular recruiting tool for employers and a job search resource for candidates.

1. Introduction
Linkedin is a social networking site designed specially for the business
community. The main goal of the site is to allow the registered members to
establish and document network of people they know and trust professionally.
A linkedin members profile page which emphasizes employment history and
education, has professional network, news feeds and a limited number of
customizable modules. Basic membership for linkedin is free. Network members
are called “Connections”. Unlike other free social networking sites like Facebook
or Twitter, Linkedin requires connections to have a pre existing relationship.
With basic membership a member can only establish connection with
someone he has worked with, know professionally (Online or offline) or has gone
to school with.
Linkedin was co-founded by Rid Hoffman, a former Executive Vice
President in charge of business and corporate development. The site, which was
launched in May 2003, currently has over 3000 million members from 200
countries, representing 170 industries. According to Rid Hoffman, 27% of linkedin
subscribers are recruiters.
Linkedin is a business oriented social networking service. It was founded in
December 2002 and launched on May 5, 2003. It is mainly used for professional
networking. In 2006, linkedin increased to 20 million members. The site is
available in 24 languages including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German,
Halian, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Russian, Korean, Japanese etc.

2. Linkedin’s CEO is Jeff Weiner, previously a Yahoo Inc executive. The
company was founded by Reid Hoffman and founding team members from PayPal
and Social net.com. Reid Hoffman is now the chairman of the Board. Linkedin has
its headquarters in Mountain view, California.
The basic functionality of linkedin allows users (workers and employers) to
create profiles and connections to each other in an online social network which
may represent real world professional relationships. Users can invite anyone to
become a connection. However if the invite select “I don’t know” or “Spam” this
counts against the inviter. If the inviter gets too many of such responses, the
account may be restricted or closed.
This list of connections can be then used in a number of ways.
 Users can find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone
in one’s contact network.
 Employers can list jobs and potential candidates.
 Job seekers can review the profile of hiring managers
 Users can post their own photos and view photos of others to aid in identification.
 Users can save (ie bookmark) jobs that they would like to apply for.
 Users can “like” and “congratulate” each others updates and new employments.
 Users can see who has visited their profile page.
Mobile
A mobile version of the site was launched in February 2008 which gave
access to a reduced feature set over a mobile phone. The mobile service is

3. available in six languages – Chineese, English, French, German, Japaneese and
Spanish.
Groups
Linkedin also supports the formation of interest groups. Majority of the
largest group’s are employment related, although a wide range of topics are
covered mainly around professional and career issues 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.
Job Listing
Linkedin allows users to research companies with which they may be
interested in working. While typing the name of the company in the search box,
statistics about the company are provide. These may include the ratio of female to
male employees, the percentage of most common titles/positions held within the
company, the location of the company’s headquarters and offices etc.
Online Recruiting
Job recruiters, head hunters, and HR personal are increasingly using linkedin
as a source for finding potential candidates. By using advanced search tools,
recruiters can find members matching their specific keywords with a click button.
Advantages
1. Creating a positive first impression:-

4. When a recruiter reads your linkedin profile they will typically make
their opinion of you within the first 20 seconds. A professionally written and
completed profile that includes up-to date information about your skills and
experience will automatically get the reader’s attention.
2. Be Found :-
Different companies are now using social networking such as linkedin for
hiring new talent. Even if you are not seeking a new job, just by having an account
could change your career.
3. Network :
Job seeking is a tough business and applying for online jobs each and every
day is a job in itself. From a job seeker’s perspective, linkedin is another a tool that
you can use to help get ahead when searching for a new job.
Disadvantages
1. Not everybody is actively engaged in linkedin:-
Users who have created a profile may not be actively participating
and may not check it on regular basis.
2. Privacy concerns:-
One big concern with linkedin as with all social media sites is
privacy. It provides the opportunity for you to adjust your settings to control who
can see your activity feed, who can see when you have viewed their profile, who
can see your profile photo and visibility.
3. Your Reputation:-

5. While it is possible to manage your privacy settings on linkedin the
nature of social media means that at least some people will be able to see some of
what you’re doing and saying some of the time. Managing and protecting your
reputation online in important because what goes online stays online and can be
readily shared with others.
Conclusion
Linkedin, the world’s largest professional network with 300 million member
in over 200 countries and territories around the globe. Its mission is to connect the
world’s professionals to make them productive and successful. When you join
linkedin, you get access to people, job, news, updates etc. linkedin started out in
the living room of co-founder Reid Hoffman in 2002 and efficially launched on
May 5, 2003. Once you become more familiar with the way linkedin works and the
best ways to reach out to more connections, you will be able to build your network
of professional relationship and take advantage of everything the platform has to
offer.
Reference
1. Von Rosen(2012)” A Text Book on LinkedIn Marketing”
2 . LinkedIn Blog;LinkedInCorporation,ReidHoffman, May 5,2013
3. “LinkedIn Management” LinkedIn Corporation Achieved from the
Original on February 20,2009