LinkedIn is widely used by job seekers and employers. According to Jack Meyer, the site has become the “premier digital platform” for professionals to network online.[1 In Australia, which has approximately twelve million working professionals, ten million of them are on LinkedIn, according to Anastasia Santoreneos, suggesting that the probability was high that one’s “future employer is probably on the site.”2 According to one estimate based on worldwide figures, 122 million users got job interviews via LinkedIn and 35 million were hired by a LinkedIn online connection.3
LinkedIn also allows users to research companies, non-profit organizations, and governments they may be interested in working for. Typing the name of a company or organization in the search box causes pop-up data about the company or organization to appear. Such data 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, and 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.[133] The new plugin allowed potential employees to apply for positions using their LinkedIn profiles as resumes.[133]
LinkedIn can help small businesses connect with customers.[134] In the site’s parlance, two users have a “first-degree connection” when one accepts an invitation from another.[132] People connected to each of them are “second-degree connections” and persons connected to the second-degree connections are “third-degree connections.”[132] This forms a user’s internal LinkedIn network, making the user’s profile more likely to appear in searches.
LinkedIn’s Profinder is a marketplace where freelancers can (for a monthly subscription fee) bid for project proposals submitted by individuals and small businesses .[135] In 2017, it had around 60,000 freelancers in more than 140 service areas, such as headshot photography, bookkeeping or tax filing.[135]
The premise for connecting with someone has shifted significantly in recent years. Prior to the 2017 new interface being launched, LinkedIn encouraged connections between people who’d already worked together, studied together, done business together or the like. Since 2017 that step has been removed from the connection request process – and users are allowed to connect with up to 30,000 people. This change means LinkedIn is a more proactive networking site, be that for job applicants trying to secure a career move or for salespeople wanting to generate new client leads.[117]