Job Search News

Employers - AND Employees – Benefit from Employee LinkedIn Participation

It may be a surprise to some, but LinkedIn isn’t useful only for job search and recruiting.  Active participation is good for your career and good for your employer as well.

NOTE:  Before you join LinkedIn or participate in any social media, be sure to check for an official policy from your employer about employee use of social media. Some employers ban social media use by employees, at least while the employees are at work. Some don’t want any mention of the employer at all, while others think social media is great and encourage employee participation. So, it’s best to check for a policy and/or guidelines to be sure.

In fact, your employer may benefit from your active participation in LinkedIn. Even if you are the only employee who is a LinkedIn member, your participation puts your employer “on the map” (virtually) as an organization.

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And, certainly, while it does raise your visibility, too, it  increases your understanding of how the social media world works and is evolving.  It also builds your social media skills (and demand for social media skills is increasing).  For job seekers hoping to move into marketing or PR  at his or her current employer (or a new one), these skills are growing in importance and demand.

And, IF you are looking for a job with a different employer, your LinkedIn usage that supports your current employer’s goals makes you look good too.  A win/win!

Benefits for the employer:

Through your  network, you can increase awareness of your employer’s existence AND the products, services, and expertise, in as wide – or as narrow – a market segment as you want.

• Through participating in LinkedIn Groups, you can raise the organization’s visibility in Groups (good for sales, marketing, recruiting, reputation management, etc.).
• Through participation in Answers, you can increase awareness of the organization, the products, services, and expertise as well as representing your employer in the LinkedIn world (if you demonstrate knowledge and professionalism, people often assume that the organization is similarly knowledgeable and professional).
• Set up the LinkedIn Company Profile  – this is great experience and a new skill, too!
• More benefits of LinkedIn membership for your current employer:
  • GIGAOM – 33 more ways to use LinkedIn to benefit business.
  • Mashable – 5 ways small businesses can leverage LinkedIn.

Research use of LinkedIn for business and you may end up with a great new job at your current employer.

Through LinkedIn, you can do a soft sell for the organization’s products, services, expertise to potential customers and clients.  You can help the organization with recruiting (may be a great place to work for someone else, if not you).  Your LinkedIn participation has many benefits to your employer.

Bottom Line

You don’t need to be a hypocrite and support the employer as a great place to work (if it isn’t) or the products and services as wonderful (if they aren’t).  But you can mention them.  Most of the time, you can find something you like that you can support without major qualms.

Or, if the place is terrible and the products/services are awful, you can focus on learning as much about the industry and/or profession and/or marketplace, while learning and polishing your social media skills, so you can do a better job until you leave. (If you are ready to leave, read LinkedIn for Your Stealth Job Search.)

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About the author…

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg.

 

Posted Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010 at 10:42 am in LinkedIn.