LinkedIn V Facebook

LinkedIn has over 396 million users and is constantly growing. Click here to see the growth since 2009! With this phenomenal growing rate, it is not surprising it has become an essential and reliable tool for recruiters.

Along side LinkedIn, there are many other network sites. Facebook is the most popular site worldwide, also continually growing and currently has over 1.31 billion users! Click here to see the growth rate.

However, as LinkedIn gains more and more users; the professional etiquette appears to be slipping – it seems some new users are treating LinkedIn almost equivalent to Facebook.

Facebook is a great social site for friends and families to share personal and trivial content. However, LinkedIn is a professional, corporate networking platform, full of potential employers who don’t want to know what you had for breakfast or about your big night last weekend. LinkedIn provides a great service for Recruiters; it provides details that may be missing off resumes, recommendations from previous employees/clients and work-life progress. LinkedIn offers faster more specific hiring solutions, allowing Recruiters to search through candidates in the market quickly and to head-hunt the top talent. In the latest LinkedIn report, it is clear Passive Candidate Recruiting is becoming increasingly more common so it is critical your LinkedIn represents you in a professional, positive manner whether you are actively looking for a job or not – you might be in the future.

(The graph has been pulled from the 2015 end of year LinkedIn report)

Searching LinkedIn is also extremely common for clients, once you have rang someone or pitched your services, there is a high chance they will look at your profile to learn a bit more about you, your background and the business you’re representing. This demonstrates the importance of having a professional profile even more, think about; your picture, posts and comments – is it the same image and message you would strive to achieve in an interview or a meeting?

When connecting with new people think about the first impression your profile gives. It is important to have a corporate photo, not only for professional reasons but also, if you leave a networking event with 10 business cards and try to locate them on LinkedIn – a photo will make this easier and more successful, giving you a better chance of being found.

When developing your pool of connections, make sure you are personal – if they’re unfamiliar; send a short message introducing yourself and the reason for connecting. When conversing, think about your tone; leave “hiya” and “lol” for Facebook, and write in a professional qualified manner.

LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to access knowledge, insights and opportunities, with almost 400million members you need to manager your professional identity. Keep your profile corporate, neat and work related, and leave the funny, more personal and private posts for Facebook.

Katrina Whitehead, Marketing & Operations Executive, Foundation Recruitment