10 reasons why you should use LinkedIn after you've landed a job

I've come across thousands of job seekers who believe in the power LinkedIn provides to help them land a job. I haven't, however, come across as many people who believe in using LinkedIn after they've landed. They feel that once LinkedIn has done its job, it's time to part ways.

Why is that? Do people not see the value of LinkedIn in their work?

In a LinkedIn post* I wrote on the fifth of September, I asked the question, "I have a job. Do I still need to use LinkedIn?" Following are 10 versions of the reasons I provided for continuing to use LinkedIn after being hired. Some folks from career development and sales have weighed in with great answers.

1. Continue to build your network as insurance, if you need/want to move on

Unless you were born yesterday, you don't believe that any job is secure, except for Supreme Court Justices. What if you want to move on to another position? Whether you have to move on or want to move on, having an established network of trustworthy people, will be extremely beneficial.

Susan Joyce writes, "So sad when people stop using LinkedIn after landing a new job. Unfortunately, NOT unusual. What will happen the next time they need a job—start over with LinkedIn? That means a much longer job search. Instead, stay active, support the new employer, and remain professionally visible. Much smarter!”

2. Continue to build your brand

Make sure you update your profile with your latest accomplishments. Only connect with the people who provide value, as well as those to whom you can provide value. And, yes, share posts that are relevant to your network. This is all part of branding. Read The ultimate LinkedIn Guide series to learn more.

Perhaps your interest is gaining more visibility in your new role. Wendy Schoen suggests, "If you are engaging on LinkedIn, it is much easier for others in your field to reach out to you with speaking engagements or panel appearances. These are the ways in which you establish your 'chops' in your field!"

3. Be found by recruiters who are cruising for passive candidates

You might have landed your dream job and think you'll retire from the organization, or you might have landed at an organization that didn't turn out to be what you thought it would. In either case, there are always recruiters who are looking for good talent. You want to be found.

Cynthia Wright is a recruiter. She uses LinkedIn Recruiter and warns that passive job seekers never know when they'll be approached: "It's a great tool, and as a recruiter, 60% of my hires are made from LinkedIn Recruiter. Most are passive candidates (those who aren't necessarily looking for a job). As a job seeker, you just never know."

4. Give back: let people know of openings in your organization

The best of the best networkers will continue their efforts of helping others after they've landed. Some of my former clients have shared openings at their company, almost the minute they've started their job. They were paying it forward, which is the true definition of netowrking.

Employers are hiring. The questions is who are they looking to hire. The answer is clear; they're filling positions with people who've been referred by those they trust and know. Be that person they trust and know; mention people with whom you've networked. Bonus: you might receive a finders fee.

5. Use LinkedIn for professional development

Let's say you've landed at a company where there's no money in the budget for professional development. You can reach out to other employees in your industry, or you can use information you gather on LinkedIn. One great source for professional development is LinkedIn's Learning (Lynda.com).

Brian Ahearn, has produced four courses for LinkedIn. He speaks about persuasion in sales, personal relationships, and coaching. I have learned a great deal about the art of persuasion from him. Check out his courses: Persuasive Selling; Advanced Selling: DEALing with Different Personality Styles; Persuasive Coaching; and Building a Culture of Coaching Though Timely Feedback.

6. Research companies and people before meetings for business transactions

Let's say you applied for a marketing director's position. You were smart and researched the positions to which you applied and companies who were going to interview you. Did you also research the people who would be interviewing you? You were smart if you did. Now it's time to research people in your industry or the company for which you work.

Sarah Johnston writes: "LinkedIn can be a great place to learn about your new colleagues. Individual profiles often reveal their, past jobs and non-profit involvement. This information can be helpful during water cooler conversation. One of my favorite things to do to look at the written recommendations that they’ve given to other people. This can provide you with insight into their work relationships and qualities that they value in others."

7. Share posts and articles of your own, as well as those of others

If you didn't share articles or comment on other's posts while job searching, now is the time to do it. Share and comment on articles, write posts expressing your thoughts, attach a whitepaper in Rich Media sections. You want to stay on the radar of your network (related to reason number one).

Hannah Morgan writes, "Your goal in regularly sharing articles on LinkedIn is to stay top of mind among your network. Don’t just re-share the articles, though. Explain why you are sharing them and tag several people, including the author, to make sure they see it. Commenting on posts related to your field—either from people in your network, or those you do not know yet—is a way to expand your network and solidify your relationships with existing connections."

8. Increase business and/or visibility of your organization

If you're a salesperson or business developer in a B2B role, using LinkedIn is a no brainer. Even if you're not directly involved in selling products or services, LinkedIn is instrumental in building relationships. Any employee in a company can be the face of the organization.

In support of this reason, Bruce Bixler makes an excellent point: "ONLY 20% of LinkedIn is used for job search the OTHER 80% is for business enterprise, sales, networking, lead generation, entrepreneurs, business development, and even small business." By the way, he might not be far off with this figure.

9. Use LinkedIn to find talent

You're on the other side of the table now as a hiring manager, recruiter, or HR: you are now searching for candidates. The company for which you work doesn't have the budget for a Recruiter account or even Recruiter Lite. Your only tool for finding talent is using LinkedIn's Search.

No problem; you used Search to find people who were hiring. You became proficient at LinkedIn's All Filters, which allowed you to search for people by title; current and previous company; industry, location; school; and language, if you're looking for someone who's bilingual.

10. LinkedIn is fun to use and teach

This is my personal reason for using LinkedIn. I enjoy the platform, more so than Facebook or Twitter. Some of my colleagues tease me for my devotion to LinkedIn (one said I need an intervention), but I shuck it off. I enjoy it for disseminating information and gathering information. This isn't to say it frustrates me at times.

I also teach job seekers to use it in their job search; having led thousands of workshops on LinkedIn strategy and building your profile. As well, I also help clients one-on-one. Using LinkedIn is my most enjoyable part of the job search to teach. Where some might not see its value, I do.

In my LinkedIn workshops I encourage my attendees to continue to use LinkedIn after they've landed their next job. Many nod their head in agreement, but I've yet to see most of them to do it. Hopefully if they read this article, they'll see the value of using LinkedIn after they've landed their next job.

Here's to hoping.

*Here is the post I reference in this article.

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Bob McIntosh, CPRW, is a career trainer who leads more than 17 job search workshops at an urban career center, as well as critiques LinkedIn profiles and conducts mock interviews. Job seekers and staff look to him for advice on the job search. In addition, Bob has gained a reputation as a LinkedIn authority in the community. Bob’s greatest pleasure is helping people find rewarding careers in a competitive job market. For enjoyment, he blogs at Things Career Related. Follow him on LinkedIn.