Thank You LinkedIn!

For those who know me, they'd know that I'm a remarkably active person on social media, bascially I share my day to day activities with my friends, that no one would have to ask me the next day "Oh where were you? or Who were you with?" It's all shared! However, that was not the case on LinkedIn, over the past couple of years I was a very passive user of LinkedIn. All I used to do was click on the "Jobs" tab and apply without even bothering myself with the job description. I used to apply to tens of jobs and never get any feedback, to an extent that I started questioning if LinkedIn is actually what people say it is.

And then everything changed..

I lost my job without any notice and was left with no choice but to either stay at home and cry or start using my connections and talk to people. I went through my contact list and contacted all my friends and colleagues to ask them to recommend me to any job vacancy they know of. Weeks passed and I never heard back from any of them, till I realized that I had a weapon in hand that I haven't been utilizing..I have my LinkedIn account!

I opened the app and did the following:

1. Updated my profile, added all sections
2. Became an "All Star" profile
3. Accepted all connection requests
4. Followed the right people
5. Share Posts/articles
6. Engage with people, congratulating them on new positions, commenting on their posts and even wishing them Happy Birthday
7. And most importantly, I read about the different products LinkedIn provides

I learned that Linkedin is the place for anyone, you don't need to be a professional in a suit to benefit from LinkedIn, you can be a freelance artist and still benefit! People tend to make LinkedIn sound like a boring platform for losers, but let me tell you this "You're not a loser when you learn how to network and market yourself"!

By time, LinkedIn became my favorite app, I'd check it as frequently as whatsapp or facebook and overnight I turned from a passive user to a very active one. This yielded a great return, I got a good number of interviews and I started getting offers. It feels so good when you get a call from a Recruiter telling you "What an impressive profile" or "I came accross your LinkedIn Profile and thought you're the best candidate for this post".

LinkedIn is like our very own Red Carpet, we need to get all dressed up and ready to mingle with people with the hope of winning an Oscar or in that case maybe a good offer or being followed by one of the top Influencers.

I have to genuinely thank LinkdedIn's team for gifting us with such a phenomenal platform. It’s because of LinkedIn that I know where I stand in my career and how I should present myself to other professionals. So.. Thank you LinkedIn!