Like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and a dozen ads, LinkedIn is a social network. And like social networks, it belongs to a great generation company: Microsoft.
But unlike most social networks, LinkedIn is a professional networking site, designed for other people to make professional connections, share reports and resumes, and find jobs.
Microsoft purchased LinkedIn in 2016 for $26. 2 billion in cash. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at the time that the social network would supplement Microsoft’s software, such as Microsoft Office 365, the suite of productivity programs.
Like many tech companies, LinkedIn has had its ups and downs in the years following the pandemic. LinkedIn Premium gained $1. 7 billion in subscribers in 2023, executives revealed on a Microsoft earnings call. However, the task cuts that have affected the tech industry have saved the networking site; LinkedIn laid off many workers in 2023 and 2024.
But despite the company’s monetary turmoil, LinkedIn remains a valuable networking site used by millions of people and companies around the world. Here’s what you want to know about the platform:
Despite the professional focus, LinkedIn is quite similar to social networking sites like Facebook. It’s based on principles like connecting to friends (or, in the case of LinkedIn, “connections,”), posting updates, sharing and liking content, and messaging other users.
LinkedIn also provides a touch on the concepts you know on Facebook. Your profile, for example, becomes a resume, complete with your experience, achievements, recommendations and peer references.
The site also has things you probably won’t find anywhere else, like a comprehensive career board, where you can search and apply for jobs.
Many employment services are now compatible with LinkedIn — when applying for a position, you may be able to share your LinkedIn profile, which sometimes means you won’t need to painstakingly enter your work experience into a long online form.
If you’re new to LinkedIn, here’s a quick tour of the site.
It deserves to be transparent that LinkedIn is a tool that you can use for your professional networking and task search activities.
Many people use the site to grow their contacts and find career opportunities, and the Jobs section of the site is a powerful tool for finding and applying for jobs. There are settings on LinkedIn that let you alert recruiters that you’re actively job searching as well.
Some other people use LinkedIn to gain professional reputation by posting posts on News Feed and commenting on other people’s posts.
Like most other tech companies in recent years — including Microsoft and its new Copilot tool — LinkedIn has increasingly focused on AI products. LinkedIn has unveiled its own AI-powered writing assistant that can generate personalized suggestions for your profile.
LinkedIn Premium is a subscription-based edition of LinkedIn that adds a number of additional features, such as online career progression courses, insights into who has insights from your profile, and the ability to send instant messages to whom on LinkedIn, even if they’re not components. of your network.
LinkedIn Premium offers 4 types of plans with other points, depending on your needs. Premium Career is for professionals and job seekers to enhance their careers, while Premium Business, Sales Navigator and Recruiter Lite are for employers, companies or sales professionals.
The most popular plan, LinkedIn Premium Career, costs $39. 99 for one month, or you can purchase an annual plan for $239. 88. You can also check out a one-month free trial.
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