LinkedIn or Lose Out!

26 February 2014 - By Deborah Minors

Do you have a LinkedIn profile? Is it complete, with a photograph, and 500-plus connections? If not, you’re at risk of losing out on a wealth of networking and professional opportunities.

At a talk entitled Master the Art of Networking on January 30, ��ýie and Chief Executive of The Networking Company focused on personal branding and networking. She shared tips for alumni to be “the best You.Pty.Ltd that you can be.”

Nicholson emphasised the importance of establishing and leveraging networks, using tools such as LinkedIn, the world’s largest business network for professionals.

"I was at a conference in New York last year where spoke," says Nicolson. "I sat there with my eyes out on stalks because … I saw the future, and ."

"The reason why I said 500 connections is because LinkedIn ranks you," explains Nicholson. "So say, for example, someone was looking for a networking specialist. If I had 400 connections and someone else had 600 connections, then they’d come up before me – because that’s how LinkedIn ranks you. And that’s why getting to 500 connections is a very important benchmark."

According to the latest LinkedIn South Africa statistics, membership increased by 38 percent in 2013. There are more men than women on LinkedIn, and the industry with the highest membership is Financial/Corporate.

The statistics also reveal that a LinkedIn profile puts you in impressive professional company:

15 percent are Business owners
10 percent are Directors
38 percent are in Senior Leadership positions

Connect with ��ýies on LinkedIn

Aside from LinkedIn’s brand-building and networking potential, it’s a potent connection tool for ��ýies. There are 54,300* profiles citing ��ý University – it’s likely one of them is your former classmate.

Apart from being able to join the ��ý Alumni and participate in discussions, there is a that allows you to search for ��ý alumni by location, profession and employer, and then view the individual profiles. This is an ideal tool to find ��ýies near you, in your sector, or to arrange a reunion.

Some interesting statistics of ��ý alumni with a LinkedIn profile:

4 172 are entrepreneurs, 3 722 work in Finance and 3 670 in Engineering
3 328 are in the USA, 3 304 in the UK and 2 992 in Australia
593 are employed by the Standard Bank Group, 398 by Eskom and 352 by ABSA
Cities with the most LinkedIn ��ý alumni outside of SA are London (1 475), Sydney (1 311) and Toronto (561)

Nicholson says, “It’s going to become a very powerful social networking tool and those who get on the bus earlier rather than later are actually going to be ahead of the pack”.

Don’t lose out. today. on LinkedIn and use the .

*Includes all profiles that, at the time of writing, indicate they studied at ��ý University.

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