I was thrilled to hear this report from Sally Herships on Marketplace last week: “Does LinkedIn work for job seekers?”  

This is exactly what I have been looking for for a long time: a take on LinkedIn from someone not affiliated with LinkedIn.  

For me, there are three big takeaways from this story:  

• Be an updater
• Be a joiner
• Remember who the paid users are–recruiters

Here is my take on each of those:

1) Be an updater.  Maintain your LinkedIn profile so that you are virtually networking all the time. When you update your profile, you’re getting yourself in front of more eyes; peers, colleagues, and recruiters see what you’re doing and that your career is not static.

2) Be a joiner.  Join LinkedIn groups related to your areas of interest–particularly your areas of professional interest.  This helps your profile come to the attention of recruiters and employers with shared professional interests. It also provides LinkedIn with information that it uses to push information to you that will be of most interest to you.

3) Remember that the paid users of LinkedIn are recruiters. And recruiters work for employers, not candidates.  Of course, it is in their best interest for you to present yourself as the best candidate you can be, but don’t mistake a recruiter’s interest in you for representation of your best interests.  

This clear report on the workings of LinkedIn answered all of my lingering questions and now I will be a more educated user of the online platform–both as I maintain my profile and promote LinkedIn as a career coach.

Darcy Lear is a career coach specializing in job search documents, professional school applications, and interview preparation.  To see Darcy’s posts on LinkedIn, click here. For one-on-one support in preparing for your job search or to set up a campus workshop, contact Darcy: darcylear@gmail.com