An article I wrote about for People and Work Magazine. The magazine of the Cyprus Human Resource Management Association (CyHRMA). This article was found in Issue 37, July 2013.

1. 28
LinkedIn
Why you Should be Part of the
200+ million people using it
LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network online which recently celebrated its 10th birthday in May
and is in it for many more. Today, hundreds of millions of people around the world are coming together creating and sustaining relationships that matter. This number grows by the minute.
LinkedIn reached a new milestone in January 2013; it
surpassed 200 million members with representation in
more than 200 countries, in 19 different languages (nope,
not yet in Greek). Europe alone covers an approximate
number of 39+ million members. That's mind blowing.
Take a minute and think of how many professionals you
can reach.
STATISTICS SHOW THAT THE LARGEST
INDUSTRIES ON LINKEDIN ARE:
Information & Technology Services (4 million)
Financial Services (2.03 million)
Higher Education (1.95 million)
Computer Software (1.65 million) and
Telecommunications (1.59 million)
Whether your company belongs to one of the above
industries or not, there is no excuse, in this day and age,
for not having a company page on LinkedIn. In case you
didn't know, more than 2.6 million companies have a
LinkedIn company page and are hugely benefiting from
it. Having a company page helps your organisation have
greater visibility and exposure as it allows showcasing
its products/services, post important updates, post
vacancies at minimal cost and more. It's a great tool to
enhance your company's reputation and image online and
is great for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) purposes.
top stories from current affairs. What I personally enjoy
most is reading people’s different perspectives about a
topic, and seeing the different approaches people have
from different countries in the world. It makes me think
twice and see stuff from another perspective which I
may have not thought about initially.
SOPHIA A FANTIS
Sophia holds a BA in
Business Management
(Northumbria University,
UK) and an MSc in Strategic Public Relations and
Communications Management (Stirling University,
Scotland). She showed an
interest in social media
at an early stage during
her university years, as
she assisted with Northumbria University's social
media platforms during
her studies and dedicated
both her dissertations on
understanding the power
of communications online
and social media. She
is now working as a part
time Social Media Executive for 'Fit to Inspire'
(www.fittoinspire.com)
which inspire women
all around the world to
greater fitness and wellbeing, whatever age, size
or shape they're in.
In the current difficult times we are experiencing in the
Cyprus economy and labour market LinkedIn can prove
to be an asset to those looking for a new job as it is
today’s most used recruitment tool. LinkedIn can be
great for Human Resource professionals and recruiters,
as it allows an individual to build a massive network with
candidates, partners and colleagues and to attract and
screen potential employees. It is currently gaining more
and more popularity with recruiters who don’t have to
spend huge amounts of money on advertising vacancies
through conventional means.
LinkedIn is the most well-known social network that is
business oriented and allows all types of professionals
to stay in the loop within their industry of expertise. This
popular professional social network offers numerous
articles for job seekers on a daily basis with tips on how
to stand out from the crowd and how to succeed at a job
interview and land a successful career. In addition, a full
LinkedIn profile will make your name appear in the top 10
search results when typing your name in search engines
(I told you, you always gain something, whether you're an
active member or not). That is the 'first impression' people get when
searching for you online.
If you are not yet convinced of its importance, this will
help. Recent statistics conducted by LinkedIn show that "87%
trust LinkedIn as a source of information affecting decision
making". Social networks in general, are a whole new 'search tool'
because we trust people's opinion more than anything else.
LinkedIn is about social and professional networking relationships as
it allows people to connect easily. Relationships matter, as does your
Being part of the LinkedIn network means being part of the
attitude when looking for a job. Authenticity matters too when building
biggest professional network in the world. Whether you are an
quality connections. Make sure to remember that you will convert
active member who shares posts and articles, asks questions
business, based on creating relationships of people who know you,
and comments in various discussions or whether you are just
like you and trust you. So be yourself and be kind through this social
an observer of it all, what matters is that you are a part of the
network, because no one likes to work with monsters.
200+ million members. There is always something to gain out of
it. For starters, there are numerous channels with articles being
I hope this article has convinced you to leverage the power of
posted every day on business and management issues of general LinkedIn a little further and be part of the 200+ million, both on a
interest to keep readers informed of top influencers’ opinions or
business and a personal level.
"In the current difficult times we are experiencing LinkedIn can prove to be an asset
to those looking for a new job."