Business Report

LINKEDIN, AN ESSENTIAL FOR MILLENIALS

Prepared forShari Weiss

Business Communications 300San Francisco, CA

Prepared byJessica Mondragon

San Francisco State UniversityGroup 1

June 30, 2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Illustrations……………………………………………………………………………………………..……..ii

Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………….iii

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...1-2

Findings

Benefits of LinkedIn………………………………………………………………………………………………3-4

Growth of LinkedIn………………………………………………………………………………………………..4-5

The Power of LinkedIn to Millenials………………………………………………………………………5-6

Conclusion and Recommndations………………………………………………………….………………7-8

Appendix………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………….9

Checklist…………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………..10

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List of Illustrations

Figure 1 A Look at the World’s Largest Professional Network…………………………………………3

Figure 2 LinkedIn User Growth over the Years……………………………………………………………….5

Figure 3 Post-Grad Use on LinkedIn………………………………………………………………………………5

Figure 4 Infograhic on the Portrait of a LinkedIn user………………………………………………………….7

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

LinkedIn is one of the world’s largest professional network sites with over 300 million users on 200

countries. Out of over 300 million users, millenials only take up 13% of the LinkedIn community. In

a world that is known as the digital era it is essential for millenials to become active members on

LinkedIn. This report will talk about 3 major points as to why millenials should sign up and start

using LinkedIn:

The benefits of LinkedIn: From gaining connections to researching companies to

providing resournces for its members Linkedin can help a professional set up the platform

for their professional page as well as allow users to stay informed with companies they are

interested in.

LinkedIn growth over the years: LinkedIn continues to expand over the yearsand as it

continues to grow the company has made several plans on how to reach the world more

globally and reach its users more effectively

The power of LinkedIn to millenials: With its increased growth and benefits, millenials

should take part of this professional network. 60% of recruiters make up for LinkedIn’s

revenue.

LinkedIn is making it’s way into the world more and more each day. With improvements

throughout the economy to users in itself it is a way for millenials to stay connected and enhance

their growth an opportunity just as LinkedIn is doing for the company itself. In a digital era ist is

essential for millenials to be active on social sites, especially the professional networking site

LinkedIn

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INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND

With over 350 million users in 200 countries LinkedIn is known as the world’s largest professional

network. It is a platform where professionals not only seek business opportunities but also connect

with colleagues, build and maintain a professional network, learn about companies, and get insight

from different industries. 1 out of every 3 professionals are active members on LinkedIn. Their

mission is to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful .For

every second 2 new members join the professional network. It allows its users access to several

operations from slideshare to Lynda. With such quick expansion LinkedIn now has plans to digitally

map out the global economy by viewing real time trends towards economic growth.

PURPOSE

Although LinkedIn has grown over the years only 13% of LinkedIn users are millennials. The

purpose of this report is to discuss why more millenials should become active users on LinkedIn.

SIGNIFICANCE

In a world that has become technology driven it is essential that millenials have a professional

social site that prospective employers can look at if they begin to research a person. LinkedIn

allows users to keep connections and let professionals view their experience. In a time where

connections are everything LinkedIn offers not only the connections but also the opportunities for

employers to see any achievements and experience a person has.

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SCOPE

Throughout the report facts will be stated to set the foundation as to why millenials should become

active members on LinkedIn.

ORGANIZATION

This report will discuss the benefits and growth of LinkedIn over the years before moving on to

how and why LinkedIn is an essential site for millenials to take part in

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FINDINGS

A. The Benefits of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network reaching over 300 million users in 200

countries. Upon signing up for an account users are given the ability to enhance their profile by

inputting experience and other important information such as schooling or volunteer work right

away. After setting up the basics for a profile, LinkedIn quickly tries to find connections or posts

that members could be interested in. in which there is a community of people that take part in

discussions over a specific subject. LinkedIn also gives members access to join groups. Users on

LinkedIn find it beneficial for several reasons as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 A Look at the World’s Largest Professional Network

Source: LinkedIn US Audience 360 Study

As it continues to grow the company makes improvements within itself to ensure full quality to its

users. From acquiring SlideShare to Lynda it is allowing users to have access to several features.

Professional companies all over the world have business pages on LinkedIn that allow visitors to

their site to get better insight about who their company is and what their mission and goals are.

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LinkedIn gives users an advantage by making it simple to access information about a prospective

employer. Users of this professional site are also able to show potential employers their

achievements and skills they have acquired over the past. This is especially beneficial to the users

who are pursuing a specific career and want to stand out in the crowd. LinkedIn is known for

allowing users to be able to connect with professionals and colleague. This allows them to network

over the web and the more connections you have the higher chances you have at a new position in

your career. It is a platform where professionals not only seek business opportunities but also

connect with colleagues, build and maintain a professional network, learn about companies, and get

insight from different industries

B. The Growth of LinkedIn

LinkedIn has already set its foundation as being one of the worlds’s largest and most used

professional sites and as it continues to grow it has plans to expand over the years. LinkedIn

reaches over 300 million users in 200 countries. 1 out of 3 professionals are active users on the site

and for every second in a day there are 2 new members on the professional site. The CEO of

LinkedIn has stated that he wants to go beyond just connecting on LinkedIn—they have plans of

viewing trends towards economic growth in the global economy. A plan like that will benefit users

all over the world in their search to network and connect or gather data about what a smart

professional move would be for them. As the years progress so does LinkedIn. With growth coming

from professionals, companies, and all over the world it is surprising to see how few millenials are

taking advantage of this network "You can't walk into a room without everyone having looked

everyone else up on ,” was the main response received by Business Insider while asking

professional accountants how they felt about LinkedIn. From professionals to companies all over

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the world it is surprising to see how small the amount of milenials on this site there are LinkedIn

has not stopped growing since 2006 as seen in Figure 2.

Figure 2: LinkedIn User Growth over the Years

C. The Power of LinkedIn to Millenials

Connections are vital to grow as a professional, once a student becomes a graduate it is difficult to

keep in touch with colleagues and that is where LinkedIn comes in as an essential to millenials.

Figure 3 explains five advantages there is to being an active post-grad member on LinkedIn.

Figure 3 Post-Grad Use on LinkedIn

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Not only does it allow users to stay connected but it also allows them to seek opportunities within

each other. . Figure 3 explains five advantages there is to being an active LinkedIn member

following post-grad life. In a world that is relying on technology all the time it is important that

when a prospective employer searches you on the web they are able to find a list of your

achievements and experiences as opposed to pictures you posted on Facebook. Who a person is and

what they represent are factors that go into hiring a person and if a prospective employer sees that

they are hard-working then there is already an extra advantage. Another fact based on Business

Insider states that “Recruiters are LinkedIn’s main source of revenue.” Recruiters are constantly

looking for people to hire and improve their company. A recruiter for a business has stated that

LinkedIn allows him to hire people he wouldn’t regularly meet. (LinkedIn)

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CONCLUSIONS AND RECCOMENDATIONS

Out of over 300 million users on LinkedIn, only 13% of millenials are active on this site. In a world

that is so technology driven it is essential for millenials to take part in this opportunity to grow as

professionals, to connect with others, and to discover ways that benefit their future—all of this can

be done by creating a LinkedIn page. In a work force that now requires connections to even get a

start it is important that people are able to stay connected with everyone they can. LinkedIn’s

largest profit comes from recruiters, that alone should influence millenials, to become active users

on the site. As LinkedIn continues to grow all over the world, it’s network of professionals will as

well. I have discussed the benefits, growth, and reasoning as to why LinkedIn is essential to

millenials. In Figure 4 overviews several aspects of how users on LinkedIn benefit from the site to

their favorite feature.

Figure 4 Infograhic on the Portrait of a LinkedIn user

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Within doing research it can be seen that Linked In will only continue to expand and seek

opportunity not only for the company itself but for the users as well. Considering it is the largest

professional network and that recruiters make up 60% of their revenue, millenials should find it

essential to create a profile and begin improving and expanding their professional network.

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Works Cited

https://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/45/~/how-linkedin-can-help-you

http://www.businessinsider.com/linkedins-plan-for-the-future-2014-8

https://press.linkedin.com/about-linkedin

http://recode.net/2015/06/16/linkedin-offers-users-free-lynda-com-courses-for-first-time/

http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-a-few-important-linkedin-stats/2/

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