Professional Development Report: Workplace Learning and LinkedIn

This LinkedIn report provides a comprehensive overview of the professional networking platform, exploring its history, background, and projected growth. It delves into the key drivers behind LinkedIn's popularity and discusses its advantages, such as facilitating connections and providing a standardized resume format. The report also addresses reasons why some users and businesses have stopped using LinkedIn, along with common mistakes made when developing profiles. It offers valuable recommendations, including the importance of customized invitations, cultivating strong connections, and posting relevant content. The report concludes by emphasizing the benefits of LinkedIn for professional development and career advancement, supported by references to relevant academic research.

Running head: WORKPLACE LEARNING
Workplace learning
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

WORKPLACE LEARNING
Executive Summary
In this LinkedIn report, the main four topics has been covered. The first topic is on the
history of the LinkedIn that is all about the explanations on how to become popular
and successful at the same time and even on its growth and projected growth. The
advantages of the LinkedIn and the reasons behind why some of the businessman and
people are not using it has been vividly discussed. Lastly, the common mistakes
which the people make while developing their profiles has also been explained. At the
end, the advice that is required to make a good LinkedIn profile has been suggested.

WORKPLACE LEARNING

WORKPLACE LEARNING
Introduction
In this report, discussions will be made on how the LinkdIn profile started and
about its present growth and projected growth. The different key drivers will also be
described who are solely responsible for the success of the popularity of the LinkedIn.
The key drivers for the success of the LinkedIn and its popularity will also be
discussed. There are many people who have stopped using their LinkedIn accounts
primarily due to many reasons that will be eventually discussed in this report. The
reasons behind why the people along with some of the businessman have stopped
using their LinkedIn profile will be elaborated. Its advantage on our current career
stage will be stated along with the mistakes that the people commonly make while
developing their profile and also providing some good advice to make the best
leverage of the LinkedIn account.
History and Background of the LinkedIn
The LinkedIn was founded in December 14th 2002 and was launched in May 5,
2003 in California, US by Reif Hoffman. Reif Hoffman was an ex employee of the
SocialNet and PayPal. He took an initiative to work on this project and so invited
some of his close colleagues from different companies to work with him. Lee Hower,
Erick Lee, David Eves, Stephen Beitzel and Allen Blue are some of the co founders of
the LinkedIn. This social site is usually used for professional networking. This is
designed specifically to the community of the business.
LinkedIn is highly superior than many of the social sites and it is proven. In case
of the networking sites the profiles are considered to be consistent and accurate. The
LinkedIn is preferred to be the term that has the “ Professional network” that can be
used without the term of the Social Network.
 It has a capability for the posting of the job. There is a need to make the job easy

WORKPLACE LEARNING
by distributing the job openings and then post it as well.
 The LinkedIn profile is much safe than any other sites. There is actually nothing
to hide in this site like the other sites. In this case, it is so because only the things
that the people are interested in is showed and none can tag us for the bad
pictures and also for the writings on the wall.
 The application is very easy and can be applied easily that helps the employees to
apply for their choice of the jobs without forewarding their resume. The
popularity of this site is based on this LinkedIn profile as there are none of the
sites like this.
 This could easily be used by the professional people who are interested to look
into new employment positions and also to those people who can make the
business profile seen by everyone.
This LinkedIn site is rapidly growing and is becoming global day by day. Initially
the growth off the LinkedIn was very slow, then in 2010, the growth shifted into a
hyper growth by almost 90 million by the end of that year. The company then turns to
its 10th anniversary in 203 and hits the members by 225 million and that two in each
second is availing this process. Canada, UK, US, India are some of the country that
are expected an average hike by 27.99% in the next five years.
Limitations and its advantages
Advantages
The people usually make the right connections. The people who are serious will
apply here and this engaging networking site can be used to interact and connect to
different professional people. The qualifications can easily be described along with its
key achievements skills and the examples of the project that helped the different
recruiters to read their profile. Those who are interested in posting good content can

WORKPLACE LEARNING
do it in their profile and make the other people respond to it as well.
The format is very standard and familiar and the employers can easily reject the
undesired candidates who they feel lacks required educational qualification etc. The
only site is the LinkedIn that has the clear resume format and that contains the various
essential skill keywords like customer service, teamwork flexibility and many more
This helps in the growth of the network, that I regarded as one o the major
advantage to know more people who will help them as well as us. There sre many
professionals who are like us and can in our career paths and guiding us with advice.
Reasons for not using LinkedIn
There are often unwanted spams and updates with full of bugs. Many unwanted
messages are delivered in the in box section and people can easily make a spam of it.
The news feed is also full of spam messages and updates that are pointless.
Unwanted connection requests is something that is very common inspite of the
fact one unwilling to connect to them the request come over and over again. This is
the reason many opt of it and never would like to prefer not to use it ever.
There are many complaints from the customers but the help that I provided is
often not fast and sometimes negligible. These when resolved will help them to use
this site often.
There is a suggestion to improve the user interface so that is not anymore difficult
for the users to use it.
Common mistakes
Some often forget to add the profile pictures and the professional identity is
exposed to others. Often when there is no picture, the recruiters will try to skip those
profiles, the addition o the picture will be helpful in some sort of identification. There
is a need for a good profile picture (Van Dijck, 2013).

WORKPLACE LEARNING
The addition of the random connections and making friends with them is a very
common deed that is done by users. The connections should be used in a professional
way and not to make a huge gang of friends and there is a need for the LinkedIn
officials to take a steep against it.
The right key words is very essential and is highly noted by the recruiters so the
use of the right key words is very essential for the users. The key words should appear
in the specific job positions that will eventually enhance the profile of the users.
Many people lie on the profile by adding past experiences which are not true and
acquiring a degree that is absolutely fake is often applied by the users. They do not
understand the recruiters will sooner or later get to know about their fake identity and
certificates (Chiang & Suen, 2015).
Recommendations
In the concept of the invitation, there is a need to make the connections without
making the default invitation. The invitation is only sen so that a strong relationship
can be built and an invitee in a positive manner will eventually make the people take
it in a positive way as the people will remember whom to customize and not in the
case of the invitation.
Some specific need is there so that the people can build a good relationship that
might better pay an attention to their updates and posts that can be put in the section
of the comments of the ideas that has a conversation (Kim, 2015).
A focus should be made on cultivating a good connection in the network and is
considered to be really important. Though professionalism a lot of connections can be
made and that will help in leveraging the account so that more connections can be
gained and the accounts of the users will also rise (Edwards, 2016).
There is a need to post 3-4 posts that are quite relevant to how one spends his day

WORKPLACE LEARNING
and in the columns of the interests. Tagging a name with a professional person will
help them make a good connection in their relationship. The expertise level in the
network will help in the image building for the different posts in a good content
(Russell, 2013).
There is a need to thank the people and this is really very important in endorsing
the skills and provide them with good recommendations.
Conclusion
It can be concluded, that a brief idea about the history and the reasons for the
popularity of the LinkedIn site has been elaborately discussed that has a current and
projected growth. The three advantages that includes making the right connections,
standard format and familiar chances for making the growth in the network is very
useful.

WORKPLACE LEARNING
References
Russell, M. A. (2013). Mining the Social Web: Data Mining Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, Google+, GitHub, and More. " O'Reilly Media, Inc.".
Edwards, T. (2016). The Recruiters LinkedIn Lead Rush: The Quick and Dirty
Secrets for any Serious Recruitment and Search Business Owner who wants to attract
a Rush of Clients and Candidates with LinkedIn.
Kim, L. (2015). Lessons inspired by Game of Thrones for building connections on
LinkedIn.
Chiang, J. K. H., & Suen, H. Y. (2015). Self-presentation and hiring
recommendations in online communities: Lessons from LinkedIn. Computers in
Human Behavior, 48, 516-524.
Van Dijck, J. (2013). ‘You have one identity’: performing the self on Facebook and
LinkedIn. Media, Culture & Society, 35(2), 199-215.
Utz, S. (2016). Is LinkedIn making you more successful? The informational benefits
derived from public social media. new media & society, 18(11), 2685-2702.