LinkedIn Celebrates 10 Years of Professional Networking

10 Year AnnvAbout LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social networking website for professionals and is primarily used for professional networking.  It was founded in December 2002 by Reid Hoffman and launched on May 5, 2003.  The current CEO is Jeff Weiner. To date, LinkedIn has more than 200 million users worldwide and is used in more than 200 countries and territories.

How LinkedIn Works

The site allows registered users to create a personalized professional profile and maintain a list of contacts, called “Connections”. Connections can be friends, classmates, current or previous co-workers, supervisors or managers, teachers, colleagues, etc. By using the search feature you can locate and invite them to become your connection, which enables you to follow their profile, postings, and more. LinkedIn also allows you to follow companies and groups of interest.

Benefits of LinkedIn

  • Reconnect and stay in touch
  • Make lasting connections or networking contacts
  • Power your career
  • Upload your resume and design your profile to showcase your work or community experiences
  • Search for jobs and business opportunities or connections to the jobs you want
  • Review the profile of companies and/or managers
  • Upload photos or videos to customize your profile and get noticed
  • Follow companies or groups and can get important updates, read relevant articles, and receive notifications about offers available, etc
  • Save applications or the jobs that you are interested in applying for
  • Get answers from industry experts on questions you may have
  • Discover and make inside connections when looking for a business opportunity

Having a LinkedIn profile is an important tool that shows you are serious about building a career.  Many employers “Google” job applicants.  Set yourself apart from the competition by having a dynamic profile. A key feature of LinkedIn is the “Skills” section.  Listing your job skills and getting professional endorsements is better than even a letter of recommendation. Highlight awards and professional achievements by creating an Honors and Awards category.

LinkedIn Milestones

LinkedIn has grown exponentially since its launch in 2003. It is the number one professional networking site in the world.  It is also the second largest social networking site and growing.

  • May 2003- LinkedIn officially launched
  • March 2006- Reached profitability
  • February 2008- Mobile version of LinkedIn launched
  • October 2008- Enabled an applications platform to allow users to display blog postings etc.
  • 2010- Opened a European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland
  • October 2010- Silicon Valley Insider ranked LinkedIn as #10 of the Top 100 List of most valuable start-ups
  • November 2010- Allowed businesses to list products and services on company profile pages and also allowed members to “recommend” products and services and write reviews
  • December 2010- LinkedIn valued at $1.575 billion
  • January 2011- LinkedIn acquired CardMunch which is a mobile app to scan business cards and convert them into contacts
  • May 19, 2011- Became publicly traded on NYSE, symbol LNKD.  Opened at $45 share and closed at $94.25 share.
  • July 2011- Launched a feature to enable companies to add an “Apply with LinkedIn” button on job listing pages.  Also enabled users to save job applications.

LinkedIn has become a crucial tool for professional networking.  It is also very useful in building business relationships.  According to Forbes magazine, “LinkedIn is, far and away, the most advantageous social networking tool available to job seekers and business professionals today.”

Join us in congratulating LinkedIn on their 10th anniversary!