Connection Hiring
Many college graduates entering the job market this past May are discovering that having a minimum of 500 connections is crucial for landing interviews through LinkedIn. Building up a profile with 500 connections within itself is complex. Often students are connecting with arm’s length acquittances to expand their network. Despite the unfamiliarity, sociologists have proven through the Strength of Weak Ties Theory that people are more likely to land a job through a loose social connection than with a close friend association. Connecting with arm’s length acquaintances can give one a higher chance of getting a job with few profile associations.
Followers with Creator Mode
LinkedIn’s followers feature through Creator Mode allows one-way connections where only one user can see posts on the other user’s profile. Creator Mode offers the following button facilitating the transition into content creation. To activate this feature, users must switch their profile to Creator Mode. This change replaces the connection button with a follow button, displaying the number of followers. This feature is beneficial for celebrities, analytics and getting rid of unwanted connections. The question is, can LinkedIn’s Creator Mode become helpful for new graduates and other job seekers?
Let LinkedIn do the work for you.
Enabling Creator Mode allows graduates to become eligible to be suggested as creators to other LinkedIn users, increasing exposure to their content. A creator’s content will appear first in the About section on their profile, making it easily accessible to followers. Users can also analyze their KPIs to help identify what content increases their performance. Creator mode allows users to curate their network by removing arm’s length acquaintances, which can foster closer connections with people in their real-life network. The usefulness of this feature depends on whether fresh graduates prefer to use LinkedIn followers or connections for job hunting.
Followers vs. Connections
The decision between followers vs. connections depends on how graduates want to utilize LinkedIn. Creator Mode provides excellent exposure, analysis, and deeper connections, which can empower graduates to grow their professional brand. Connections serve as a sturdy foundation for networking, increasing a new graduate’s likelihood of landing a well-suited career.
Ultimately the choice depends on a graduate’s desired path for their professional brand and the subsequent steps they wish to take.
This post is courtesy of MMC Marketing Intern Andrea Miles.