WebsiteCompass 11 others can benefit. You can use this know-how to help those in the early or middle stages of their career—especially within your former company—achieve important goals, connect with other resources, or move on to their next opportunity. 6. Writing Recommendations Recommendations are one of the strongest ways LinkedIn can help professionals showcase what they have to offer. Anyone on the platform can write recommendations for anyone else, and they help to promote people in ways simple job descriptions can’t. You can benefit your former colleagues greatly by writing recommendations for them on LinkedIn. 7. Connections With Colleagues A long career usually results in forming close relationships with colleagues over the years, and keeping your LinkedIn profile will help you maintain these relationships. Consider the joy you’ll get from watching younger professionals you worked with achieve professional goals, and the joy you’ll bring to them by offering your hearty congratulations. 8. Reconnect With Friends While LinkedIn isn’t a social networking site, it can be used to find people. If you’re inactive on social media sites such as Facebook but still want to be found by long-lost friends and classmates, LinkedIn is a good place to be. Your profile will come up in search engines, and anyone who wants to get in touch with you that way can. What LinkedIn Is Not LinkedIn has gotten some shade in popular culture, so it’s easy to think of it as the nerdy little brother to all the hot social media sites. To help clarify LinkedIn’s role, here are a few things this platform is not: • Simply an online resume. With rich features like search and the ability to showcase online media, LinkedIn is much more than just a place to list your former jobs. • A personal social networking site. Mentions of personal activities are fine if they’re related in some way to business. • An unpopular site. LinkedIn has 310 million active monthly users and 900 million users worldwide. • Pointless. LinkedIn helps people find jobs, clients, and connections that can help them get to the next stage of their careers. • A waste of time. Even if you’re not looking for a job, LinkedIn is a great place to stay up to date in your profession. In addition, LinkedIn is not the place for blatant sales pitches. It’s meant to be a platform to build relationships, not broadcast your sales material. QUICK TIP: After retirement, continue to like, comment, and post so people know you’re still professionally active, albeit at a reduced level.
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