Below is the Goodymy's editor personal experience using Linkedin, so in this article 'I' refer to Editor Trissss.

As a fairly new user on LinkedIn, I started Linkedin around June this year (2020). Before onboarding to Linkedin, I have heard a lot of prejudices on LinkedIn. But, I decided to join regardless to test the water. Here's my takeaway after 5 months using LinkedIn.

LinkedIn indeed is a professional platform

As soon as you created an account, you wouldn't know who to connect or what to do next. But, when you browse the feed, you see a lot of professional profiles. 

Based on their headline, you usually could tell what field are they from. Or what occupation do they have?

Their posts are usually about work, tips, personal opinion about their related field. Moreover, some people post that they are open to a job opportunity. These are the content that is common on this platform.

You will see various contents on LinkedIn but even funny content would eventually be work-related. So, what about the users on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn's users are less hostile

You can't completely avoid the existence of trolls or haters on a digital platform. But, on LinkedIn, you do see lesser trolls. 

I am not saying there isn't any troll, there is but much lesser compared with other digital platforms such as Facebook or Instagram. 

Most of LinkedIn users have a healthy mindset when using LinkedIn. If anyone made a malicious comment, you will be seen as an unprofessional person. 

You will rarely see the chaos of other social media happen on LinkedIn because everyone is minding their own things. No one will comment on your appearance or what you wear. 

Your demeanour and how you carry yourself, whether or not you are respectful on LinkedIn. Those are the things that people care about.

Making friends on LinkedIn is not a priority.

You connect people instead of adding people as 'friends'. The purpose of you being on LinkedIn is to connect and network with people. So, you could establish a professional relationship with great people. 

The perks of having a LinkedIn account is you can connect with people who hold a high position in the company. It could be a founder or managing director of a company. Sometimes if you send them a message, they might reply to you. 

As LinkedIn is a professional platform that incorporated also with some social media features.  Such as chatbox, reaction bar, posting, etc. It's rather easy to network with those features. 

But, precisely, it is a networking digital platform.

So, should I start a Linkedin account?

Yes, absolutely. It's not as toxic as other social media and is a good practice to build your personal branding. Every day you will learn practical things or useful knowledge from other users. 

It's okay to start from zero, as you would have many examples to learn with. You should not miss out the opportunity to get to have direct communication with great people. 

It's rather easy to use but it takes time to build your profile. 

Start your LinkedIn profile today!

Cover photo source : SEJ | GREATVIBES