Introduction
Founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and launched in 2003, LinkedIn has turned into one of the
world’s biggest and most influential multinational corporation from a simple professional
networking site. LinkedIn is now a subsidiary of Microsoft and is headquartered in Sunnyvale,
California, which paid $26.2 billion to buy the company for Bloomberg (2016). As a global
workforce management and online networking industry leader (LinkedIn, 2023), LinkedIn was
initially developed as a platform to connect professionals and as a tool for professional development,
networking or hiring professionals. From a world of over 700 million users in more than 200
countries, LinkedIn has revolutionized how professionals connect, work, and grow.
LinkedIn’s mission is to connect the world’ professionals to create opportunities, build relationships,
and to grow their careers. According to its mandate, "to create economic opportunity for every
member of the global workforce," LinkedIn offers services such as job searching, recruiting tools for
employers, professional network (LinkedIn, 2023), thought leadership, and professional skill
building via LinkedIn Learning. It is a platform giving both individuals and businesses the tools to
thrive in a digital first world, an ecosystem which combines networking with the development of
your career, hiring and skill building.
Over the years, LinkedIn has expanded to a variety of options. Today, in addition to networking, it
includes LinkedIn Learning (an online learning platform), LinkedIn Pulse (an online publishing
platform) and LinkedIn Talent Solutions (for recruiting and talent management) (LinkedIn, 2023).
In essence, what the platform aims to do is help professionals and organizations set themselves up
with economic opportunities by allowing them to make connections, develop skills and tools to
facilitate matching job seekers and employers. Its revenues generate from LinkedIn being a
premium membership, ad sponsored, recruitment services and learning tools model.
LinkedIn is a leading player in the professional services industry, today, not only being a networking
site but also being a powerful resource for career development, recruitment and business
intelligence. As a result of the Microsoft acquisition the platform’s further evolution, permit
participation in continuous platform development and the made the platform a leading global
professional networking and workforce digital solutions.
On these grounds, LinkedIn is a powerful tool for personal growth in your career as well as gaining
success for your organization. As a leader in professional networking space its influence on the job
market and recruitment processes as well as its ability to facilitate interconnections across the
borders made LinkedIn a world leader long ago.