LinkedIn is now used by 60% of the student/working population in the UK – some 20 million people. The number of people that use it has grown steadily but also the way that they use it has changed over time. There has been a big growth in mobile use of LinkedIn which has been encouraged by a number of free official LinkedIn mobile apps. Here we will look at some of these.
The main LinkedIn mobile app has pretty much all the functionality of the desktop version you can:
- Use it to search for and find people and companies
- Use it to find and join groups
- Use it to receive updates from the people and companies that are important in your sector
- Use it to build your professional brand and update your profile
- Use it to connect with others and keep in touch
- Use it to research people and companies
- Use it to share articles of interest to you connections
LinkedIn Job Search App
The LinkedIn Job Search App is a specialist mobile app designed to connect you with the LinkedIn network with the express aim of finding the perfect job. With this app you can:
- Search for jobs based on the title, the location or keywords that you would associate with it
- Make sure that the search results are relevant by applying filters to exclude companies that you don’t want to work for and those job postings that are too old or not relevant
- Make sure that the search results are relevant by applying filters to specify job seniority and work function area
- Receive jobs recommended for you based on your profile and previous searches
- Receive alerts when a new job matching your criteria is posted
- Find out about a company and see whether you have any connections there already
- Apply for jobs and track your applications
- Maintain your privacy – your LinkedIn connections won’t know about your job search activity
LinkedIn Pulse App
The LinkedIn pulse app is a powerful news curator that can keep you up to date with topics that you are interested in. You can specify the news that you will receive first and keep on top of what is trending in your industry or specific companies.
Perhaps the most useful feature of the app is the ability to set up notifications for when you or one of your connections are mentioned in an article or when one of your connections publishes an article.
Available on: iPhone and Android
Cost: Free
LinkedIn Groups App
LinkedIn groups have been around for a while but the way that they work was recently changed in order to make them more useful to LinkedIn users.
Changes made include:
- To join a group, you now need an invitation or an existing member to approve your request.
- You can’t now see the conversations happening in a group until you are a member
- Moderation of content has changed to make conversations more “instant”. Now they are posted instantly to the group without the need for manager approval although they can still be removed by moderators
- Sub-groups are no more. Group owners will no longer be able to create subgroups.
- Images can be posted in conversations
- If a person requests to join a group their connections in that group can approve this
- Now you can mention group members in a conversation by typing “@” followed by the group member’s name.
The mobile app works well with the new groups and is LinkedIn’s answer to the popularity of chat apps like “What’s App”. You can receive instant notifications when a conversation is updated and hold private conversations that will only be seen by those within the group. LinkedIn is hoping that this will be used by teams within companies or entire companies to discuss their business on the go. There are also still a large number of industry and topic-based groups where you can converse with other professionals, that share your interest.
LinkedIn Slide Share App
LinkedIn bought SlideShare back in 2012 because it was a network designed for sharing professional content and which was used by many professional people that also used LinkedIn. If you are not familiar with SlideShare, it is where people share presentations in the form of slides (or videos). They may do this to be helpful to others, to educate others about a topic or simply to be noticed. Whatever the reason for publishing to SlideShare, it is a valuable resource for research and the LinkedIn SlideShare app lets you use it on the move.
Using the SlideShare App you can:
- Search for and discover over 15 million presentations, infographics and videos
- Explore defined topic areas
- Save the content that you will find useful to your mobile device to access later
- Organise your research in Clipboards so that it is all in one place
Lynda App
Lynda.com was set up in 1995 as a place for people to learn through video lectures/courses. LinkedIn bought Lynda last year and has integrated it into the professional social network. You may well have been prompted to look at Lynda courses that are relevant to your searching activity or your industry sector when using LinkedIn. The Lynda app allows you to learn on the move.
With the Lynda App you can:
- Sync your courses across all your devices and pick up where you left off
- Download courses to your device to watch the videos on the move
- Share courses across social networks
- Get personalised course recommendations
LinkedIn Lookup App
LinkedIn Lookup is aimed at those that work in large organisations. Even if you are not already connected to somebody you can quickly and easily look up anybody that works in your organisation. There are various search features and your activity is not made available to those outside your organisation and only they can see the profile information that you enter into the Lookup App
Free