How LinkedIn is Supporting COVID-19 Unemployment

COVID-19 has drastically altered the global economy causing disruption at unprecedented speed and scale. Essential to creating a prosperous post-pandemic world is inclusivity and enhancing digital literacy through easier access to resources and tools to build skillsets in remote settings.

Many platforms have made efforts to promote education during this time. Most recently, LinkedIn is looking to help current job seekers in a number of ways from learning and applying for jobs to building their professional networks when in-person contact isn’t possible.

“By giving free access to the skills and training that job seekers need to get jobs, we hope to do our part and help connect job seekers around the globe to new opportunities,” said CEO Ryan Roslansky in the official announcement

Here’s a break down of the platform’s newest efforts and how to take advatange of them for your own development and business growth.

Fostering skills for in-demand jobs

Drawing on insights from its own community — 690M members, 50M companies, and 11M job listings — and a new interactive tool dubbed the “Economic Graph,” LinkedIn is shedding light into the rapidly changing economy, global hiring patterns, and in-demand jobs and skills to help those unemployed as a result of the global pandemic.

From this, LinkedIn created a shortlist of the 10 most critical jobs in today’s COVID economy. These directly informed the launch of the 10 LinkedIn Learning Paths program in partnership with Github and Microsoft who are providing advanced course material in technically advanced areas including the developer space. For each of the 10 paths, individuals will have free access to content from the LinkedIn Learning library through the end of March 2021 led by industry experts. Upon completion, they will receive a certificate that can be shared on their profile.

Aside from skills that are very trade and skill-based, there is also a growing need for knowledge around basic digital literacy, how to collaborate virtually, and actionable ways to create an environment of diversity, inclusion, and belonging for all.

Tools and resources for job search and placement

In addition to better understanding the job market and navigating emerging trends, there is the added layer of understanding how to apply. Since the beginning of the outbreak in March, LinkedIn has seen a 55 percent increase in conversations among connections. Year-over-year the platform has also seen a 60 percent increase in content creation on the platform paving way to new opportunities to increase discovery and connect directly with companies and specific job listings.

A few key ways LinkedIn is leaning in on this trend is through several resources and tools to improve interview performance and receive guidance on resumes or general job seeking best practices. Specifically, to help recruiters easily identify those who are looking for their next opportunity and may be a fit, LinkedIn unveiled an #OpenToWork profile photo frame accessible by clicking on “Me” > Settings & Privacy > Job seeking preferences.

Separately, the platform is looking to make it easier to seek and receive help in the job hunt process by a simple post to the feed that lays out how you can help whether that include making an introduction to someone in your network, offering input on a resume, or general do’s and don’ts for making the journey more seamless and less stressful. To do this:

1. Start a new post and click the “Offer to Help” option
2. Select the ways you’d wish to help others in their job hunt or career and click “done.”
3. Edit your post and determine who you’d like to see it
4. Hit post and start a conversation

For feedback on your interview technique, LinkedIn is teaming with Microsoft in an AI-driven feature geared to deliver real-time thoughts on your answers and where they can be improved.

New ways to connect with your network

Taking a page from Facebook’s playbook and that of several other major platforms, LinkedIn launched a “Support” reaction for those instances where a generic ‘Like’ or ‘Love’ reaction doesn’t fit the situation, which in these uncertain times, is often the case.

“We’re continuing to roll out new tools that allow our members to give and get help on LinkedIn, because we’re all better when we’re in it together,” said LinkedIn’s Kiran Prasad, VP of Product, on the update. People crave authentic and fluid conversations when they can no longer supplement their digital relationships with in-person encounters.

In an era where social utilities are gaining popularity by their ability to bring people together, and reactions, emojis, GIFs are becoming increasingly habitual, we have the opportunity to bring empathy and shared experiences back to the core of social media. This will not only be a beneficial driver for business, but instrumental in bridging a global society. Conversations are more digital now than ever, but they don’t have to be any less human.

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