HOW PROFESSIONAL

NETWORKING HAS EVOLVED

WITH LINKEDIN

BY: KHUNSHA SALEH

SECTION: BBA-A
ROLL NUMBER: I21- 0034
ADAPTATION PLAN
1.Target audience initial attitude and background knowledge: My audience majorly consists
of university students along with some professors with different majors. Majority of my audience
belongs to a middle class background. The initial perspective for most of the audience will be to
agree with me that professional networking has evolved with linkedin, so I will try to get them to
think about their future in their selected profession and start making professional networks to
succeed. My perception about my audience is that they are aware about the evolution of
professional networking with Linkedin but not how beneficial it will be for them.
2.Organizational Framework: I will organize my TED talk using a problem-cause-solution
framework because my audience is already aware of the evolution of professional networking
with linkedin, but they may not know about the opportunities they can get in their professional
career.
3.Arguments (logos): I will explain the struggle of professionals to make networks with
Linkedin and why it persists. After convincing my audience I will propose solutions which will
be backed by credible sources.
4.Building competence, credibility, and good character (ethos): In this TED talk i will be
using credible sources such as articles from harvard business review to support my claims.
5.Creating and maintaining interest (pathos): I will involve the audience by engaging them to
several emotions, such as relief, passion and hopefulness for better career opportunities through
linkedin.
 OUTLINE

General goal: To Persuade

Specific Goal: To convince my audience that after the emergence of covid-19 there has been
evolution of professional networking through linkedin, so professionals in today’s time must
resort to such sites for networking and new business or job opportunities.

INTRODUCTION
Attention Catcher: Lets play a game of word association. What is the first word that comes into
your mind when I say the word networking? Well networking has an environment in which
people represent the best version of themselves in order to convince other people to do business
with them or recruit them for a job as quickly as possible.
Listener’s Relevance: Many of us know someone in our family or friend circle who lost their
job due to pandemic. So we as business students who will be graduating in 3 years need to
understand that the world has digitized and professional networking has greatly evolved with
Linkedin. Around the world more that 90% of the companies now use linkedin as a source of
recruiting best employees.
Speaker’s Credibility: As a daughter of a businessman and being a business student who will
be graduating in 3 years I believe that I have witnessed how professional networking has evolved
with linkedin by understanding why people are not used to professional networking with
Linkedin, what are its causes and how it could give opportunities to the individuals.
Thesis Statement: During pandemic professional networking has evolved with social sites
specifically with linkedin, so individuals must be helped in making new connections and grab
best possible job opportunities.
Preview: Today we will examine the widespread of professional networking through linkedin
and discover why professional networking has evolved, and how individuals adapt to it in order
to prosper in their career and avail advancement opportunities.
BODY
I- Post covid-19 people are not used to professional networking on linkedIn due to which they
are struggling professionally.
Many of us are still not used to working from home, because individuals are still not used to
remote learning or jobs. Individuals still think about finding jobs in newspapers or through word
of mouth; however, the professional world has changed in terms of networking and most of the
recruitment is done through linkedin.
A- Professional individuals who did not have networks were mostly jobless during the pandemic,
which hindered their growth in their career.
1. According to the journal of vocational behavior due to covid-19 many people lost their
jobs due as they did not have professional networks to get a job or start business which
lead to people getting psychological problems.
2. As reported by BBC News in the UK the unemployment rate was 4.8%. With the help of
data by the BBC News In April 2021 there were 2.6 million seeking Job Seekers
Allowance because they were "searching for work" when this is compared to 1.4 million
in March 2020, before the pandemic began to take effect it seems it is quite high. (King)

Clearly Professional networking is a widespread problem, not only in a specific country but
globally, but it affected developing countries the most.

B- The most extensive problem in developing countries is the people still believe in old ways of
interviewing the individuals instead of recruitment through linkedin, which lead to closure of
many businesses and unemployment as people were unable to adjust to remote working.
1. As reported by the World Bank, most of the small businesses by males and females that
closed during the pandemic were in the developing countries (45-51%), which led to
millions of people to lose their jobs. (Gonzalez.2022)

Now that we clearly realized the problem of not doing professional networking especially
through linkedin let's look at the causes of not doing it.
II- Professional networking through linkedin was not that much used because old ways of
recruitment such as newspaper, internal hiring or local employment office perpetuated before the
pandemic and they had almost never done networking online due to which they are taking a lot
of time to adjust to new evolution.
Think back to the time when people used to sit together in a park and find jobs in a
newspaper. Have you ever thought that there would be a time when in person interaction would
not be allowed? I think the answer is no, so this shows that people were not ready for such
evolution i.e. professional networking on Linkedin.
A- Professional networking on Linkedin is not common especially in developing countries
because of The most extensive problem of frequent disruption of the internet in the country and
how people believe in the old way of doing job interviews rather than recruiting professionals
through linkedin.

1. According to the International Telecommunication Union in South Asia around 48%

people were able to use the internet which is less than half, so people are unable to rely
on online professionals. (“Developing countries less equipped to use ICTs to minimize
disruption caused by coronavirus”)
2. As reported by the world economic forum, around 3.7 billion people have no excess on
the internet around the world, so it is understandable how they can make professional
networks on Linkedin or any other site. (“Billions of people lack internet access during
the coronavirus crisis”)

B- Individuals who require jobs are not used to Linkedin and are taking a lot of time to adjust to
the new evolution and there are many people who are not educated enough to know how
Linkedin works.

1. A research conducted by Harvard Business Review found that during the pandemic a
person’s personal and professional networks have shrunk down by 16% which is
approximately 200 people, which makes it difficult for a person to find a job. (King and
Kovács, 2021)

Now that we realize that individuals are not used to professional networking on linkedin and
their networks have drastically decreased due to pandemic we should arm ourselves with the
necessary information to do social networking on Linkedin and to step ahead in our professional
careers.

III- Professional networking must be promoted globally, so that professionals prosper in their
career and grab the best possible opportunity available to them.
Think about the time when you will be applying for jobs when you graduate. Will you be
willing to do professional networking on Linkedin or will you find the jobs the old way? I
believe if you want to be successful in your career start making your networks from now.
A- In today's world professional networking is done on linkedin instead of people relying on
word of mouth. Career oriented individuals should from their university days start working on
their professional networks and make profiles on linkedin.
1. According to an article published in Sage Journals, an instructor instead of doing an
activity to meet the class mates asked the students to make their Linkedin profiles, so that
the individuals can explore and have professional networks. (Gerard and Thomas)
2. A mix-mode survey was conducted which showed that 113 working professionals out of
233 used Linkedin as their professional networking tool. (Davis et al.103396)
B- The world is getting digitized, professionals are recruited through Linkedin so individuals
must start professional networking as even professionals with a job are leaving their
organizations for a better professional advancement through linkedin.
1. According to research self determination encourages individuals to participate in
Linkedin and be willing to leave an organization for better opportunity. (Cho and Lam,
2021)
2. As reported by Linkedin it-self 45% of the people who leave their jobs and are on
Linkedin are for better opportunities and placement. (“New Research Reveals the Real
Reason People Switch Jobs (and It isn't Money or Their Boss)”)
C- With the changing world and evolution of professional networking with Linkedin
professionals should use a skill based approach to find themselves jobs.
1. Harvard Business Review reported that around 70% of the people have skills needed to
qualify for a customer service job which is currently the most demanded job on Linkedin.
So, with the help of their skills individuals can earn and find even better opportunities on
the same networking site, Linkedin. (Roslansky, 2021)
 2. A journal reports that through social networking on Linkedin individuals are able to start
up their own personal brands, thus finding themselves better professional advancement.
(Harris and Rae)

So you see, we are not helpless in this digitalized world as long as we make a choice and move
on with time instead of using old ways to be successful in a professional career. Individuals
should try every possible way to make professional networks and currently Linkedin is the best
for the evolution.

CONCLUSION:
I- Professional networking has evolved with linkedin during the pandemic because of how
digitalized the world has become, so professionals must avail prosperous opportunities available
to them.
II- Professional networking has evolved with Linkedin around the world, so by understanding
how to avail the opportunities and be ahead in our career, we will be able to adapt to the new
changes and flourish in our careers.
III- Today, I encourage you to do your part to help people adjust to the evolution of professional
networking with linkedin. Firstly, although around the world people know how to use linkedin,
in Pakistan many people are still unaware about the actual process due to which they have lost
many best possible professional opportunities for them. I know if we start focusing on making
our professional networks from now we will be able to succeed in our career so we need to
understand with time evolution occurs and we need to adjust to that.
REFERENCES:

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