LinkedIn Groups? Yes!

GLinkedIn Groups are communities of professionals seeking to share ideas and network around a specific industry or interest.  Group members can make business contacts, find answers, post and view jobs, share content, and establish themselves as industry experts.
Joining a Group has the following advantages:

• Many recruiters hang out in Groups, making you more likely to be found, especially if you post articles or make comments.  The recruiters are looking for potential candidates and consider reaching out to a member based on how they demonstrate expertise, professionalism, interest in the field, and cultural fit.
• Joining lots of Groups increases your ranking in the overall LinkedIn search formula.  Very typically, recruiters and employers seek candidates through LinkedIn.  Your name comes up before other similar candidates if you belong to Groups. 
• You might be able to directly contact someone who is not in your network, by joining a group they are in.  This can be a clever way to send a message to an individual you would otherwise not have access to.
• Each Group has a Jobs tab, which can help you learn about openings.  It’s also possible that group members disclose information about “hidden jobs,” in the same way you might learn of opportunities through other networking platforms.
• You can directly message up to 15 fellow members for free each month.  This becomes important if you are conducting a stealth campaign for a specific job target and want to reach out to a lot of contacts in a short time frame.    

To Find LinkedIn Groups to Join:

1. Go to your LinkedIn home page.
2. Click on the dialpad icon in the top right corner of the navigation bar labeled “Work.”
3. Click the Groups icon in the dropdown menu and you’ll see suggested Groups under the “Discover” tab (if you’re already in some LinkedIn Groups, you’ll see them listed and their latest highlights).

Since LinkedIn makes Group recommendations based on your profile, you might not always find what you’re looking for on the Discover page. In that case, search for other Groups by typing keywords or names of interest into the search bar at the top of your main LinkedIn homepage. Then, on the search results page, click the Groups tab to filter your results.  To join any of the groups that come up, just click on the Group name and you’ll see a “Join Group” option appear on the next page. 
 
Still not getting a picture of LinkedIn groups?
Here are just two examples to check out:
Finance Club
With close to 1 million active members, Finance Club focuses on helping finance professionals grow their industry network, enhance their career and close more deals.
80,000 Hours: The group for doing good with your career
In this active, 10,000-member group you’ll find job postings, career questions, discussion, advice and professional networking opportunities.