20 Best Alternatives to LinkedIn : – When we talk of creating professional connections the first name that pops up in our mind is LinkedIn. Whether you are looking for a new job, looking to hire a professional for your set up or simply wish to grow your professional network and maintain relations with people in your work circle, LinkedIn has been the ultimate source for many. One of the largest online professional networking tools in the world, LinkedIn boasts of more than 380 million members from over 200 countries.
However, off late there has been a few issues reported such as, the site breaking into member’s email address and spamming their inbox. There has been numerous complains on this activity and due to which the company has considerably cut down on emails to its users. Also, the $49.95 fees to utilize the advanced features of the LinkedIn and to send emails to other members or the privacy related concerns are among the other reasons that are forcing the members to leave them and look for alternatives.
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Amongst the allegations and several concerns, LinkedIn is still the most preferred professional networking site across the world helping around 225 million registered users get connected professionally and find jobs. However, if you are into two minds about LinkedIn or just want an additional option for your work profile, there are many other professional sites that can help you broaden your network. So go through the list below that we have compiled as the alternatives to LikedIn and select the one of your choices.
AngelList
The next best alternative to LinkedIn that you can think of will be undoubtedly the AngelList. It is a simple to use and an efficient professional networking platform that helps connect job seekers with umpteen numbers of organizations looking to hire professionals with targeted skills for free.
Well, AngelList is also for those who are looking to raise funds or rather wish to invest in a startup. That’s not all, as you can also hire professionals for your startup using AngelList.
Xing is one of the biggest contenders of LinkedIn in the European continent that enables you to find employment, get suggestions, find partners or even post a job opening for your setup. While it already has over 14 million members and claims to be the biggest professional network in countries where they use German language, it also has its presence in over 200 countries and is available in several languages that include, English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and many more.
You can sign up for free with Xing and use the basic features, however, for advanced features like searching for individuals with certain qualifications, travel discounts, etc. you have to pay a membership fee.
Plaxo
Plaxo is a cloud-based online address book that eliminates the need of updating your contact information manually. Instead, each time the contact update their details the changes are automatically updated in your address book. So, Plaxo updates, recovers, merges and syncs your contacts automatically each time. Additionally, this platform also helps organize your contacts and makes them easy to manage by listing the relations between the contacts. Plaxo also synchronizes your calendar and reminds you of contact birthdays.
Plaxo is a free to use platform, however, in order to use the advanced features you can subscribe to their plans that start from $4.95/month.
Meetup
If you want to arrange for meetings and discussions offline and not just online, Meetup is the perfect networking platform for you. You get the opportunity to meet like-minded people with whom you can have discussions on topics that interest you and them alike. It chiefly keeps you updated on any upcoming events of your interest that you can attend. This will allow you to meet people sharing the same interests as you and expose you to real-world interactions.
While you can attend events by joining the groups already formed by others on Meetup, you can also form a group of your own and conduct Meetups and invite like-minded individuals. With 15.92 million members from 196 countries across the world, Meetup is free to use.
Beyond.com
Self-tagged as the “Career Network”, Beyond.com has been helping to connect millions of job hunters with organizations that are searching for applicants with specific skills and experience suited for the said position. If you are a job seeker and you have signed up with Beyond.com, you immediately get access to over 500 industry-classified talent groups across the nation in order for you to spot an opening in the exact location and category you want.
Apart from career options, as a member of Beyond.com you also get the opportunity to read career content originally curated from over 1400 sources. This helps you to find resources and suggestions that suit them the best.
Data.com Connect
Data.com Connect is built on a unique concept, unlike other professional networking platforms, as it equips you with both the phone number and the email id of the individuals from the targeted companies that are listed in the business directory. That’s not all, as you also get the latest contact information updates of people from any organization and from any department from the regular staff to even the senior executives.
Data.com Connect also allows you to search their business directory by individual name, company name or even the type of the industry that helps you start networking with individuals from the same industry or location as yours. It is free to use, however, for premium features the price starts at $250/year.
Opportunity
If you belong to the field of sales & marketing, looking for employment opportunities, wish to get into a partnership, hire professionals or simply want to grow your professional network, Opprtunity gives you the perfect platform to do so. It uses a scientific method (first of its kind) to connect you to matching individuals who can provide you the right opportunity to do your business.
Opprtunity uses matching algorithms that analyze several data points such as, type of industry, skills, location and other signals across the internet. It essentially helps professionals to generate sales leads, post employment opportunities, develop business connections and more.
While Opprtunity is free to use, it is not a separate entity but rather requires you to sign in using LinkedIn.
Sumry
Sumry is a web application that helps you create work portfolios and resumes online. The best part about Sumry is that accentuates your education, expertise, certifications, work experience and also showcases any recommendations from individuals who may have worked with you in the past, setting it apart from the other professional networking services.
This helps you to apply for a position as soon as you find a job that interests you and provides an opportunity to be introduced to the company even before you formally send them an application. Sumry is free of cost for the basic use, however, for enhanced services you can subscribe to the Pro version for $7 a month.
NetParty
With around 200,000 users, NetParty is a social networking platform for young professionals across the globe. This is a great alternative to LinkedIn for those who prefer some fun while growing their professional network. NetParty has several branches across Europe and North America and holds exclusive parties allowing the young professionals to catch up with each other in a comfortable environment.
It’s free to join NetParty, so you just need to sign up and you will also be able to view upcoming parties, get access to entry passes and receive assistance on commuting options, etc.
Jobcase
Jobcase allows you to build an exhaustive portfolio that demonstrates your educational details and work experience along with preferred compensation, work conditions, whether you are okay to relocate and personal attributes. The fact that Jobcase consists of job details from more than 100 current job listing domains that includes the likes of CareerBuilder and Indeed, it exposes you to more job providers and professional connections than LinkedIn.
Jobcase is free to use where you can either directly sign up or log in through LinkedIn account, Facebook or Google.
Volley
Volley is identical to Quora or Yahoo! Answers platform where members (designers, business groups or developers) get the opportunity to share their help in answering a specific question by their own knowledge or by their extended social networks. So, when someone posts a query either one of the Volley members can answer it or refer the one asking the question to someone they know who can answer.
Volley membership requires real identities and real connections with real individuals; hence you are assured that you are getting your answers from genuine people on the other end.
Volley is free to use and queries can be for any topic just like in Quora that can even include career
EFactor
If you own a business, EFactor is just the right platform for you to showcase your expertise and connect with like-minded people. It is said to bet the world’s largest enterprising community where you can have access to tools, individuals and resources to build relevant connections both online and offline.
Apart from allowing you to connect with possible clients and partners and attend events personally, EFactor also imparts info on how to cut business costs, prepare a business plan and learn how to address your ideas to help entrepreneurs.
EFactor is free for use and you register using your LinkedIn or Facebook account.
Bark.com
As a Bark member, you can expect to be connected to local businesses. It can easily help you to find expert advocates, plumbers or accountants in your area rather than wasting any time. Bark then contacts these businesses on your behalf along with providing you an estimate.
While you can search for businesses using this technique, you can also create your own portfolio so that even you can be hired. Bark also works as a professional networking platform that lets you connect to related professionals from your industry.
You can use Bark with a free account and can also upgrade to the premium version for your business to be promoted immediately.
Quora
If you own a business set up, Quora is the right option for you to network with people thinking on the similar lines. Whenever you have doubts about your business strategies like, critical partnerships, or want to know how to train the sales team within simply post a query and you will responses from the field experts.
Quora is free to use and in return you get some brilliant ideas.
Even though we cannot call Facebook a professional networking platform, staying connected to your professional contacts can be of your advantage in the long term. Whether you have previously worked for a certain company or currently working, keeping in touch with them over the most popular social networking medium gives it a personal touch.
Besides, Facebook gives you the option to highlight your work experience apart from personal details. Moreover, mutual friends can further help extend your professional network. Facebook is free to use and does not require any membership fee.
If you are looking for an excellent alternative to LinkedIn, Twitter can be the one. The best part about Twitter is its open atmosphere where you can look for keywords and hashtags, communicate with individuals or meet up with new people from the same industry as yours.
Makerbase
Makerbase is a relatively new open-source platform that took off earlier this year and is already gaining popularity with its innovative concept. It is for those who create apps and websites and also for the people who assist on the projects. Makerbase helps you to find the makers of your favorite apps and websites all under one platform.
As a maker while you can be the founder of an app or the host of a conference, you can also be the one who coded the program, designed the logo, or even a copywriter. So in short, Makerbase is an editable directory that allows you to add yourself as a maker and list all those projects that you worked on or assisted a team irrespective of the fact whether it was a hit or not. You can also add names of all those who assisted you in the project keeping in mind that a maker is an individual and not any brand or company.
The projects can be anything ranging from an app, website, videos, games to eBook, blogs, or even podcasts, but not necessarily only of the digital category. Anything that included the use of programmable hardware or based on web technology is considered to be a project. Brands, organizations or humans are not projects. While you can add even books, memes, crowdsourcing or conferences, you can also edit and revise the maker, role or project just as we would do on Wikipedia. You simply need to click on the “Edit” option and perform your task. You can also Archive any errors or Unarchive any mistakenly Archived items. Click on the flag icon to delete a page permanently or if you want to report an abuse.
Makerbase is absolutely free of cost and can be accessed by logging into your Twitter account.
LunchMeet
Find like-minded business professionals over LunchMeet platform that helps you to schedule a face-to-face meeting with them over lunch, drinks or simply over a cup of coffee according to your availability. However since it’s created on LinkedIn’s API you need to sign with your LinkedIn account and select a mutually convenient to meet up with the professional.
Moreover, the app can also help you with the nearest restaurants based on your current location using the in-app map and shares the related details with your contact via the messaging service. LunchMeet is a free to use iOS app that enables you to add your meetings to your iOS calendar.
Zerply
If you are into creativity and want a platform to showcase your talent that helps you to get hired by the right people, Zerply is just the right alternative for you. It is a professional networking platform that allows you to post your resume and even display your work using videos, storyboards or portfolios to capture the interest of the entertainment industry with your creative skills. Zerply is especially meant for animators, designers and the likes.
Zerply is free to use and to join the network you can either apply with their team by displaying your work or needs to be invited by any of the existing members.
I find passion in writing Tech articles around Windows PC and softwares
Thijs says
“Most preferred” is not proper English.
“Softwares” does not exist…
bettina says
LinkedIn is terrible these days. They have removed everything useful and are charging more for it. I wish everyone would move over to something else. I would gladly follow. I’m fed up with Linked In. And TERRIBLE customer service.