Why you NEED to be on LinkedIn in 2025 (and not just silently lurking 👀)

Actively using LinkedIn has changed my life. Here's how it can change yours too.

Hello new and existing friends! 👋

It’s been a while since my last newsletter, but we’re SO back. And we are hitting the LinkedIn tips hard this time.

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Why investing in your LinkedIn will make or break your career in 2025

If you follow me on LinkedIn or Instagram, it’s no secret I’m a HUGE fan of LinkedIn.

Quick backstory: I started really using LinkedIn in 2021 when I was desperate to leave my job in finance. Like I’ve heard from so many others, I was deathly afraid of my coworkers finding out that I was even job searching. So at the time, I only used LinkedIn to apply to jobs and read posts from my favorite LinkedIn thought leaders.

Aka I was a “silent lurker.”

After a 4-month long brutal job search, I finally landed my job as a data analyst. And once I did, I was starting with a clean slate. No more caring what my coworkers thought about starting to write about LinkedIn posts.

From then on, I wrote almost every day on LinkedIn.

Along the way, I landed multiple 6-figure tech jobs, became a 2x LinkedIn Learning instructor, was invited to speak at conferences around the world, met some of the greatest friends and mentors, and monetized my following enough to be able to quit my corporate job.

These opportunities came about all because I built a professional personal brand that positioned me to be top of mind for decision-makers in my field, and LinkedIn was the vehicle for me to be able to do that.

Here’s why I believe actively using LinkedIn is the best way for anyone to attract the career opportunities of their dreams:

LinkedIn is on the rise

Sure, LinkedIn started as a place for people to upload their resumes and network, but in recent years it’s become so much more—a social platform for anyone to share their thoughts, build a platform and meet others with similar interests. According to LinkedIn, Premium memberships increased by 55% in the first quarter of 2024, and user engagement levels increased by 44% in 2024. This means that if you’re not on the LinkedIn wave, it will be harder and harder for you to stand out in the job market.

It’s not just for job seekers

It’s also a place for entrepreneurs, content creators, advertisers, leaders, learners—you name it. Just like other social media platforms, it serves so many different purposes, so you can use LinkedIn to find opportunities beyond just your next job. For example, I was able to build my business as a tech content creator because plenty of companies want to promote their businesses on LinkedIn, and they look to influencers to help them spread that message.

It’s the most relevant platform for career professionals

The most important way you can grow using LinkedIn is learning from peers and mentors. The beauty of LinkedIn is that most people are on there to grow their careers. If that’s your purpose too, you can find vibrant communities of like-minded professionals no matter what field you’re in.

Decision makers are on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is not just a place for job seekers, but also for hiring managers and recruiters. In fact, LinkedIn is THE primary place hiring professionals hang out. 72% of recruiters report using LinkedIn to recruit talent. So if you’re trying to capture their attention, you need to be visible on the platform where they’re looking for talent.

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I hope all of these reasons convince you that passively scrolling on LinkedIn is not enough if you want to be able to build a career you love in 2025.

So how do you actually start using it the right way, aka using LinkedIn actively? The answer is contributing your thoughts to the platform for the purpose of increasing your visibility to relevant decision makers.

We’re covering exactly how in next week’s newsletter, so stay tuned!

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That’s it for this week’s newsletter! See you for the next episode of The Data Diaries soon 👋

- Megan

And in case you don’t know who I am, I’m Megan Lieu, Data Scientist-turned-Developer Advocate who has helped thousands of job seekers through my content on LinkedIn and Instagram, as well as my courses on LinkedIn Learning. I’ve learned a lot from the ups and downs of my data career, and sharing the lessons has helped me build a community of 265k+ tech and data professionals.