Amid the pandemic, 28 million Indians joined LinkedIn

India has also emerged as the fastest growing country for the platform in terms of engagement globally

The LinkedIn community in India has touched over 92 million members. File | Photo Credit: Reuters

In the last two years, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, about 28 million Indians joined the professional networking platform LinkedIn, a senior company official said. India has also emerged as the fastest growing country for the platform in terms of engagement globally.

“At 64 million members in 2020, the LinkedIn community stands at a whopping over 92 million members in India today - a 44% growth in members since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ashutosh Gupta, India country manager, LinkedIn, said in an interview with The Hindu.

Mr. Gupta also added that the company’s revenues in India, which was the second biggest market for the company in terms of users after the U.S., also witnessed a growth of 84% from FY20 to FY22.

Talking about the evolution of conversations on the platform, Mr. Gupta said when the company started, the value proposition it offered was around jobs, and that still remained the biggest value proposition why people come to LinkedIn.

Multiple other dimensions had been added to that value proposition – for example, business networking and learning new skills, which picked up very strongly during COVID.

“How people engage on LinkedIn has evolved due to so many people’s personal and professional lives blurring during the pandemic. We are seeing more personal, vulnerable stories and conversations emerge - but very much through the professional / workplace lens,” he said.

“When you think about professionals, it is a very big term. What do you mean by a professional? Are cricketers not professionals or when I go on a vacation and I am sharing that with my business network, is that not a professional conversation? So that envelope has expanded a little bit…” he added.

Mr. Gupta also pointed out that the company was focussing on encouraging skill-based hiring via its LinkedIn Learning, which saw a huge surge in demand during the pandemic. “Traditionally, we have been hiring using a template…I need somebody from this college, should have done this work… We don’t always focus on skills. We are trying to shift the focus to skills. LinkedIn Learning plays a big role. As soon as you complete a course, you can add that skill on your profile…But recruiters’ side also needs to change…Now when recruiters enter their search on LinkedIn, profiles that come are based on skills match…”