As a profession or industry group, lawyers already use LinkedIn as their preferred directory with over 840,000 listed as at June 2009. This is up from 563,000 in the previous quarter, meaning lawyers and firms can be expected to capitalise on the new features as career explorer is rolled out to the broader LinkedIn population in the coming months.

LinkedIn representative DJ Patil said that in addition to visualizing their career paths, users will be able to find relevant job opportunities, top companies, estimated salary ranges as well as people in their network who may help get them there.

In addition to connecting users - the usual role of a networking tool such as LinkedIn - relevant facts, statistics, industry trends and advertised jobs will all be targeted at the individual’s work interest and profile. Job seekers can also add top companies and follow potential employers to receive breaking news and updates on those companies. This includes notifications of new hires or when people leave.

 
Recruitment firms have also been asked to assess the impact a career explorer could have on their industry. Increased visibility of newly available vacancies was cited as a benefit by Daniel Cardon, senior consultant of the legal division at Robert Walters’ Hong Kong office. However, he still believes recruitment firms have a place alongside the career explorer: “Agencies will always be needed by candidates without the time to use these tools to their [full] potential,” he said.

Cardon actively encourages applicants to use services such as LinkedIn and said that being able to see the profile of the person you are applying to replace acts as a much more detailed blueprint for a candidate than a job specification, which can be vague and unhelpful when you want to impress potential employers.