Career networks are an excellent way to make new contacts or improve your own visibility.
LinkedIn vs. Xing? Job networks therefore not only help companies to attract more attention, but also create opportunities to establish their own brand much better. Basically, using a job network is always helpful – regardless of whether you are a freelancer or self-employed, entrepreneur or employee. In addition to self-marketing, social selling can also be realized on these platforms.
Users can choose between LinkedIn or Xing. But which of these two platforms is better or are there perhaps no significant differences at all?
Some people may ask themselves this question when it comes to the importance and benefits of career networks. But the answer is quite simple: career networks offer countless advantages and opportunities for professional success and personal development.
In today’s digitalized world, contacts and relationships are of crucial importance. Career networks such as Xing or LinkedIn allow us to expand our professional network, make new contacts and benefit from the experience of others. We gain insights into various sectors and companies, can find out about current trends and continue our education.
Career networks also make it possible to search specifically for jobs, find out about potential employers and present yourself as a qualified specialist. They are an important building block for successful career planning and enable us to achieve our professional goals more quickly. XING and LinkedIn help you to network, exchange knowledge and discover new perspectives. It is therefore definitely worth investing time and energy in building a well-functioning network.
XING is a German company that was founded in Hamburg in 2003. LinkedIn, on the other hand, is a US company that has been part of Microsoft since 2016. LinkedIn Switzerland, on the other hand, is an offshoot of this company and, as the name suggests, focuses on Switzerland. XING, on the other hand, was aimed at Swiss and Austrian users as well as German users.
Both career networks offer users the opportunity to reach their own target group so that their reach and influence can be expanded. Both XING and LinkedIn create the opportunity to get into conversation with contacts, while at the same time B2B contacts can be made. But above all, these job portals can be used to find new jobs or employees.
However, the first differences between these two career networks become clear, particularly with regard to the number of members. In 2018, XING recorded just one million users in Switzerland. The situation was slightly different for LinkedIn Switzerland in the same year – around 2.4 million Swiss people registered on the platform. It can therefore be concluded that many Swiss people are more active on LinkedIn than on XING.
However, if you primarily want to maintain business contacts in Germany, you are certainly better advised to use XING.
At first glance, there are no differences between XING and LinkedIn. You can create a profile on both career platforms and fill it with your information. Both XING and LinkedIn also allow you to read news, publish your own posts and search job vacancies.
However, anyone who takes a closer look at both networks will recognize the small but subtle differences. And these can sometimes be the deciding factor in which platform is chosen.
Both Xing and LinkedIn Switzerland have groups for networking and exchanging ideas with like-minded people. You can make new contacts and get to know each other in suitable groups. The discussion in groups is usually a little livelier on Xing than on LinkedIn.
Xing gives you the opportunity to create a portfolio to present yourself in a multimedia format. You can use images, texts, videos or even PDFs. Unfortunately, LinkedIn users have to do without such an option. In return, you can make recommendations for others. These references are particularly important for applications in the English-speaking world. If someone makes a recommendation to you, this will be displayed in your network. This is of course an advantage, as such recommendations are attractive to other users.
In terms of visibility, it makes sense to regularly publish your own posts on both XING and LinkedIn. In this context, LinkedIn clearly scores again: here you can post more extensive articles that can be tagged to increase your own profile and position yourself as an expert in a particular field.
Both platforms have an advanced search function. However, you can only use this with LinkedIn with a free basic membership. With Xing, this is only possible with a Premium account. In fact, you need a Premium account to use Xing effectively. Most of the important functions are only available in the paid version. This is different with LinkedIn. You can also make extensive use of the network as a free member. If you opt for a premium membership, however, this is significantly more expensive than the paid version of Xing.
LinkedIn and XING are two popular professional networking platforms that allow users to make contacts, find job offers and present themselves. Both platforms have their advantages and disadvantages that need to be taken into account.
In addition to Switzerland, LinkedIn is widely used internationally and offers a variety of functions for networking and job searches. The platform is used by millions of professionals worldwide and allows users to connect with potential employers. LinkedIn also offers a large number of discussion groups and specialist articles that enable users to exchange views on current topics.
Nevertheless, XING offers a stronger presence in German-speaking countries and is often used by companies to recruit specialists. The platform attaches great importance to local networking and offers special functions such as event calendars and group chats.
Overall, both LinkedIn and XING offer numerous opportunities for professionals to network professionally and explore career opportunities. It ultimately depends on the individual needs of the user as to which platform is more suitable. Alternatively, you can of course use both portals at the same time. This primarily allows the range to be optimally expanded and utilized.
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