Is there a better alternative to LinkedIn?

LinkedIn has become the dominant professional social networking platform, with over 800 million members as of 2022. However, some users are wondering if there are better alternatives out there. LinkedIn can feel restrictive at times, with limits on how many connections you can have and messages you can send unless you pay for premium services. The feed also tends to get cluttered with sponsored content and self-promotional posts. For those looking for a simpler, more focused professional networking experience, several alternative platforms aim to provide that.

What does LinkedIn offer?

LinkedIn provides a way for professionals to connect with each other, find jobs, promote their work, and build their online presence. Key features of LinkedIn include:

• Profiles – Users create professional profiles summarizing their work experience, education, skills, accomplishments, and more. Profiles serve as digital resumes.
• Feed – A newsfeed shows updates from your connections, companies you follow, and sponsored content.
• Connections – You can connect with colleagues, clients, peers, and more to build out your professional network. LinkedIn limits free accounts to about 500 connections.
• Groups – Users with shared professional interests can join industry, alumni, local, and interest groups to engage in discussions.
• Job listings – Millions of jobs are posted on LinkedIn, which has become one of the top job boards. Users can apply directly through LinkedIn.
• Articles and publishing – Users can publish long-form posts to share expertise and perspectives. LinkedIn also hosts its own blogging platform.
• Education and skills sections – Users can highlight their educational credentials and skills on their profile.
• Premium subscriptions – Paid plans like LinkedIn Premium provide additional features like unlimited profile views, messaging, and data insights.

In many ways, LinkedIn has become the go-to platform for professional networking and career development online. But are there alternatives that can provide a better experience?

Key shortcomings of LinkedIn

While LinkedIn offers a range of useful features, there are some frequent criticisms of the platform:

• Self-promotion and clutter – Many users complain about the feed becoming cluttered with self-promotional content, sponsored posts, and repetitive updates as people try to stand out.
• Limited free access – LinkedIn restricts the number of messages and connections available to free users, requiring a paid premium account to fully engage with your network.
• Privacy concerns – Some users are uncomfortable having all their professional information visible to their whole network and searchable publicly by default.
• Difficulty standing out – With over 800 million users, standing out and making connections on LinkedIn can be difficult without paid promotions.
• Spam and irrelevant messages – As user bases scale, unwanted recruitment spam messages often proliferate.
• Limited control over data – Users cede control over their professional data to LinkedIn when posting it on their platform.
• Algorithmic feed – The feed ranks and filters posts algorithmically, which some see as manipulative.

These issues have left some professionals wondering if alternative platforms could provide a better professional networking experience.

Top alternative professional networks

Here are some of the top alternative networks professionals are using:

1. AngelList

AngelList focuses on connecting startups with job seekers, investors, and service providers. It provides a tighter, niche community for those in the startup ecosystem. Key features include:

• Startup-focused profiles – Profiles highlight experience with startups.
• Job board – Startups can post openings to find talented candidates.
• Investor matching – Startups can connect with and pitch to investors.
• Talent recruiting – Startups can proactively reach out to candidates in the community.
• More signal, less noise – The exclusive startup focus cuts down on irrelevant content.

AngelList can be ideal for those looking to break into the startup world or connect with early-stage companies. It removes much of the noise of larger platforms. However, the exclusive focus limits its utility for those outside startup ecosystems.

2. GitHub Jobs

Given the huge demand for tech talent, GitHub launched GitHub Jobs as a niche recruiting and job board platform for tech professionals. Key features include:

• Tech-focused job listings – Employers can post tech job openings which are then surfaced across GitHub’s network.
• Integration with GitHub profiles – Candidates can cross-link their GitHub profiles showing actual coding work.
• Curated tech jobs – GitHub vets employers to feature opportunities from reputable companies.
• Location-based matching – Open tech roles can be discovered based on developer’s location.

For developers and other technical professions, GitHub Jobs is a more tailored alternative to LinkedIn. The focus is purely on connecting skilled tech candidates with promising opportunities at interesting companies.

3. Dribbble

Dribbble has emerged as a key networking and job board specifically designed for designers. Key aspects include:

• Designer profiles – Profiles highlight portfolios of design work, specialties, skills, and achievements.
• Design job board – Employers in need of designers can post available openings.
• Design community – Commenting and liking others’ work fosters community around design.
• Exclusive platform – Users must apply for access, keeping the community small and focused.

For illustrators, graphic designers, and other artists, the targeted Dribbble community provides much more relevant connections and opportunities compared to massive mainstream sites.

4. Kaggle

Kaggle connects data scientists through data science competitions and projects. Primary offerings include:

• Data science profiles – Users can highlight data science skills, projects, code, and experience.
• Competitions – Companies post competitions for data scientists to develop models and solutions.
• Datasets – A vast library of datasets is available for honing skills.
• Jobs board – Employers recruit for data science and analytics roles.
• Community – Forums connect data scientists interested in collaboration and discussion.

For data professionals, the competitions, datasets, and community make Kaggle a valuable alternative to LinkedIn for networking and surfacing opportunities.

5. Behance

Behance empowers creatives across disciplines to showcase their portfolios and connect. Notable features include:

• Creative portfolios – Creatives can publish robust project portfolios across mediums.
• Discovery and networking – Users can browse others’ work, follow creatives, and appreciate projects.
• Job listings – Creative job openings are posted ranging from design to writing and more.
• Adobe integration – Behance is owned by Adobe and integrates with Adobe apps like Photoshop and Illustrator.

The breadth of creatives and portfolios on Behance provide inspiration and networking at scale for creatives looking to build their personal brand and find work.

Choosing the right alternative professional network

When considering alternatives to LinkedIn, experts recommend evaluating based on your specific professional networking needs:

• Industry-specific options like AngelList or Dribbble can provide closer connections and opportunities in your field.
• Niche locations like GitHub Jobs or Kaggle help technologists and data professionals find the right fit roles.
• General creative networks like Behance work well for establishing an online presence across disciplines.
• Consider joining multiple platforms if you have diverse professional interests and networking needs.
• Evaluate the size and level of engagement of a network’s user base before committing time.
• Look for platforms aligning with your values around things like privacy and community-building.

There are an increasing number of professional networking alternatives tailored to different industries, interests, and values. While LinkedIn has scale, many professionals can benefit from selectively using alternatives alongside it or in place of it.

Table comparing key LinkedIn alternatives

Key takeaways

In summary, key points about evaluating alternatives to LinkedIn include:

• LinkedIn can suffer from spam, limited access, clutter, and algorithmic feeds.
• Top alternatives are tailored to startups, tech, design, data science, and creatives.
• Niche networks offer more focused, relevant connections and opportunities.
• Consider joining multiple platforms aligned to different interests.
• Evaluate user base size and industry relevance before committing time.
• Choose platforms that align with your professional values and needs.

While LinkedIn is the industry leader, niche platforms continue to gain adoption by tailoring to specific professional interests and goals. Evaluating alternatives based on your needs and values can help identify the most relevant professional networks to complement or replace LinkedIn.

Conclusion

LinkedIn disrupted professional networking and recruiting when it launched back in 2003. However, over time, some limitations have emerged around spam, algorithms, and feed clutter. This has opened the door for a range of niche professional networking platforms catering to specific industries, interests, and values.

For many professionals today, the ideal solution is maintaining a presence on LinkedIn while also selectively using more tailored alternatives. Someone interested in connecting with startups may spend time on AngelList, while a data scientist could leverage Kaggle. Well-matched platforms can provide closer connections, opportunities, and communities aligned with professional goals.

Evaluating your specific needs around networking, discovery, job seeking, and community is important for determining which LinkedIn alternatives to invest time in. But for those looking for more signal and less noise, more control over their data and connections, and a niche community, the expanding landscape of professional networking platforms has promising options to explore.