As if Contacts, Mentions, Plingm and Pulse are not enough excitement for LinkedIn users, today LinkedIn revealed key design changes aimed at streamlining the LinkedIn experience and helping us to more easily discover and discuss the content that matters most.
As with all new LinkedIn features, these changes are on "rollout", meaning some users will see the changes before others.
The first thing I noticed when I logged into my account was the top navigation bar. I thought perhaps LinkedIn was having a tech meltdown! But no, this was all part of the big changes yet to come. This latest rendition of the navigation bar reveals a simplified menu of tabs to more directly access areas of the site we use most - company pages, groups, Influencer-created content, and the new and improved "channels" meant to expand our use of LinkedIn Today.
How Has the Search Bar Changed?
Notice that the search bar, long a staple of the top right corner, has been enlarged and centered for easier access. However, gone are the dropdown options of the past. Now, we'll simply type what we're looking for into the search box and a comprehensive page of results will pull content from across LinkedIn, including people, jobs, groups and companies.
How to Access Your Account Settings
Hover over your profile photo at the top right of your screen, and you'll notice that, along with your account settings, this is also where we'll now sign out of our accounts. Additionally, from here we can access our account status (upgrade, anyone?), change our profile language, review our privacy settings, access the new and improved Help Center, and access job postings and advertisements.
Companies, Groups and Influencers are now found under the Interests tab.
Additional Changes to Homepage
For example, the top articles of the day appear in your updates stream to help you stay on top of the latest news, without having to look or click elsewhere. News Articles can be browsed in the same place. Simply hover over All Updates, then select LinkedIn Today to view the latest.
Confused? This LinkedIn video may be helpful: