MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 15, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network with more than 200 million members, today released its findings in regards to the top professional goals people want to achieve in 2013.

Long after all of the presents have been unwrapped and the ball has dropped, a lot of attention is paid to resolutions — the most common ones being losing weight and drinking less — that most people won't keep past the middle of January. LinkedIn surveyed more than 7,100 professionals around the world and found that 74 percent of people globally made a professional goal for 2012, and of that number, fifty-six percent of those professionals said that they actually achieved their goal last year. In the United States specifically, 70 percent of people made a professional goal for 2012, and 56 percent of those people succeeded at accomplishing that goal.

Here are the top five professional goals people in the U.S. said they want to achieve in 2013:

1. Professional development through learning new skills (48 percent)
2. Network more/build more professional relationships (46 percent)
3. Get a new job/career (29 percent)
4. Get a raise (28 percent)
5. Get promoted or move into a leadership role (25 percent)

"Since so many people achieved the professional goals they set out to achieve last year, it's crucial for them to continue raising the bar in 2013," said Nicole Williams, LinkedIn's career expert. "As you build your business plan of attack for the New Year, keep in mind the skills that you accrued in 2012 — and continue to build on them. Don't rest on your laurels. Keep striving to differentiate yourself from the competition."

For people in the U.S., "financial security and growth" (55 percent) was the one thing they said that they most wanted to achieve with their professional goal this year. "Better work/life balance" (24 percent) was the second most common response followed by "stronger workplace performance" (16 percent).

The No. 1 professional goal globally for 2013 is, "professional development through learning new skills." Out of all the options, survey respondents could chose from, these countries had the highest percentage of professionals who wanted to achieve each of these specific goals we asked them about:

• Professional development through learning new skills: Brazil (61 percent of professionals selected this choice)
• Network more/build more professional relationships: France (55 percent)
• Get a new job/career: United Arab Emirates (42 percent)
• Get promoted or move into a leadership role: Singapore (39 percent)
• Start my own business: Indonesia (37 percent)
• Get a raise: Indonesia (36 percent)
• Be more confident and engaged in client, customer and/or team meetings: India (34 percent)
• Retire/prepare for retirement: United States (11 percent)

"Given the sour economy and the tough job market, some people may be surprised to hear that 'network more/build more professional relationships' ranked higher than 'get a new job/career,'" said Williams. "In reality, 'network more/build more professional relationships,' is probably one of the savviest goals a professional can make. Knowing someone is the easiest way to get your foot in the door. When done properly, cultivating new business contacts can open up not only new job opportunities, but also help you land new client accounts and even strategic partnerships. LinkedIn makes building those crucial contacts easy."

Here are a few ways you can become a networking ninja in the New Year:

Share because you care

• People who share articles or content with their LinkedIn network at least once a week are nearly ten times more likely to be contacted by a recruiter for new opportunities than people who don't share with their network. So, go ahead, share that great industry piece you just read with your network. Tell your network what your business goal is and ask them to chime in with what they hope to achieve in 2013, so you can lend them a helping hand.

New Year, new you

• People with photos are seven times more likely to have their profiles viewed. Once you upload a photo, your network will get an update saying that you just added a new photo. That subtle nudge may prompt them to revisit the rest of your LinkedIn Profile.

Become a groupie

• There are more than one million LinkedIn Groups that exist on the platform. Check out groups like the Connect: Professional Women's Network, Powered by Citi, Jet: The Business Traveler Network, Powered by Capital One and even the Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples. You'll be meeting other professionals and expanding your network in no time!

Visit the LinkedIn Blog to learn more about LinkedIn's top professional goals study and to download the infographic.

About LinkedIn

Founded in 2003, LinkedIn connects the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful. With more than 200 million members worldwide, including executives from every Fortune 500 company, LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network on the Internet. The company has a diversified business model with revenues coming from its talent solutions, marketing solutions and premium subscriptions businesses. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, LinkedIn has offices across the globe.

The LinkedIn logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=11096