If you are a business person and you are online, you have
surely heard of LinkedIn. In fact, with 19 million users
around the globe, the odds are good that you have already
created your own LinkedIn account.
What exactly is LinkedIn? It is an online network of people
all over the world. While technically, it is one of many
social networking sites on the web, LinkedIn is probably
the best know and most widely used business networking
site. Additionally, while it has similarities to well-known
social networking sites such as MySpace, there are also
fundamental differences that make it much more useful for
business purposes.
So, the next question, of course, might reasonably be,
"What exactly is a business networking site?" And more
precisely, "Why should I even care and how can it benefit
me?" If you are asking these questions, you are definitely
not alone! While there are huge numbers of people creating
LinkedIn accounts and building their networks, there are
relatively few who are getting the optimal benefit out of
their effort.
According to LinkedIn's own explanation, the mission of
LinkedIn is "to help you be more effective in your daily
work and open doors to opportunities using the professional
relationships you already have."
Even if you are not conducting a current job search, for
ongoing career management and personal branding efforts,
any tool that can help you network more effectively and
efficiently should be of great interest. Again, in
LinkedIn's own words:
"When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your
professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find
and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners.
You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts
to join LinkedIn and connect to you.
Your network consists of your connections, your
connections' connections, and the people they know, linking
you to thousands of qualified professionals." Through
LinkedIn, then, you can search for jobs, you can easily
make personal "inside" connections in relation to job
opportunities, you can promote your personal brand and
qualifications and be found and pursued for job
opportunities, and you can form relationships that are
critical to your career success and progression.
But remember, effective networking requires reciprocity
through developing and nurturing win-win relationships.
Through LinkedIn, you will also have the opportunity to
help out those in your own network, answering questions,
providing relevant leads, and helping them make connections
to further whatever their goals are.
In the definitive guide to using LinkedIn for business and
career management purposes, "I'm On LinkedIn: Now What?"
Jason Alba explains that there are six major benefits to
using LinkedIn:
1) The ability to be known and enhance your personal brand
2) The ability to be found by recruiters or other hiring
authorities
3) The ability to find others and make important connections
4) The opportunity to learn and share
5) The ability to connect with group members
6) The opportunity to show you are plugged in to current
technology
If you already have a LinkedIn account and have an
established network in place. Let me urge you to take a
closer look at how you are using it. Have you fully
explored the features and benefits? Have you enhanced your
profile? Have you joined any Groups? Participated by
answering the questions of those in your network? LinkedIn
is an excellent and very effective networking tool, but
only if you use it!
If you have an established a LinkedIn account, but have
just let it sit, unused, now is the time to log on and
learn how to get the maximum benefit from it. Now-before
you are actively job searching-is the best time to work on
building up and cultivating your network. And, if you are
new to LinkedIn and haven't yet created an account, there
is no better time than the present! The more professionals
that use LinkedIn, the more effective it will be.
Happy networking!
----------------------------------------------------
Certified resume writer and personal branding strategist,
Michelle Dumas http://www.linkedin.com/in/michelledumas is
the director of Distinctive Career Services LLC. Through
Distinctive Documents http://www.distinctiveweb.com and her
Executive VIP Services http://www.100kcareermarketing.com
Michelle has empowered thousands of professionals all
across the U.S. and worldwide.
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