Why You Should Be on LinkedIn

Gone are the days when you could just sit down with the want ads on Sunday, send in your resume, and get interviews.  Now, everybody needs to work harder and leverage any advantage they can to find a great job. So, it’s more important than ever to have a strong network.

I actually remember the old days when we had Rolodexes. At the time, they were the best way to manage a network of contacts.  You would collect all of the information from somebody you met and transfer it all onto a small card. This was kind of neat because you could take the Rolodex with you from job to job and if you had a lot of contacts, they made a cool whoosh noise when you flipped through the stack of cards. They weren’t very convenient though. You had to keep updating cards all the time and invariably, some would get lost.  The Rolodex was a good tool for its time, but things have changed.

I like LinkedIn. You might be using it already and know everything there is to know about it. This post is really for those folks who might be thinking about joining, but aren’t sure it’s worth their time.

For the uninitiated, LinkedIn is a site where you can establish your identity and connect with people you know in a professional environment. Even better, you can see your colleagues’ networks. This creates the possibility of a referral down the road and those are what you will need to get your foot in the door to your next great job. A basic affiliation with LinkedIn is free.  You can also sign up for a paid monthly membership that offers some extras. Here are some of the basic things you can do on LinkedIn:

1. Create a profile that reflects your experience. Yes, this sounds a bit like a resume, doesn’t it? In a way it is, but it’s better. On LinkedIn, you get lots of space to write about your goals and to convey information about what you’ve done in the past. You can make changes when you want and on rare occasions, you might end up on a recruiter’s radar based on the information you post.
2. Look up people you know and connect to them. Remember that great guy who sat in the cubicle across from yours at A+ Software Company? Search for him on LinkedIn and you might find out he’s a Senior Director at an even better company now. Reconnect by sending him an invitation to join your network.
3. Send messages to contacts. There is an email client within LinkedIn that you can use to contact people in your network. This is great for staying in regular contact and making your contacts aware of your job search status.
4. Join groups. For just about any job or professional interest, there is a group on LinkedIn. Some are carefully moderated and you must apply for membership. Others are open and less formal. In any case, join some groups. Participate in conversations. If you have a meaningful dialogue, consider asking the other person to join your network.   
5. Ask questions and have them answered by people you don’t know yet.  On LinkedIn, you can post professional questions and solicit opinions and advice from other people. You can also act as an expert and answer their questions. This is a great way to create a conversation and make new contacts.
6. Research companies. When you are looking for your next job, you will need to find out about the companies where you want to apply. A Google search is a good place to start, but if you want to find out more, such as who is working at a company and, perhaps, whether you may know someone affiliated with that company, look them up within LinkedIn. 
7. Refer people to your other Internet activities. If you have a thriving blog where you write about your industry, or you are on Twitter, or if you just want to show people your company website, you can include links to those sites on your LinkedIn page.  Be mindful of what information you are putting out on the Internet and sharing with business associates when you link other social media to your LinkedIn profile. 

The above list is a general overview of some of the things you can do on LinkedIn. Once you get going, you will likely find other helpful tools and activities that can support your job search.

A note on social networks. As I have mentioned, LinkedIn is a professionally-oriented site, ideal for managing your network and your business identity.  You might be on Facebook or Myspace as well, but these are social networking environments that are designed for casual contact. I don’t recommend that you connect to a business associate in those networks unless you know that person outside of the office.