Getting Started with LinkedIn
I just got a nudge to do more "What can LinkedIn do for ME" posts. I was planning on breaking down that presentation I'm doing locally into digestible post format anyway, so I might as well get started.
You may be confused about what LinkedIn can do for you. Do not hesitate to check out the Help and FAQs, to which you can find a link at the bottom of every page (right corner, under Company Info). They have several FAQs, from the top ten questions, to feature-specific FAQs. If you're unsure if you want to use it, check out the FAQs. At this time, they don't have a virtual tour.
Once you sign up for LinkedIn, you should work on your profile. If it seems as intimidating as doing a resume from scratch, no worries. LinkedIn will walk you through the process. It will actually tell you how complete your profile is. How do they determine that? LinkedIn Profiles are complete when they contain all of the following:
How do these benefit you, as someone who is looking for ways of cultivating your network?
By listing current and past positions, you're enabling people to find you to connect to you. It also makes it easier for LinkedIn to find connections for you. If you look at the home tab, which has the dashboard, you'll occasionally see that you have a certain number of new colleagues from that organization... and you can connect with them without using an introduction.
Education works the same way, only it will tell you that you have a certain number of new classmates on LinkedIn. You can adjust the years to all the years you attended, or just the graduating year.
Profile summary and Specialties helps those who are looking for talent or resources find you via key word searches. The beta feature "who's looking at you" tells me in the last 10 days, four recruiters have looked at my profile (from different companies).
Recommendations - my favorite feature - are online references. Imaging someone looking to hire someone with your skills looking at your profile, and seeing what others think of you (remember, you have to approve these recommendations). You may go from being one of the masses who submitted a resume to someone who is being called in for interviews. If you're a service provider, this is absolutely essential. If the best "handyman" can be listed on LinkedIn as a recommended service provider, why can't you?
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