Professional Networking Sites: LinkedIn

The world is much different today than it was ten years ago. Today we have social networking sites for both personal and professional purposes. We all know the personal social networking groups such as Facebook, match.com, atlinks.com, YouTube and others that have become common words in our vocabulary. We also know about LinkedIn, Focus, ZoomInfo and others for professional networking sites. It is very important to use these professional networking sites in your career search and it is just as important to be sure there is nothing incriminating on these personal networking sites.


LinkedIn Rules for the Job Seeker:

• Invite Others: Make sure you know the person you invite and don’t expect people you do not know to connect. If you feel the need to connect with someone get an introduction.
• Accept Invites: Don’t accept invites from people you do not know unless you were introduced from someone else and it was recommended for your career.
• The quantity of connections is not important as the quality of your contacts. More VP, directors, managers, team leads and fewer peers is better.
• Subscribe to a few local LinkedIn groups: Skip the bad news and look for articles and discussions about companies hiring. Look for job seeker tips. Most importantly, be informed about your local business climate.
• Ask for recommendations: On LinkedIn I have been asked by colleagues to write recommendations and I have asked for recommendations from others. In a sense these recommendations are references.
• Reconnect: If you have lost track of people you worked with, LinkedIn is a great way to reconnect with those you liked and the people with whom you worked well. I stay connected to those who I generally want to succeed in life as they want me to succeed.
• Ask people for introductions: Make sure you ask the person you know if it is OK to use their name. Don’t “name drop” unless you have permission.
• Ask connections for job leads: If you get a lead that is not good for you, try to pass the lead on to others in your network. They may do the same for you in return.

Using LinkedIn is a form of professional self marketing. Using your connections, is a good way to get your name “out there” to those that are hiring or know of others that are hiring. Your LinkedIn recommendations tell employers that you have performed well, are well liked, respected and can do the job. Social Networking is a tool in your toolbox that needs to be used, but don’t forget about old fashion networking.

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Are you using Career Builder, Monster, Dice, Hot Jobs, and so on as part of your job search? http://polls.linkedin.com/p/66041/roibz