So you're up to speed on the social networking tools of the tech generation: You have your own MySpace page to share the details of your stamp collection; and you've used Facebook to get a more complete profile of job candidates under consideration. Then you get an e-mail from someone you met at a university alumni event asking you to become one of their LinkedIn connections. Do you join? Or if you're already registered with LinkedIn (chances are you are), do you make a connection with this person you don't know well? What are the benefits of having a long list of "links" on LinkedIn?
What Is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/) is an online social network for professionals. Though it is based on the same principles as other social sites such as MySpace and Facebook, LinkedIn is designed not for connecting with friends, posting your favorite songs and planning get-togethers, but purely for professional networking. It is free to join, though you can pay to upgrade to a premium account that gives you more tools for finding and contacting people.
When you join LinkedIn, you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by current and former colleagues, clients and partners. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you. Your LinkedIn network (which can be constantly growing) consists of your connections, your connections' connections and the people they know, linking you to thousands of professionals.
Who Uses LinkedIn?
More than 16 million professionals around the world have registered with LinkedIn, and Heyman Associates Inc. -- a leading executive search firm - has seen a marked increase in LinkedIn connection requests, as well as references to LinkedIn among candidates.
Though you might think of any online site as targeted more to the younger generation, in fact all ages are represented on LinkedIn, and all of the Fortune 500 companies have executives who are members.
One of the most interesting and valuable aspects of the site is that you are not limited to just your contacts: You can see if one of your contacts can serve as a degree of separation with someone else you want to contact. LinkedIn provides the framework for you to contact these second-degree, third-degree or even more distant connections in a secure way through a person you both know.
These second- and third-degree contacts quickly add up. For example, if you have 57 direct connections, you could have more than 10,000 second-degree contacts and more than 727,000 third-degree contacts.
How Can You Use LinkedIn?
Remember: communication is really about networking, and this is another way to network. A significant benefit of LinkedIn is being able to find people you have lost touch with, or to track people's career moves.
You can post job descriptions and use LinkedIn to find job candidates, and you can evaluate relationships and connections to decide whom you might use as a reference. You can also monitor who has reviewed your account (though this feature is limited with the free membership).
Among other things, through your network you can:
- Find potential clients, service providers, subject experts and partners
- Be found for business opportunities
- Search for jobs
- Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals
- Post and distribute job listings
- Find high-quality candidates
- Be introduced to other professionals through the people you know
Key Considerations
Like anything else done online, be prudent with your personal information and connections.
Carefully consider what names you're putting in your contact list and be discrete so you don't reveal important relationships that do not need to be public. Also be selective about whose LinkedIn invitations you accept (perhaps that acquaintance from your alumni function warrants a polite decline).
Keep in mind that colleagues or superiors could and probably will see your LinkedIn profile, so be sure you've been accurate and forthright with your titles and job descriptions. If you are concerned that others may see that you've checked the box saying you're interested in job inquiries, you probably don't need to worry. The impression we have from talking with many of our clients is that employers are on LinkedIn too, and it is now the norm.
Finally, remember that while LinkedIn is a great networking tool, it will never replace face-to-face relationship building. You still need to rely on your research, writing and conversation skills, as well as your intuition.
LinkedIn At A Glance
Founded: 2003
Headquarters: Mountain View, Calif.
Members: 16 million globally (growing daily)
Industries represented: 150
Members who are senior executives: More than 1.4 million
Average new members per minute: 25
Fortune 500 companies with executives among LinkedIn members: All 500
Word on the Street: Similar Sites
Facebook, though it has a different demographic and focus
Xing.com, German-based professional site that claims 3.5 million users worldwide
Monster.com, Yahoo! HotJobs and CareerBuilder, online recruiting sites with some networking capability
