At some point in my career, I started a collection of my own business cards. By now, the stack is probably an inch thick. Knowing that other people's contact information probably changes just as fast, I became a LinkedIn fan the first time I heard about it. "An auto-updating Rolodex" is how Matt Lee, owner of the interactive marketing company Bingo Theory, Inc., described it to me.
Within a couple of years, LinkedIn had led me to my dream job. Professor Jim Arnold, whom I'd never met but with whom I shared a LinkedIn group connection, posted a notice that he was collecting résumés for a writing instructor position in the University of St. Thomas full-time MBA program. I responded to his post and sent a résumé. Three rounds of interviews later, my LinkedIn connection became my UST colleague, and my belief in the power of LinkedIn had increased exponentially.
As with all approaches to networking, the more you put into LinkedIn, the more you'll get out of it:
- Of course, you have to start with the basic profile - that can be done in less than an hour if you have an up-to-date résumé to copy and paste from.
- Import your contact list from Outlook or other e-mail applications. LinkedIn will tell you who is already a member. You can send the boilerplate invitations to people you know well. If there's any chance that someone won't recognize your name, customize the wording: "I enjoyed working with you on the xyz project, and I would like to keep in touch."
- Ask a few people to write recommendations for you. Volunteer to write recommendations for others, as well. While interviewing at St. Thomas, I was never asked for references. My LinkedIn recommendations addressed my writing background and public speaking abilities - presumably in enough detail to satisfy the committee.
- Join some groups in areas of interest. There are alumni groups, groups for people who work or have worked at particular corporations, professional groups, nonprofit groups and more. You can set your preferences for how often you want updates. Take the time to read through them - that's how I found my ideal posting.
- Stay active. Every update to your profile is sent automatically to all of your connections. You can use your updates to tell people about recent career activities and accomplishments. You can also use the space to recognize the accomplishments of a colleague, a client or a favorite nonprofit group.
- Be creative. On a couple of occasions, when I've heard about consulting projects, I've sent a message through LinkedIn, rather than traditional e-mail, and attached a résumé. The LinkedIn messages get much quicker response.
Judy Nollet is a writer and instructional designer (and fellow member of the Digital Learning Forum) who has also experienced the power of LinkedIn networking. "While I can't 'prove' the causation, I did get a great assignment a few weeks after connecting with someone on LinkedIn," she said. "We had been in touch previously - though not recently. I believe that connecting on LinkedIn (and, possibly, her seeing my updates) put me in the coveted 'top of mind' position when she was looking for a freelance writer."
While LinkedIn has re-connected me with some long-lost colleagues, I find myself envying my MBA students who will have this tool at their disposal throughout their careers. But wherever you are in your career stage, get LinkedIn today at: linkedin.com