In case you haven’t heard, LinkedIn, “the largest professional networking site in the world,” helps people to connect with colleagues and classmates past and present. It’s a great way to increase your professional network and get in touch with people who can help you advance in your career. The other day I came across an article by Amy Levin-Epstein, LinkedIn: 3 ways to use it much more efficiently, in which LinkedIn’s Senior Manager of Corporate Communications and the company’s Connection Director shared new strategies for getting the most out of the site. They recommend: 1)using the site more regularly to stay up to date on the latest trends in your field including promotions, mergers, and best practices, 2) following some of the 2 million companies using LinkedIn which will provide you with automatic updates, like job opening, on your homepage, and 3) taking advantage of LinkedIn Answers.
LinkedIn Answers was new to me and the tip I was most excited to try out. This feature allows you to get targeted information from the LinkedIn community as well as show off your own skills and expertise by answering other people’s (did someone say “smartest kid in the class”) inquiries all while building your professional network.
If you’re not already signed up with LinkedIn, do it!!! and let us know if you have a LinkedIn tip.
augellsl
Brittany Stone
francine m bates
Joni Dolce
Melissa Roberts
Ni Gao
George H. Brice, Jr.
Vocational Voice
Bill Waynor
vocationalvoice: the integrated employment institute 
LinkedIn is so much more than a professional social networking site. many people do not know the purpose of it and it should be promoted on a larger scale. Nowadays, most things are done online or on a computer. This includes job searches. Now, LinkedIn makes it a two way street in the business field. By uploading your professional information such as resume and any other information you choose, not only can you view job opening for companies such as Google and Apple, but they can find you as well. Companies know who they are looking for and by publishing your information and expertise it weans you out from the pile making it easier for you to find that dream job. Constantly checking in and job searching, following company pages, and responding on the answers page increases your change of finding the job you wanted, or the job finding you. Knowledgeable posts in the “Answers Blog” helps employers see that you are a high quality asset to their company. LinkedIn is a great tool that more people seeking a job in today’s modern high tech world should utilize.
In the technology driven word in which we live today, LinkedIn provides a platform for networking that is second to none. There are many advantages to participating in a site such as LinkedIn. For example, creating a LinkedIn profile is quick, easy and it is free of charge. Once a profile has been established, the profile becomes as beneficial to the user as it does to the professional community with which the user is involved. Employers are able to browse professionals within the particular network, allowing them to prescreen potential employees, thereby saving both time and money. Similarly, users that connect with former employers, colleagues, and classmates can potentially benefit by securing written recommendations or testimonies having to do with job performance that will serve to strengthen the user’s profile when viewed by a potential employer. Networking on a platform such as LinkedIn lends to a mutual exchange of information rather than simply viewing a company website and reading the mission statement and history of the organization. Instead, through LinkedIn, users are able to browse the company’s information while at the same time reviewing any potential connections to the company through the user’s network of connections. Two former classmates provide a terrific example of how to employ the network of connections on LinkedIn. One friend was looking to relocate from Arizona back to her home state of New Jersey when she came across a hot job lead. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that one of her friends had formerly worked for the company with which she was seeking employment. The friend seeking employment contacted the former employee friend of the company to inquire about the company, and whether the gentleman advertising the position was someone she knew. As it turned out, the job seeker was delighted to hear that her friend was still in contact with the gentleman posting the job offer, and was happy to make a recommendation call to him on her behalf. As it turned out, the job-seeking friend landed the job advertised on LinkedIn. While her qualifications and experience surely landed her the job, the personal reference was a benefit, one that she would not have had without the networking platform on LinkedIn.