20 Ways to Use LinkedIn Productively

I just happened on a fantastic article on ways to use LinkedIn for job searching, reference checking, research, and more.  The entire article can be read at http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/06/15/20-ways-to-use-linkedin-productively/

Some ideas relevant to job searchers include using LinkedIn to help prep yourself for an interview, to get to know a particular company, to express and promote your personal brand, and to help improve your Google results.

While you are reading, you may also want to read about using the LinkedIn profile as a resume http://www.linkedintelligence.com/smart-ways-to-use-linkedin-1-linkedin-as-resume-20/ .  While I certainly would not recommend this as an actual replacement for your resume, it has excellent value as a supplement.

Finally, here is an interesting article on enhancing your LinkedIn profile http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/01/linkedin_profil.html . This is definitely something that you will want to do if you are considering using LinkedIn in a serious way during your job search.

In fact, I certainly need to kick it up a notch with my own LinkedIn profile http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/1b/881

So, you may wonder why I have been researching all of this. The reason is simple: I am considering adding the development of a LinkedIn profile to the list of deliverables that I produce for clients through my Executive VIP Program. I'm still a few months from rolling the service out, but it is something you will almost certainly see me offering by the end of the summer.

Comments

[Dan Schawbel]

One of my friends got an interview through just having his profile on LinkedIn. It seems to work.