LinkedIn Tips and Tricks

[Michele Martin]

Some of the great tips and tricks on using LinkedIn are getting lost in the Introduction to LinkedIn Forum, so I'm moving them over here where they're easier to find and read through.

Tips on Writing Your LinkedIn Profile from Chris Brogan
**Make Your LinkedIn Profile Work for You
**Write Your LinkedIn Profile for Your Future

Tony Karrer has created a quick screencast on how to use LinkedIn to find an expert. Also check out his post and screencast on searching for expertise here.

Please feel free to add your favorites below, including:
**Strategies for writing and maintaining your profile
**Participating in LinkedIn Groups
**Using LinkedIn Questions and Answers
**Finding experts on LinkedIn

[Michele Martin]

FINDING YOUR PROMOTE MY PROFILE BUTTON ON LINKEDIN

From Kate

While at the LinkedIn site:

1.Click on your profile
2. Then click on 'Edit Public Profile Settings' near the top right hand corner of the window
3. A third of the way down the Edit Public Profile Settings window you will see Public Profile and the second bullet sentence states, 'Promote your profile with customize buttons'. Click on 'customize buttons'.

[Michele Martin]

A TIP FOR BEING FOUND ON LINKEDIN

From Lodi

"A tip from me as a recruiter; if you want to be find on Linked write down as much specialities, skills, etc as you can, as this ensure you overall search appearences. For example if you are working in the IT sector mention something like: HTML, .NET, VB6, knowledge. As everytime a recruiter looks for someone with .NET experience he will typ that word in to define his search and candidates who pop up."

[Jason Willensky]

As a consultant who spends most of my time in a "virtual" work environment, I've found LinkedIn to be a useful semi-formal networking tool. Some observations:

1. Leverage the tool. Take a look at your contacts and address books. Is your Outlook address book populated by different entries than your gmail contacts? Be sure to run both through the LinkedIn networking engine. Exporting your Outlook file might be daunting at first, but LinkedIn makes it relatively painless.

2. Have a plan when building your network. Think about who you want to add when you see that vast list of email contacts. Be selective. One day I might want to add local people in my community of practice. Another day I might want to add national or international people. This is a trick I use to avoid adding too many friends or random interesting folks -- that's what I use Facebook for.

3. Consider who complements you and your profession. As an instructional designer, do I want a graphic designer in my LinkedIn network? Sure. Friends who work as massage therapists or pet sitters? Facebook!

These tactics work for me, but I'm sure there are better ways to use LinkedIn as a networking tool. Ideas?

[Alana Daveduk]

I am def. going to get in there and update my LinkedIn Profile- ignored it. Now I see it can have great value for self promoting myself and how I can connect with others.

[Bill Graziadei, Ph.D.]

I loved the way Tony used an excellent Web 2.0 tool, Jing, to give us a timely search strategy lesson for one of our colleagues in how to find an SME in Linkedin while at the same time providing the rest of the community with the same. People are PLNs and PLNs can be one-way (take) or two-ways (give and take). Tony exemplifies the two-way philosophy of a PLN. Ciao and salute to Tony and rest of my PLN out there for teaching-learning, sharing and collaborating, Bill...

[paul lowe]

finally paid up for my linkedin membership, and its already paying off in several ways.

one way is that i got 3 great recommendations from colleagues and clients that i would have been embarrassed to ask for in any other context, but because it is such an accepted part of the linkedin ethos, it was really easy to do and a great confidence boost when they give a good reference.

And it was really useful today as i was part of a product advisory board, and checked some of the other participants who were interesting, found them on linked in, checked out their bios etc, and invited them to join my network - it would have been much harder to find them without it and then to approach them, somehow coming from within linked in seems more of a direct contact from the same 'club' that a cold call email - and this all took place in real time while we were participating in the online seminar.

so for finding out info on who you are dealing with either before, during or after a contact , and whether you know anyone who knows them, is a great resource to make the person more 'real'.

[Virginia Yonkers]

I recently realized as I looked at my contact list that I use my LinkedIn a bit differently than others, although this could be a good tool for instructional designers. Many on my contact list are former students. I often look at what they are doing, and might even send them a note to find out what they are working on, how effective the training was that they had, what I could do to improve my training/courses, and look at new trends. I actually do the same thing, looking at the help wanted ads to see which skills businesses are looking for and what are some of the trends in the workplace. I can do the same thing by looking at the job ads to see what organizations are looking for (in terms of skills and experience) and what skills and experience professionals are offering.

I also go to my contact list, click on network statistics, then scrolling down look at the regional and industry statistics. How would you use this? If I am doing some work in a certain industry, but find that I am weak in the contact area for that industry, I might look for some friends who have contacts in those industries to improve my business. If I am an independent consultant, it would help me see where and in which industries I might want to focus my business based on my contacts. Finally, it also gives possible other locations and industries in which I could branch into through my current network.

[Jeff Cobb]

I'm trying to spend some time thinking more about how to use various social networks tools practically and proactively for lifelong learning. My first efforts at this focused on LinkedIn, as I find I tend to use it more than most of the other networks with which I am involved (though Facebook is gaining, as are the number of Ning groups with which I am involved). I've posted the following on one of my blogs. May be of interest to some readers here:

7 LinkedIn Tactics for Lifelong Learning

Jeff

[Nikhil Kumar]

I have been trying to enter my honors and achievements into the Linked In Profile. The problem is it limits it to 1000 characters. Even with taking out event locations, conference names, etc., the total of publications alone crosses 1500 characters.

Any suggestions anyone?