There are a lot of social networking sites out there that can help you network with other people on the internet. Some of them are there to share stories, images or video. LinkedIn is there to help you share yourself with other professionals. You can get endless amounts of work on LinkedIn if you simply sign up and add people that you already know to your network. Understanding the importance of LinkedIn and how LinkedIn can help you become a more networked and well-known industry professional is impossibly helpful for everyone.

LinkedIn can help you become better networked

#1 It can bring you more money and job opportunities

LinkedIn can bring you job opportunities, freelance and fulltime that can help you to move of within your industry. It doesn’t even require you to do much extra work, you may want to add others in your industry but aside from that there is very little work that needs to be done to ensure that your name is in the industry pool. You may want to participate in LinkedIn answers to get your name out there a little better. There are also posted jobs on LinkedIn that you can put your name in the hat for aside from just being networked with others.

#2 It can help you keep in touch with industry leaders

You don’t have to just add the people you know on LinkedIn, you can have others introduce you to someone that you may want to know. Someone that can help you with your career or possibliy someone that would be willing to go into a business venture with you. I have been contacted by multiple people about blogging ventures recently through LinkedIn.

#3 Stay in touch with other professionals

You may have the best job out there or be an industry leader yourself, but LinkedIn is an easy and professional way to stay in touch with other professionals you have worked with or for. It is also an excellent way to stay in touch with other professionals in your industry that you may have met at a convention. It is better than sharing your MySpace or Facebook account and other professionals getting to see how unprofessional you really are.

#4 Get recommended by other professionals

You can easily get recommended by other professionals that you have worked with by just asking. These recommendations add a lot of power to your ability to get hired or your caliber of professionalism within your industry. The more people that recommend you the better your profile will look to others in your industry and connections list.

#5 Get answers to your questions from other professionals

You can easily ask a question on LinkedIn to find help from other industry professionals. Their answers area is very helpful and there are always quick responses to your questions. It can even be a way for you to further network— beyond the normal benefits of getting a quick and reliable answer to your questions.

#6 LinkedIn is your online resume

There are more and more people leaning towards a paperless method of doing business. Global warming is a real issue. I would personally almost prefer to see someones LinkedIn profile before they are hired then a regular resume. There is a lot more information available on a LinkedIn profile than would be available on a resume. You have your work history, school history, bio, web sites and how much work you have put into networking with other professionals. Which says a lot about who you are and how serious you are about the industry you are in.

#7 LinkedIn is like having a website

For those that don’t have a website or a means to have people locate them on Google. LinkedIn fills that void. I know that I see my personal LinkedIn profile come up in Google near the top of the results. This can help other professionals find you if they have lost your phone number or email address. It can even help other companies locate you if they are interested in hiring you for contract or full time work.

#8 Helps you keep track of you

I know that anytime I have to go and make a new resume I always have to reference my old resume to make sure I don’t miss any important points that I want to include. It is nice to have an online version of your resume to reference and ensure that you are including all the pertinent information that you will need to use.

#9 You can put your picture on it

Last year they added the ability to put your picture on your profile. You can now be recognized easier if someone has forgotten your name but remembers what you look like. It is also helpful for people to remember what you look like if it has been awhile since they met you. Especially if you are about to meet them in a public place that may require somewhat quick recognition.

#10 It isn’t MySpace

It isn’t going to send you spam from people wanting to be your friend. There isn’t a way to spam LinkedIn users and there isn’t any way to add additional code that can be manipulated to trick you into giving out your LinkedIn account information. You don’t have to worry about other not-so-savvy professionals adding glitter and 18 videos to their profile either.

What reasons do you use LinkedIn?

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