How Beginners Should Use LinkedIn to Build a Strong Network of Industry Contacts

LinkedIn is one of the most power tools for introducing your background, skills, writing and ideas with others that share your interests and need your experience in the industry. Unlike most social networking sites, LinkedIn strongly opposes blanket adding of friends and instead encourages you to remember and track where and when you met the other person. This kind of information can be invaluable since it avoids spam and allows friendly and purposeful interaction. So how do you use LinkedIn?

Use LinkedIn to Create and Track Your Resume Online to Establish Your LinkedIn Profile

In your profile on LinkedIn, you can upload a resume in Word, PDF, HTML or text format by clicking on the Import Resume button. The function asks you for a file and then stores information about schools, work experience and interests in your profile.

Alternatively you can enter the data manually. Enter a good summary that describes your current position and goals.

Enter a list of schools and the dates attended. Enter a list of employers and positions and the dates worked in that position. To have a strong statement of your skills and experience read "Get the Interview and the Job with Specific Technical Skills and Responsibilities on Your Resume."

Enter your blog name and web site if you have them.

Upload a recent photograph of yourself that has a professional image. Make sure your face is recognizable and friendly.

Use good business color clothing-power red, reliable blue and black.

Select the most recent information to appear on your public profile.

Use LinkedIn to Locate Your Contacts with LinkedIn Membership and Invite Others to Join

One of the strongest functions LinkedIn has is the ability to locate contacts who attended the same school and worked for the same employer that you did. Click Add Connections to add people you know from email. Then click on Classmates, then the school, and look through the list of people and see if you know them. Click invite if you do, it will be a great way to in touch with anyone with whom you lost contact. Then click on colleagues, and the employer, and do the same. Periodically use the "find new" function to locate any colleagues and classmates that recently joined LinkedIn.

Use LinkedIn to Connect with Other Business and Leisure Contacts with Similar Interests

Use the groups function in LinkedIn to search for organizational groups that you participate in, including groups of people that read the Economist, read National Geographic, participate in Audubon, or like to golf. Many of these groups facilitate forums where you introduce yourself to others and share your opinions about ongoing situations around the world. Once you've chatted with others and find common interests, be sure to add them as a new contact

Use LinkedIn to Find Jobs or Post Jobs

In addition to having Boeing listed as a former employer, I found a group of Boeing alumni, those that formerly worked at Boeing. They had a job posted on their page. In addition to finding jobs through your groups and contacts, you can also use the find job function by entering a job title and a zip code, or city-state combination.

Use LinkedIn's Connection to TripIt to Track Your Travel Plans and Former Adventures

TripIt allows you to keep a running count of the miles you've traveled around the world by entering the places you've been to. When you enter your trips, they can show up on your LinkedIn Page. To connect and enter data in TripIt, you click on More then My Travel. If you work in the travel industry, this can be and especially strong way to track and interact with others that travel.

Use LinkedIn to ShowCase Your Writing and Reading Around the Web

By setting up connections to Twitter, Facebook and other groups, LinkedIn provides a steady feed of your interactions around the web.

LinkedIn Has a Strong Learning Center to Aid You In Your Use of LinkedIn

Just get an account, then click on More, then Learning Center.