I had the pleasure of co-facilitating a workshop on LinkedIn this week. There were more than 20 people in the room with varying degrees of familiarity with the LinkedIn platform. It was a fun event, and we received some great feedback on the usefulness of the tool, particularly for these folks, many of whom are in a job search.
They say you never learn something until you teach it. What I learned was just how far this platform has come in the past 6 months. As an early adopter, I sometimes take it for granted. But seeing it through the eyes of a newcomer really highlighted just how powerful this tool set is.
LinkedIn is:
- Your Personal website. It’s YOU.com (just Google yourself and see)
- Your LIVING Rolodex (it grows exponentially as you nurture it)
- A “P [professional] RM” System (moves with you from job to job)
- A Social Media Platform (hooks into Twitter, “like”, “sharing,” etc.)
- A Database of Corporate Information (“Company” entity added)
- A Job Posting / Search System (powerful for recruiters /job-seekers)
If you (or anyone you care about) are still not on LinkedIn, you need to get on pronto. If you are a power user, it’s time to take a look at the new features available to you. LinkedIn has centralized some very useful training information in a section called ”The Learning Center” http://learn.linkedin.com/ where you can quickly update your knowledge and skills.
Get to it!
