100+ Smart Ways to Use LinkedIn

Heard a lot about the online professional social networking site, LinkedIn, but still don’t quite get it? Maybe you’ve tried it but don’t really know how to make it work for you? You’re certainly not alone. Here is an amazing collection of resources for the LinkedIn newcomer. Here, you’ll find over 100 smart ways to use LinkedIn to its full potential.

This resource is intended for people who…

• …are new to LinkedIn and wondering how to use it to help you in your business and career
• …have been using LinkedIn a while but felt like you haven’t really been accomplishing anything with it
• …are trying to persuade their friends to join LinkedIn and want to communicate the value proposition
• …think there’s no real value in LinkedIn (and those who want to rebutt them)

No matter how much I know about using LinkedIn, 10 million users (or some subset thereof) are collectively going to know a whole lot more about it than I do. In May 2007, I kicked off a group writing projectcalled “Smart Ways to Use LinkedIn”. What follows are the results of that project, plus some writings of my own, plus various blog posts and a couple of articles that fit the intent of this collection.

Business Development / Marketing / Sales

• A Tool to Help with Reference Selling – Dave Stein
• Getting More Than Just Answers – Diane K. Danielson
• How to Use LinkedIn to Build Your Business – Liz Ryan (via The Virtual Handshake blog)
• Market Your Company on LinkedIn – Gordon Choi
• Using LinkedIn for Market Research – Loren Baker / Jason Calacanis
• Secrets LinkedIn Can Tell You About Your Customers – Matt Asay
• Using LinkedIn to Make the Sale – Al Chase (excerpt from The Virtual Handshake)
• Warm Calling via LinkedIn – Alex Iskold

Career Management / Personal Branding / Resumes

• Becoming a Recognized Subject Matter Expert on LinkedIn – Barbara Rozgonyi
• Brush Up Your Resume – CarlenLea
• Enhance Your Resume with LinkedIn Testimonials – Harry Joiner
• LinkedIn and Career Management – Jason Alba
• LinkedIn as Resume 2.0 – Scott Sehlhorst
• Your Reputation: Create a Permalink – Todd Defren

Job Search

• Best Practices for a LinkedIn Job Search – Konstantin Guericke (via Dave Taylor)
• How Do I Use LinkedIn to Find a Job? – Dave Taylor
• How to Use LinkedIn to Find a New Position – Eric Mariacher
• How to Find a Job Using LinkedIn – Liz Ryan (via Dave Taylor)
• LinkedIn and Your Job Search – Alison Doyle
• Following Up on Inside Connections at Potential Employers – Scott Allen
• Searching the Hidden Job Market for Opportunities – Debra Feldman
• Using LinkedIn to Prepare for Your Job Interview – Darlene McDaniel

Recruiting

• Companies Use LinkedIn to Find Top Talent – Desire Athow

Growing Your Network

• Grow Your Network While You Don’t Need It – Eric Mariacher
• Growing Your Network Online – Kathie Thomas
• LinkedIn as Cult Builder – Matthew Reinbold

Keeping in Touch

• Borrowing the Expertise of Others – Eric Eggertson

Meeting Face-to-Face

• Breaking the Ice at a Meeting with LinkedIn – Pete Johnson
• Using LinkedIn to Fill Out Your Business Trip – Scott Allen
• Using LinkedIn for Travel – Marc Freedman
• Connecting with People in Your Network When Traveling – Stewart Rogers

Organizing and Extending Groups

• Using LinkedIn to Create a Granfalloon – F. John Reinke
• Pros and Cons of LinkedIn for Alumni Groups – Andrew Shaindlin

Miscellaneous

• Introducting Your Network to Each Other – Scott Allen
• Using LinkedIn to Find Celebrity Guests – Stan Relihan
• Unpredictable Benefits of LinkedIn – Nathan Gilliatt
• LinkedIn a Box – Brendon Connelly

Specific Jobs / Industries

• 10 Ways Journalists Can Use LinkedIn – Penelope Trunk
• LinkedIn for Startup Entrepreneurs: 5 Reasons to Join – Dharmesh Shah
• Five Ways IT Managers Can Get More Out of LinkedIn – Shane Schick
• Five Ways Authors Can Profit from LinkedIn – Mahesh Grossman

Lists

• How to Change the World: Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn – Guy Kawasaki
• 20 Ways to Use LinkedIn Productively – Web Worker Daily
• Making Your LinkedIn Business Network Pay Dividends – Tatsuya Nakagawa & Peter Paul Roosen
• Top Reasons to Use LinkedIn – Various, compiled by Chris Pirillo