Why You Should Be Using LinkedIn
SoapBox Rants
By Pamela Bratcher-McMillan
President, Chair & CEO, of PETAL et al
Want a more productive way to spend your time social networking? Try LinkedIn. There is no better way to make a connection with people that share your interests professionally. Not only is it a good way to find prospective employment, it is also a good way to locate staff. People are sharing vitas/resumes, portfolios, updates, blogs, etc. They even have endorsements for areas of expertise from LinkedIn members that have worked with them or know their work professionally.
If you’d prefer not to share your profile image with the public, you have the option to turn your image off to people you are not linked up with.
LinkedIn is a good way to share what you are doing with users so keep your status updates fresh, and keep people engaged with your information. There are also discussion groups where you can open dialogue on topics and issues of interest or you can jump into an ongoing discussion posted by someone else. Since LinkedIn members are posting professionally, there is less of a chance of trolls or bullies jumping into conversations. Most will try to be on their best behavior because it is quite possible a prospective or a current employer is monitoring their activity.
Mentor or Speaker, you never know who might be on the lookout for someone with your expertise for a speaking engagement or you are chosen to be the online Guru to mentor those looking to do the type of work you do. This is a great place for students to make contacts to help guide them through their career journey. It is also a great place for students to reach out for internships.
The best way to figure out how to use LinkedIn to your advantage is to start by creating an account, and find out how many people are there that you know, and catch up on what they are doing these days.
Pamela Bratcher-McMillan is a technology Expert and President, Chair & CEO, of PETAL et al. She is also a weekly columnist for CopyLine Magazine
