100+ Smart Ways to Use LinkedIn

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 project called “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. It is a dynamic, growing collection, so if you have anything you would like to add, please contact me and I’ll add it.

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 fromThe 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

*blog post from http://www.linkedintelligence.com