Shanu Singh Guliani

Networking Using Sites Such as LinkedIn
December 10, 2007

A few of my friends and colleagues sent me invitations from LinkedIn. I chose to accept out of fear of being rude to my friends—then the other day I was bored and decided to actually log in and create a username and password. I had a few invites show up—some fun, one I got from a gentlemen who buys for one of the oldest independent jewelry stores; others were borderline junk email from people looking for quantity over quality. When it came to spending time on this site—I was very passive; accepted a few invites, and then just sat there wondering if this is what networking over the net was all about.

These networking sites can be powerful tools—but you have to take the time to meet quality individuals. It’s just like networking in real life. For best results using any networking sites—make sure to do the following:

1. Account Preferences: Make sure your email address is associated with the right account—meaning if you are job hunting you might want email to go to another email address such as your Gmail or Yahoo account.
2. Profile: Make sure to edit your profile. Put as much info about yourself as you can. Are you looking to meet others with the same profession—if so, be sure to list yours?
3. Email Address: The free email address these sites give you—change the generic one you are assigned with and put your name in it. By making your profile more public, it’s more likely the search engines will pick it up.
4. Recommendations: LinkedIn allows you to write recommendations for others you meet or are linked too—this is the best way to get others to write about you too and it means your info is attached to theirs and shows up with a link back to yours.

Posted by Shanu Singh Guliani on December 10, 2007 | Comments (0)