Linkedin Blog

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen is a New York-based staff writer for TIME Magazine. She writes about workplace trends on her blog called “Work in Progress” – a daily look at life on the job. The following tips are an extract from Lisa’s post on tricks and tips for networkers, job hunters and hirers (Source: Lisa’s workplace blog via TIME).

Get to know the “advanced search” function. This is a great and probably underused tool. The page allows you to narrow a search with industry categories and titles, but the most handy search weapon is the keyword search. Say you’re looking for a new job in your industry and you want to find out about corporate culture at Apple. Type in “‘IT consultant’ and Apple” (you can use quote marks to search for a phrase and the connectors “and” and “or”), and you’ll get two categories of people who define themselves as such: those in your network of connections, and those in the wider LinkedIn universe. Scale the six degrees of separation. Whenever you view someone’s profile, LinkedIn shows you in a handy chart on the right the degrees of separation between you and the person profiled. I, for one, respond more friendly-like to friends of friends, so if I’m going to say whazzup to Steve Jobs, I know it would help if I had an intro from his nephew, who went to school with my next-door neighbor. (That didn’t happen, btw. But you get my drift.) Check out a person’s history.You can learn a lot about someone on their profile page, if they let you (LinkedIn’s “accounts and settings” function lets you set privacy controls). For instance, a little dinky called the “one-click reference” at the top of the page tells you all the people on the network who worked with the person at the company. That’s hugely useful for journalists digging for sources, but also if you’re expanding your business contacts…. (continued on Lisa’s blog)

Check out the other three tips and tricks for networkers, job hunters & hirers on the TIME Magazine post. Topics ranging from seeking answers to raising your online brand capital. Lisa’s other posts on workplace, business and society trends include snooping bosses, teen interns and cubicles of the future.

From bicycle marathons benefiting AIDS to fire breathing at the Sydney Olympics; from plunging into the cold polar waters to then writing about it! Starting today, you’ll hear interesting stories and anecdotes from the LinkedIn team, in a column called “LinkedInside”. Here’s Ryan Gustafson‘s account of swimming with the penguins in Antarctica (don’t miss the Antarctic Polar Plunge video!):

Antarctica: The end of the world. One of the most remote locations on the planet and virtually untouched by human hands. If you had told me in November of 2006 that I would be swimming in Antarctica less then a month and a half later, I would have laughed at you and called you crazy. Then I got THE EMAIL. It read simply “You know, I’ve always wanted to go to Antarctica…” and thus it began. A few weeks of frenzied packing, a couple of outrageously expensive REI purchases, a call to Capitol One begging for a credit limit increase and I was ready to depart..

When Guy Kawasaki blogged about the Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn, LinkedIn had 8.5 million users in 130 industries. Since then we’ve grown to over 12 million users covering 147 industries, but many of Guy’s suggestions on using LinkedIn (see below), still remain a great way for professionals to strengthen their online brand reputation and leverage their professional network. Happy Reading!

Increase your visibility.

By adding connections, you increase the likelihood that people will see your profile first when they’re searching for someone to hire or do business with. In addition to appearing at the top of search results  (which is a major plus if you’re one of the 52,000 product managers on LinkedIn), people would much rather work with people who their friends know and trust. Improve your connectability.

Most new users put only their current company in their profile. By doing so, they severely limit their ability to connect with people. You should fill out your profile like it’s an executive bio, so include
past companies, education, affiliations, and activities.

About LinkedIn For Good:

LinkedIn for Good is an ambitious LinkedIn project where we encourage the 12 million professionals, currently on LinkedIn (as of July 2007), to promote positive social change through their LinkedIn network. Want to know more about LinkedIn For Good? Check out our recent blog coverage on the topic.