by David B Hitchcock

Created on: May 18, 2009

Is LinkedIn an effective networking tool?

There are many websites and applications claim to help you with your network of contacts. LinkedIn.com actually makes good on its promises and takes very little work to connect, and keep in touch with your network of contacts.

What is a networking tool?

A networking tool is any website, application, or other item that helps you keep track of the people that you know who make up your professional "network" of contacts. These generally include ex-coworkers, old classmates, and other friends in the business.

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a website that is free to join, where you can connect with people from your professional and personal past who are also part of the LinkedIn network. You create your professional profile, get people you know to recommend you for each of your posted job positions, and then you socialize with your contacts until one of them is either hiring or knows someone who is hiring for someone with your background. There is a paid membership that will get you more bells and whistles, but the basic free membership gets you an awful lot.

Why is LinkedIn a good networking tool?

LinkedIn is a lot like Facebook - it's a website that is well known, and a lot of people are members on it. Consider how useful Facebook would be for you if nobody you knew was on the website? You would have nobody to connect with, and it would be a pretty big waste of time. The same is true with LinkedIn - if it was a small website that had nobody signed up, it would be next to useless. That is not the case by far! It's very easy to find people from your professional past (or present in some cases!). And that is the key to LinkedIn being successful - having lots of people on the website so that your network of contacts is large enough to reach "critical mass" where someone is always moving to a new company or hiring for a position. If you just have three contacts, chances are not much will be happening with them professionally in any given month.

But I'm not looking for work, why should I join LinkedIn now?

You need to maintain and grow your network of contacts at all times. Like your car, if you don't look after it and put the time and effort in to keep it maintained when you need it, it won't be there for you. Your network of contacts needs you to constantly keep in touch with them, look for opportunities for them (if someone owes you a favor..!), and even meet them for lunch to catch up on things. LinkedIn is the first step to this, and it takes hardly any time at all. That first step is finding contacts you are out of touch with. Once you have found them, you need to keep in touch by emailing them, recommending them for jobs you worked together on, and even having lunch or a beer. The best step is when you aren't looking for work, but you network of contacts starts coming up with opportunities for you.

The LinkedIn network is an effective networking tool because there are many people who are members which creates a "critical mass" of 30 million potential contacts, it takes hardly any time to find and chat with people you know, and once that connection is made with your contacts its just a matter of time before either someone helps you find a job or you return the favor!

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