Linkedin (www.linkedin.com) is a very successful professional networking website.  I feel this is one of the best ways to network, keep in touch with contacts and ultimately, find a job.  I will be writing a three-part blog series on the power of LinkedIn and why you should be on it and use it often.

First, everyone seems to be on it.  There are over 23 million members and 1.2 million more joining every month.  I have hundreds of co-workers that are on it and use it regularly to keep in touch.  Second, the site is free so there is no reason not to join.  Third, most recruiters are using Linkedin almost exclusively due to the large pool of candidates and the ease of searching for exactly what you need.  If your HR department is looking for an engineer in Iowa, no problem.  Linkedin will identify hundreds to talk to.

If you are not on Linkedin already, please go and set up a profile.  It’s easy, believe me.  Then enter at least your professional history and education.  If you don’t want to list all of your responsibilities at each company, just put your title and years you worked there.  One of the coolest features is that it will ask you if you know others who were there during the same time period.  Chances are that you do.  Now you are off and running with Linkedin.

In my next two blogs about Linkedin, I will discuss other cool features and how to harness the power of Linkedin to find a new job.