LinkedIn For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Once you're LinkedIn, you're part of the largest online network of professionals in the world! When you know how to make the most of your profile, manage your contacts, and handle invitations effectively, you'll go far. This book is packed with advice that will help you market yourself and find a job, an employee, an investor, or more business for your business! Wow! eBook 1 About the Author 7 Dedication 9 Author’s Acknowledgments 11 Contents at a Glance 13 Table of Contents 15 Introduction 21 About This Book 22 How This Book Is Organized 22 And Just Who Are You? 23 Icons Used in This Book 24 Where to Go from Here 25 Part I: LinkedIn Basics 27 Chapter 1: Looking into LinkedIn 29 Discovering Your New Contact Management and Networking Toolkit 30 The Things You Can Do with LinkedIn 35 Understanding LinkedIn Costs and Benefits 39 Navigating around LinkedIn 45 Chapter 2: Sign Me Up! 49 Joining LinkedIn 49 Starting to Build Your Network 61 Chapter 3: Building Your Profile 65 Determining the Contact Settings for Your Profile 66 Adding Your Summary and Basic Information to LinkedIn 67 Adding a Position to Your LinkedIn Profile 73 Reporting Your Education on Your Profile 77 Completing the Additional Information for Your Profile 80 Reviewing Your LinkedIn Profile 83 Part II: Finding Others and Getting Connected 89 Chapter 4: Searching LinkedIn 91 Viewing Your Connections 91 Searching the LinkedIn Network 95 Chapter 5: Managing Introductions and InMail 107 InMail Versus Introductions 107 Setting Up an Introduction 111 Sending InMail 115 Managing Introduction Requests 118 Chapter 6: Growing Your Network 125 Building a Meaningful Network 126 Checking for LinkedIn Members 128 Sending Connection Requests 139 Accepting Invitations (Or Gracefully Declining) 146 Chapter 7: Using LinkedIn Answers 149 How LinkedIn Helps You Find Answers to Your Questions 149 Finding Questions to Answer 153 Answering a Question 155 Asking a Question 159 Part III: Growing and Managing Your Network 169 Chapter 8: Exploring the Power of Recommendations 171 Understanding Recommendations 172 Writing Recommendations 174 Requesting Recommendations 181 Gracefully Declining a Recommendation (Or a Request for One) 184 Managing Recommendations 185 Chapter 9: Keeping Track of Your LinkedIn Activities 191 Using the LinkedIn Home Page as Your Command Console 192 Tracking Your InMail and Your Introductions 199 Tracking Invitations 201 Chapter 10: Using LinkedIn with Your E-Mail and Browser 205 Importing Contacts into LinkedIn 206 Exporting Contacts from LinkedIn to Your E-Mail Application 212 Using the LinkedIn Outlook Toolbar 217 Using the LinkedIn Browser Toolbar 219 Creating E-Mail Signatures 223 Part IV: Finding Employees, Jobs, and Services 229 Chapter 11: Finding Employees 231 Posting a Job Listing 232 Performing Reference Checks and Screening Candidates with LinkedIn 243 Search Strategies for Finding Active or Passive Job Seekers 246 Chapter 12: Finding a Job 249 Searching for a Job by Using LinkedIn 249 Job Search Strategies Using LinkedIn 258 Using the LinkedIn JobsInsider 262 Chapter 13: Finding Professional Services 265 Searching for a Service Provider 265 Recommending a Service Provider 269 Part V: Using LinkedIn for Everyday Business 273 Chapter 14: Get ting Connected with LinkedIn Groups 275 LinkedIn Groups — What They Are and What They Aren’t 275 Types of LinkedIn Groups 277 Joining a Group 278 Searching a Group 281 Creating a Group 283 Inviting Members 286 Chapter 15: Marketing Yourself and Your Business 293 Marketing Yourself through LinkedIn 293 Marketing Your Business through LinkedIn 298 Finding Marketing Partners through LinkedIn 303 Chapter 16: Using LinkedIn to Increase Your Sales 307 Mining for Your Clients 307 Closing the Deal 314 Using LinkedIn to Help You Complete the Sale 317 Chapter 17: Venture Capital and Angel Funding 319 Finding Potential Investors 320 Finding Potential Investments 324 Chapter 18: Miscellaneous Creative Uses of LinkedIn 327 Mashing LinkedIn with Other Services 327 Building Your Focus Group 333 Location-Based LinkedIn Ideas 335 Part VI: The Part of Tens 343 Chapter 19: Ten LinkedIn Do’s and Don’ts 345 Keep Your Profile Complete and Current 345 Don’t Use Canned Invitations 346 Don’t Expect Everyone to Network Like You Do 347 Do Your Homework 348 Give LinkedIn Messages Equal Importance 348 Don’t Spam 350 Be Proactive about Making New Connections 350 Cross-Promote 351 Add Value to the Process 352 Don’t Confuse Quantity with Quality 352 Chapter 20: Ten LinkedIn Resources 353 The Official LinkedIn Blog 353 LinkedIn Labs 354 LinkedIn Applications Directory 354 MyLinkWiki 354 RSS Feeds with Google Reader 355 Linked Intelligence Blog 355 Podcast Network Connections 356 Digsby Social Networking/IM/E-Mail Tool 356 Add Your LinkedIn Profile to your Facebook Page 357 One Update for Multiple Sites with Hellotxt 357 Index 359 Presents information on effectively using the online business network, describing how to create profiles, request and write recommendations, find a job, market a business, increase sales, and find employees