LinkedIn: the new Resume?

Are you on LinkedIn?

If not, why not?  It’s free, it’s more professional than its chatty social network cousins.  Its reputation is far more solid and less gimmicky than those other sites.

If yes, are you using your site to your career advantage?

I recently came across an excellent article by communications expert and wordsmith Kenya McCullum, on using LinkedIn in your job search.  I recommend that you read the complete article, but several points struck me as the most immediately useful.

Complete your profile and keep it that way.  There is space to describe your current job and your work history.  The format is pretty much up to you.  Here you can gracefully intersperse volunteer and paid employment as well as your ongoing studies.  You can identify fields of interest you are researching in a way that sells you the most effectively. You can highlight your dedication to customer service in a way that reflects positively on you and might make employers want to meet you.

Use your status update function professionally.  It’s the first thing people see, and it has huge possibilities for self-marketing.  This can be your job objective, a summary of your skills, or a current highlight of your professional life.  Please don’t clutter it up with descriptions of your family, friends, or social life.

If you work hard to develop your profile, McCullum says it can become your online resume.  For me, it’s not going to take the place of a paper document, but rather serve as a supplement.  I recommend that you read the entire article on the possibilities of LinkedIn for your job search. You can find the article at http://www.examiner.com/x-13521-SF-Workplace-Communication-Examiner~y2009m7d14-How-to-use-LinkedIn-during-your-job-search.

How have you used LinkedIn in your job search?  I’d love to hear your success stories using this twenty-first century tool.