Getting Linked In In 5 Easy Steps

Step 1: Complete your profile.

No one wants to be the friend of someone they don't know. Make it easy for them. Complete your profile. There is a bar graph right on the profile page that tells you how complete you are and what steps you need to take to be 100% complete. What could be easier than that? A few things to keep in mind.

• Ask for recommendations. You have happy clients. Ask them to recommend you. Nothing says more about you than third party endorsement.
• Add your contact information. Make it easy for people to find you, your web site, phone number, email.
• Complete your past education and experience. People want to know that you know what you're talking about. Been doing it 30 years? Tell me about it.
• Keep your summary short and direct. Most people won't read 13 pages of summary. Assume you get 3 sentences and make them work for you. Be wordy in the experience NOT the summary.

Step 2: Join Groups

You can join up to 50 groups. There is no reason not to join 10 immediately. It is the quickest way to connect with other people.

• Assert your expertise with your groups. Are you a member of NSA or ASTD? Join the groups and show it.
• Connect with people who already love you. Your sorority or Toastmaster buddies already know and love you. Some of them might be able to hire you.
• Join groups your potential clients are in. Did the majority of your work come from banks last year? Join financial groups.
• Do you need more connections? Join Top Linked. It is the easiest and fastest way to get connected to more professionals.

Step 3: Get Connected

You have to connect to other people. Once you are a member of a group, you share common ground. Go through the groups one at a time and invite the other members. Sounds simple but most people don't do it. Your goal is 500 connections in the first 30 days. If you join Top Linked and personally invite a few from groups everyday, you'll be amazed at how easy it is to reach this goal.

Step 4: Become the Expert

No one hires speakers. They hire experts. Establish yourself as the expert. Comment on a discussion. Answer a question. Post a news article, preferably one you wrote. After you have joined a few groups, check out the discussions. Throw your .02 in. This is how people will come to recognize you and your expertise. Remember those discussions go out to all the members of the group. You can show 19,000 people that you are the one who has the answers.

Step 5: Do it

It only works if you actually do it. It won't take long. You can accomplish this in 20 minutes a day. You don't even have to do it everyday. Try it 4 days a week. Once you get the process down, you'll breeze right through it. The object is to keep it simple and manageable. Don't inflict too much process on the steps.

You can do it. We'll help.