How To Start Networking Online with LinkedIn

Welcome to networking in the 21st century! In order to give yourself and your resume the greatest exposure, you will need to create an online profile within one of the many networking websites. People may find themselves intimidated by the vast powers of such sites. But with these few steps you can propel yourself from where you are now to greater career advancements and successes than ever before.

1. Visit your networking site. Go to the LinkedIn website.
2. Create your account. When you arrive at LinkedIn, for example, you will see a gold button toward the bottom of the page that says "Join now". Most websites these days begin with a free account that requires such information as your name, email address, personalized password and/or username. If you have created an email address, you are most likely familiar with these preliminary registration steps. There will be an option to pay for an upgrade. You may do so if you believe it will suit your needs, but this article is limited to the free features of the site(s).
3. Continue providing information. In addition to your basic personal information, you will be asked for specifics about your career and educational backgrounds. This is the information by which other members can find you. The more details you provide, the more people will be in your default network. Having a copy of your resume handy might help you enter relevant information.
4. Search for connections. Once you have provided a sufficient amount of background information, you can begin searching for connections you already have or might want to gain. The search tool toward the top of your personal home page allows you to search the site by keyword, name, company, and title. There are three sections of the site in which you can search: People, Jobs, and Answers. A drop down menu to the left of the search bar allows you to change this setting.
5. Use advanced searching. Once you have made connections with colleagues and co-workers, you can view their connections, introduce yourself to them, gain new connections, ad infinitum. There is also a People tab toward the top of the page that allows many more options for searching the site. These options allow you to specify locations, industries, and more.
6. Find a job or a candidate. Once your network has been established, you can use the Jobs & Hiring tab to search for jobs and job candidates that may be available in your network. This section has both simple and advanced search options.
7. Find services by industry. The next tab allows searching for services by industry. This section also provides immediate recommendations based on recent searches and popular industries.
8. Give and receive answers. Finally, there is a forum for industry-specific questions. LinkedIn members are welcome to post and answer questions they may have about industries, jobs, or work in general.

Note: Again, this article is based on the format of LinkedIn. Other websites may have similar functions in different formats. Take some time to examine a number of sites and choose the one that best suits your needs.