The Business Insider: Does Your Network Work for You?

By Tom Roux, Contributing Editor

In a previous post, I asked whether you are a networking LION or lamb. Assuming your answer places you with most people reading this blog – somewhere between the middle and the “sheepish” end of the spectrum – here are some suggestions to make better use of LinkedIn so that your professional network works for you.

Complete your profile! For the love of Guy (as in, Kawasaki, the Apple evangelist, co-founder of Alltop.com, etc.) fill in the details of your past, passions, and personality. At the very least, paste your resume into the relevant sections. Doing so increases the odds that your current and former classmates, colleagues, and contacts will find you in search results. In return, your personalized “people you may know” recommendations will be a whole lot more meaningful.

Upload your contacts file. When adding contacts, save yourself a lot of mind-numbing data entry by importing your Outlook, webmail (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.) or other (.csv, .txt, or .vcf format) preexisting contacts file. Even if many of your those contacts don’t already use LinkedIn, once you’ve uploaded your file, you’ll easily be able to invite them to join you.

Add a good picture of yourself. Nothing makes you - and your profile - more linkable than a professional-looking photo of you with a friendly expression, closely cropped so your face fills the frame. Unlike many profile photos in Facebook or Twitter, avatars and candid shots don’t cut it. While you may not be fond of your own mug, having a positive image on your profile will encourage more folks to accept your invitations and will likely ring a bell for those invitees who draw a blank from your name. Your photo also quickly differentiates you from other people with the same name.

Update your status weekly. Regularly keep your network up to speed with what you’re working on, but keep your updates professional and make them count: no “picking kernels of last night’s movie popcorn out of my teeth.”

Claim your vanity URL. Want a free website? Just edit your public profile settings to customize your profile URL to reflect your name or business. Use this vanity URL (e.g. www.linkedin.com/in/tomroux) in your e-mail signature, on your business card, and in every online form that asks for “your website.”

Cheers,
Tom

Tom Roux is a contributing editor at The Business Insider. He heads Redpoint Communications and is president of the International Association of Business Communicators, Yankee Chapter. Since February, Tom has added 100 immediate LinkedIn connections and about 1 million users to his extended network without breaking a sweat.