How to Succeed in Business Using LinkedIn

Whether you're looking for a new job or simply looking to make more connections, you know that the key to networking and getting your talents appreciated takes much more than a business card. To get noticed, you need a real presence that shows your abilities and skills to their fullest-and you need to connect with the right people. Hailed as the "MySpace" for professionals, LinkedIn is just the tool that will help you stand out from the crowd. It is now estimated that 20 million business professionals log in to this site every day to look for job opportunities, search for potential clients, get recommendations from colleagues, and reconnect with former coworkers. LinkedIn allows you to create a profile detailing your professional experience and accomplishments, which will help you connect with literally thousands of qualified professionals in your field. How to Succeed in Business Using LinkedIn takes you through every aspect of the site, from getting registered and building your network to posing questions and creating groups. As experts in their field, Butow and Taylor know the ins and outs of using LinkedIn firsthand. Here they show you how to: create your home page so other users can find you - give and receive references - search for experts - find leads - market your business - look for and become a service provider - find and recruit for jobs - conduct business research - discover people outside your networks

Unique and practical, this book shows you how to make the most of LinkedIn and the endless doors it can open for you and your career.

About the Author:
Eric Butow is the CEO of Butow Communications Group, a Web design and marketing firm

Aboutthe Author:
Kathleen Taylor is cofounder of Talent-Planet, an executive talent firm focusing primarily on high tech emerging growth companies in the United States

Library Journal

The Web 2.0 innovation LinkedIn (www.lindedin.com) has gained huge popularity as a professional networking tool and is often considered the key to success for businesspeople and job seekers today. In fact, all Fortune 500 companies are already part of this service. Butow (CEO, Butow Communications Group) and Taylor (cofounder, TalentPlanet) show how to use LinkedIn strategically to communicate and to gain competitive advantage. The 12 chapters supply detailed and practical instructions for functions such as registration, profile creation, and the management of contacts, leads, and recommendations. In addition, members are offered guidance about proper business etiquette and for using LinkedIn to its full potential, especially with regard to recruitment, job seeking, and business intelligence. Unfortunately, the many screenshots contained in the text are too small and, therefore, virtually unreadable. Nevertheless, this informative text is well written; because of its value to business and human resources professionals and to individuals developing their careers, it is recommended for all academic and public collections.-Caroline Geck, MLS, MBA, Somerset, NJ

Eric Butow (Roseville, CA) is the CEO of Butow Communications Group, a technical writing and Web design firm, and is the author of Amp Your MySpace Page.

Kathleen Taylor (San Francisco, CA) is cofounder of TalentPlanet, an executive talent firm.