LinkedIn is the largest professional social network with over thirty-five million members, 140 industries and executives from all Fortune 500 companies. LinkedIn allows you to network, create an online identity, search for jobs, build a collection of recommendations, promote personal websites and share articles of interests.  Because LinkedIn gets top ranking on Google, it is an important tool for controlling your online identity.  When someone searches your name in a search engine your professional profile on LinkedIn will come up.  Your profile will be important for establishing yourself as an authority in a particular field and may result in media requests for your expert opinion.  Many journalists use LinkedIn to look for experts to interview.    

 

How to Use LinkedIn:

 

1.  Visit www.linkedin.com.  Create a professional profile and upload your CV.  

2.  Build your network.  Import contact list from gmail, yahoo, AOL and Windows Live.  

3.  Join the American Medical Women’s Association on LinkedIn   http://www.linkedin.com/pub/amwa-doctors/27/7b6/8b  

4. LinkedIn is a networking and job search tool.  Find the Jobs Section to review jobs listed by hiring managers and recruiters.  You can apply for these jobs through the jobs page or contact the person directly regarding the position.  

5. Improve your search engine results.  This is an important tool for controlling the information about you on the internet.  Linked in allows you to make your profile information available for search engines to index. To strengthen the visibility of this page in search engines, create a public profile and select "Full View", customize your public profile's URL to be your actual name and place this link on as many locations on the web as you can.  You can also promote your website or blog.

6. Increase your visibility.  Fill out your profile like it's an executive bio including past companies, education, affiliations and activities.  Link your profile as part of your email signature.  The link enables people to see all your credentials.  By adding connections, you increase the likelihood that people will see your profile first when they're searching for someone to hire or do business with.  In addition to appearing at the top of search results people would rather work with people their friends know and trust.

7.  Recommendations.  Use recommendations to showcase your achievements and gain credibility.  You can receive recommendations from colleagues and give recommendations to those who work for you.

8.  Research potential companies.  Companies have pages on LinkedIn.  You can read about the company, their staff and open job positions.  You can also read profiles of individuals who have worked for the company, how long they worked there and where they worked next.  You can contact people who used to hold a position you are considering applying for to request the inside scoop on the job, boss and growth potential.  Scrutinize the rate of turnover and whether key people are abandoning ship.  Former employees usually give more candid opinions about a company's prospects than someone who's still on board.  

9. Expand the scope of your job search.  Use LinkedIn's advanced search to find people with similar credentials to yours to see where they work.  Use search keywords such as "physician", "medical director" and "doctor" to generate a potential list of jobs for physicians.

10.  Prepare for an interview.  Use LinkedIn to find the people you are meeting.  Knowing more about them will arm you with ideas for conversation and shared acquaintances can provide a plethora of information.

11.  Ask for advice.  LinkedIn Answers allows you to broadcast your business-related questions to both your network and the greater LinkedIn network.

12. Create a slideshow.  Using Google Presentation you can create a slideshow summarizing your personal mission statement or life's work.

13. Establish yourself as an expert and attract potential recruiters.  Post articles of interest in your specialty.  Create a personal blog and post your articles here.  Link your Twitter feed to your LinkedIn account.  The more content you post online in association with your profile the more often your name will be associated with specific topics.  This will help journalists and the media find you as an expert opinion.  

14. Network for advocacy.  Once you build an extensive network of your colleagues join groups with similar interests and take part in their discussions.  If you spend time establishing relationships ahead of time it is easier to ask your network to support your advocacy efforts whether it be to call their legislators or sign a petition