I’ve always been a fan of LinkedIn and lately I’ve found myself showing more colleagues and friends how to use the site.  So for those of you that don’t know about LinkedIn, or for those of you who haven’t taken the time to check it out, I thought I’d give a brief description of what it is and why I think it is a valuable tool for ANYONE in the workforce (or for many of us that are trying to get back in). It’s like business networking without having to leave the house. You can join college alumni groups, industry groups, find old friends and colleagues, etc. and see what they are doing professionally. If your city doesn’t have many groups, start one! I’ve even started a group for Independent Belle so we can also connect via LinkedIn.

A lot of companies have group profiles, allowing you to get current information, and see if there are any company needs, etc. I recently reconnected with a lot of my sorority’s alumni that are located here in Chicago. Its been exciting to meet new people who I have something in common with, and not only that but we’ll all probably have an opportunity in the future to help each other out professionally in some way!

The thing I like most about LinkedIn is that it is strictly professional and doesn’t have a lot of distracting extras like other social networking sites. They also have a great search feature so it’s easy to find people you know! For some great ways to use LinkedIn, I suggest reading Guy Kawasaki’s article on 10 Ways To Use LinkedIn for more ideas. After you’re done, get your profile set up and send a request to join the Independent Belle group.  You’ll start connecting to everyone as if you were out at that event holding a big martini, shaking hands, and collecting business cards in no time!