Last post I was extolling the benefits of business networking sites like LinkedIn. Like most networks the benefit generated is directly related to the time & effort you invest.

LinkedIn (I prefer this business network because I have spent the most time and effort in building it!) is akin to a huge virtual bucket of business cards. You can search LinkedIn members by criteria like name, position title, company, university/college and location. It is seriously useful if you use it correctly.

At the time of writing my LinkedIn network numbered around 19 million people. This of course didn’t happen overnight, but through a regular investment of a little bit of time my network has got bigger and bigger. Some of you might be thinking – so what? What is the use of being linked to people in Botswana when I’m in Australia? With complte respect … thats not the point. By having access to these type of networks you can reach people you wouldn’t normally know or even think of contacting.

Lets say you want to work for IBM in the role of a sales representative, but don’t know anyone who works at the company. Through networks like LinkedIn you can find these people, form a relationship and start asking questions like  ”how do I get a job like yours?” Of course you need to ask in the right way otherwise they might think you want their job.

By entering into a dialogue with people who are at the destination you want to eventually get to, you can get the inside track on the skills, experiences and insights you need to get the job you want.

To get you started please feel free to send me a LinkedIn invite and we can join our networks.

Bye for now.

James E

James Evangelidis

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Tagged as: investing, LinkedIn, networking