1. LinkedIn is:

a) Something for people looking for a new job

b) Facebook for old people

c) Nothing more than another source of email spam

d) Kind of confusing

2. My profile on LinkedIn:

a) Doesn’t exist

b) Exists only because a friend bugged me about it until I signed up and haven’t touched it since

c) Looks just like my resume

d) Contains abbreviations or acronyms

3. My connections on LinkedIn:

a) Are primarily family members (yes, family members with a different last name still count as family?? members)

b) Are around the same age or have similar backgrounds

c) Are people I don’t know all that well

d) Number fewer than 50 people

4. One or more of the recommendations on my LinkedIn profile:

a) Are all from people whom I’ve recommended

b) Refer to me as “Dude” or “da man”

c) Is from someone who has never actually experienced my work, skills or true awesomeness first-hand

d) Huh? Recommendations

If you selected ANY of the answers above, it just might be time to brush up on your LinkedIn skills. LinkedIn is a powerful tool, but that’s it. It’s just a tool, meaning that you get out of it what you put into it.? I’ve heard people bemoan the fact that no sales, job offers or consulting gigs drifted their way after having listed themselves on LinkedIn. If only it worked that way! The LinkedIn folks have recently been adding various tools and features, but until they add “magic career fairy dust” we’ll need to learn how best to use its features to help us attain our individual goals.

Let’s kick your business networking into high gear for 2009.? Each day for a week, I’ll share a basic LinkedIn tip which is overlooked or misunderstood by many users. Please add your comments and share with friends.

To get the most out of this series, be sure to subscribe to Almost Savvy through RSS or email. And to get the most out of LinkedIn, register for one of my upcoming webinars where we’ll walk through the features step-by-step to help you leverage your efforts and maximize the benefits of LinkedIn’s features.

First tip comes Monday, December 29. You in?

UPDATE 12/28/08 – Spread the word; Win a seat in a LinkedIn webinar

Thanks to all those who have contacted me since posting this earlier today with questions and interest in the tips. With so many interested in learning to use available tools, such as LinkedIn, most effectively to manage their careers, this got me to thinking…how could we reach more people to share this information?

Those who RT my tweet (on Twitter) about the tip of the day will be entered in a drawing each day for a seat in an upcoming LinkedIn webinar (to be used by you or given to a friend). Those who comment (a “real” comment) on the LinkedIn tip of the day on this blog will also be entered. Anyone doing both in the same day will be entered in the drawing twice. Let the fun begin!