As some of you may have read already, Andy Warren‘s series on LinkedIn (part 1, 2, 3) and networking has sparked my interest by first listing down what I would like to share about this brilliant business networking utility.  And then proceeding to read his – from first glance, he’s done a great job at listing all the contact utility functionality,

The prerequisites, and why I’d like to add to Andy’s recommendations (really hoping I didn’t trump a part four Master WarrenJ)  for being able to really take advantage of this tool would be completing one’s profile to the 100% level and obtaining as many recommendations as possible.  Currently, I am at twelve, so I believe establishing credibility by means of online references is a significant prerequisite to mastering LinkedIn’s networking potential – because if you recommend someone online, they are taking a leap of faith in you, it’s something they are willing to state in front of the entire world basically.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised also, that if you describe the way you work exactly (e.g. personally, I described following Brad McGehee’s Exceptional DBA guide), or your preferred methodology, it will allow you to bring in qualified clients that have had the chance to filter out obvious signs or attributes from other profiles, such as stagnation, lack of recommendations, or territorialism, that can be undesirable (some of those may also depend on how long their profile has existed, so no hard/fast rule, each situation could be different).  LordAlex, my Flash Guru mate here, loves to describe it as a method to make a pillar of the all-important (in this net generation) Online Persona.

Further, it should be treated as a longer than usual Curriculum Vitae (or Resumé in N.A.) but in accordance to the format obviously, because perhaps if you place details in the wrong portion of your profile, an opportunity could easily be missed.  I love the way a mate here in Montreal (Martin Arvisais) describes it as a great place ‘pour vendre ta salade’ (cute local way of saying to sell your stuff). 

Another good reason to do it is, to be quite forthright, showing how you can contribute to your professional community – as Andy Mentioned in Part 2, just after ramping up your contacts within this tool.  There are several SQL Server related groups in LinkedIn, my recent contributions through the LinkedIn groups are part of the reason why Canada’s MVP Lead approached me over the past week for a nomination (also, thanks to a referral from SQLServerToolBox.com ‘s Scott Stauffer, and frequent speaker, a SQL DBA based in Vancouver) – therefore, what more motivation could one implore to Link themselves In.