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About LinkedIn In 30 Minutes

If you’re serious about taking your career to the next level, you need to be on LinkedIn. In LinkedIn In 30 Minutes, 2nd Edition (ISBN: 978-1-939924-52-0), author Angela Rose will show you how to make a killer LinkedIn profile and expand your network. Whether you want to find a new job or advance your career, this LinkedIn guide can be the blueprint for a supercharged LinkedIn strategy.

This top-selling LinkedIn book includes sections on:

  • LinkedIn registration and basic profile setup
  • Nine critical LinkedIn profile elements
  • Six additional LinkedIn profile elements you should include
  • Why keywords are so important for your LinkedIn profile
  • How to improve a basic profile
  • Real-world examples of successful LinkedIn profiles
  • How to address unemployment on LinkedIn
  • How to connect with other people on LinkedIn
  • Crafting personalized LinkedIn invitations
  • Connecting with strangers on LinkedIn
  • Other ways to get noticed on LinkedIn
  • Best practices for using LinkedIn’s search engine
  • Participation strategies for LinkedIn Groups
  • Five ways to find a job on LinkedIn
  • InMail and other paid LinkedIn services
  • How to turn off LinkedIn notifications

LinkedIn In 30 Minutes is a tutorial for people who are new to LinkedIn, as well as those who want to optimize their LinkedIn profiles and networking efforts. Like all In 30 Minutes® guides, LinkedIn In 30 Minutes is easy to approach — it’s filled with step-by-step instructions written in plain English and a touch of humor.

Note: LinkedIn In 30 Minutes is not affiliated with “For Dummies” books, LinkedIn, or other services referenced in the guide. In 30 Minutes® is a registered trademark of publisher i30 Media Corp. All rights reserved.

Learn more about Angela Rose, author of LinkedIn In 30 Minutes (2nd Edition), on her author bio.

I was looking for a guide to LinkedIn when I realized that the author of this book is one of my favorite writers for Lifehacker! Always loved her advice and resourcefulness, so I wasn’t surprised that she wrote this book for the mass of people who are looking to get the best out of the LinkedIn service. Like what the other reviewer said, this book is full of useful tips and suggestions. Now I’m looking forward to building up my connections and see where LinkedIn takes me.

Khanh

LinkedIn in 30 minutes helped this old guy from being overwhelmed by the intricacies and “demands” LinkedIn seems to think we should devote all our free time to. Actually, the first 5 minutes saved everyone on my email contact list from disowning me. I reversed the error I made and stopped bothering everyone while I worked through the rest with the simple guidance from Melanie Pinola. Money well spent.

Tom

This book does everything it claims. It gives you a great introduction to LinkedIn and gives you tips on how to make a good profile.

Brett

After reading this book (it’s a short and super-fast read), I logged into LinkedIn right away and immediately applied some of the author’s advice to improve my profile. Much of what is in the book is common sense but there are lots of easy, simple suggestions on how to get the most out of LinkedIn, whether you’re looking for like-minded people or mentors in your industry, job-seeking, or simply trying to advance your career.

Reuben

I’ve had a LinkedIn account for years without really putting much effort into it. Following the concise step-by-step advice from this book helped me get my profile looking professional. Melanie covers the essentials along with insight to strategies to further your career and/or job search. Highly recommended!

Darrell

This book is a handy tool that not only assists with building your LinkedIn profile, but expanding your connections network and addressing issues in your resume. Before reading, I thought I had a basic understanding of LinkedIn, but there were so many other amazing features that I had no idea even existed. It is so much more than just an online resume.

Kevin

I already had a LinkedIn account, which I use on a regular basis, but still found the book very helpful. The author gave examples and explained why it is important to detail and promote your account. Reading this book has motivated me to return to my account and update it to make it more thorough and attention-grabbing. I especially liked the information about connecting with other people and the ideas of how to connect with people who can help you gain information and job leads, even if you don’t personally know them. This is beneficial to everyone who is looking for career leads.

Allison

My favorite tip in the whole book was turning off the notifications while updating. Great advice and something I was previously unfamiliar with.

Crystal

Excerpt - Why you should be using LinkedIn

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I haven’t always been on LinkedIn. In fact, I wasn’t even aware the professional networking platform existed until 2006.

At the time, I was working as a manager in the creative department of a small marketing company. Our clients were primarily in the mortgage and real estate industries. They would personalize the postcards and newsletters my team and I had created with their logos and contact information before mailing them to their databases. One day a real estate agent asked us to include the web address (or URL) for his LinkedIn profile.

I was intrigued. While I was not a social media newbie—I posted hilarious, adorable and poignant pictures of my cats on Facebook almost every day—the concept of social network for professional people was different. I checked out the agent’s profile, took a quick tour of LinkedIn’s features, and left it at that. I had a job I loved. I was going to work there until I died. I didn’t need what LinkedIn had to offer.

Then the housing bubble burst, causing property values to plummet and thousands of homeowners to default on their mortgages. No one could buy, and no one could sell. Our client base began to contract. As we put raises on hold and closed our offices on Fridays, I had to face an unpleasant reality: It was very possible I’d need to find a new job—or strike out on my own—in the near future.

Suddenly, being on LinkedIn looked like a really good idea. I spent 30 minutes that first Friday setting up a free profile. While I only filled out the basics, I felt better having done something that might help me if the unthinkable happened. About one year later, it did. By then I had built the foundations of a freelance writing and editing business. I had more than a dozen regular clients, and their assignments were enough, along with some savings, to ensure I would be able to keep paying my bills (and feeding those cats) as I continued to grow The Quirky Creative.

LinkedIn helped me make it happen. I made a habit of connecting with the decision-makers at every company that used my services. This kept me front of mind, and resulted in referrals and repeat assignments. I asked for—and gave—recommendations, then shared the glowing endorsements with potential clients. This helped me to land more assignments. I added a professional photo, packed my background summary with keywords and personality, and uploaded clips from my growing portfolio of published work.

With every enhancement, my profile received more views. I received more emails from professionals and companies interested in the services I provided. I landed more assignments, and I was able to maintain the lifestyle to which my cats were accustomed (i.e. gourmet kibble, frequent catnip binges and all the toy mice they could shove under the sofa). In fact, LinkedIn actually led to the book you are reading today. The publisher of In 30 Minutes guides found my profile, liked the contents, and offered me the opportunity to share what I have learned about using this increasingly important social media platform with all of you—no cat photos required!

Not just an online resume

As the above anecdote illustrates, LinkedIn is more than just an online catalog of former employers and responsibilities. It’s a tool that can have a significant and positive impact on your life, whether you use it to search for a new job, network with other professionals in your industry, establish an online presence or even learn more about potential vendors and service providers (I used it to ‘vet’ my cats’ veterinarian). Consider the following numbers:

  • LinkedIn has approximately 400 million members, located in practically every country in the world. Whether you want to connect with a former supervisor, a colleague you met at a conference, the recruiter at your dream company, or even your old high school track coach (go Warriors!), you are likely to find them on LinkedIn.
  • According to a recent LinkedIn report, the network hosts more than 3 million active job listings. Advertised positions are in dozens of industries ranging from agriculture and construction to finance and healthcare. Whatever your area of expertise, you are likely to find employment opportunities on LinkedIn.
  • A 2014 Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey found that 93% of recruiters use or plan to use social media platforms to fill jobs. Among these recruiters, 94% use LinkedIn.

Whether you are actively searching for a new job or are a passive candidate—defined as interested in opportunities though not active in the job search—joining LinkedIn will make it easier for employers to find you.

To read more, buy LinkedIn In 30 Minutes (2nd Edition) using the links on this page!