Career tip: If you are not on Linkedin you are nowhere

If you don't have a profile on LinkedIn, you're nowhere says a recent article from Fortune magazine "How LinkedIn will fire up your career": http://bit.ly/bBo6In . The article mentions that more than 60 million members have logged on to create profiles, upload their employment histories, and build connections with people they know. For the companies hiring, Linkedin is also a must cheaper way to find good candidates than hiring an executive search company. 

Your contacts in your network, the way you use Linkedin , participating in Q&As, groups or showing events you attend is a way for a lots of potential candidates to be found without actively searching. As a small business owner, I agree that it is also very true for clients to find you. If you are proactive, energetic and show that you are not lazy and passive, you stand out of the crowd. 

Even if many people say that Twitter is not a good tool for professionals to find a job, I always recommend to try it long enough to see who are the people active in their fields, get new ideas and show that you make an effort to stay up to date with the technology.

To build a professional image  or personal brand on line or off line, the very first step is to define the story that you want to communicate about you that will attract recruiters or potential hiring companies. Being able to summarize a 25 year career on a Linkedin profile in half a page is more than just making a resume. You must be concise, attractive and show your strengths and achievements.