Everyone knows about the importance that LinkedIn brings to your non-beerpong playing accomplishments. Its simple and clean format allows for you to post all of your pertinent experience online and easily link your blogs, twitters, and Facebooks as well. Its seems to me that the primary use out of most of the LinkedIn userbase are the connections being a culmination of outside relationships that are formed.  Meaning, most of the relationships are formed after a handshake has taken place. Relying on this precedent, this can short change the opportunities that LinkedIn offers to build your network internally. Instead of people meeting in the real world and connecting online, I am going to talk about how you can meet online and hopefully use that as a driving force to build a real world relationship. If you like to compare the job hunt to the dating scene and LinkedIn to OKCupid, then this blog may resonate with you better than if not. You have much more of a compelling story to convey about your aptitude as a professional through LinkedIn, and here’s how you can tell it. Your ideas can be just as good as your experience, and LI give you ways to share those to find the perfect match.

I have had many discussions with eligible bachelors and bachelorettes (employers) over the years about how a recent graduate can separate himself or herself from the clutter of the application and resume bar scene. I found that the resounding consensus was “if you have your internship experience posted, then you will stand out,” but they have given me instances on how they were intrigued about some candidates who found a way to get their ideas and perspectives in the places where employers would see them. The most important key is to drive everything back to the one place where anybody can access all your online information and contact you to arrange a real world meeting. It could be your LinkedIn page or Website, but for our purposes here, we will call this place your personal mother ship.

Much like in the movie Independence Day, your mother ship needs to travel the internet galaxy share its personal laser guided viewpoint on unsuspecting industry blogs and news articles. As I discovered the wide array of advertising related groups and articles that LinkedIn provides, I found that participating in these discussions allows me to share my personal perspective and drive people to my profile so that they can know more about me. Even though you experience my get you an interview, your personality and ideas will direct the questions you are asked.

The rule of thumb is to always update your resume ever 3 months, but that does not mean the same should apply to your professional network. From connecting your blog to your LinkedIn page to participating in the discussions on your group forums, its important to remind those around that you have a unique perspective, have an enthusiasm towards your chosen career field, and would be a fun person to work with. LinkedIn is such a powerful social media site because it offers discussions and places for you to build your network internally. Maybe with a few well-executed and authentic social personal, you could become a viral sensation among employers.

Much like a cute cat video, but for all the right reasons.