I’m sure you already have set up a LinkedIn account, but if not, you’ve certainly heard of it. It is often referred to as the “professional Facebook.” Nearly everyone who is serious about his or her career has a LinkedIn account as it has become the “online business card.”  In a nutshell, LinkedIn allows you to network with professional connections through their online community. On the site, you create a profile and can share as little as your name and as much as… well, we’ll get into that in a minute. Often I hear people mention they have set up a LinkedIn profile but they just don’t “get much out of it.”  They are totally right!  By simply setting up a page, you probably won’t get much out of it. As with anything in life, you get out what you put in.  LinkedIn isn’t necessarily a huge commitment, but it is necessary to massage your network consistently and over time. That being said, here are some tips on how you can leverage this powerful social media tool to help manage your professional brand and use it to your advantage in your career search.

Take Some Time to Build Your Profile: It is not enough to simply set up your account with your name and current professional title. You need to take some time and really build your profile page. This includes uploading your formal resume as well as listing all your former positions on the profile page. LinkedIn will use this information to help you connect with former colleagues who can sometimes be the best people to help you gain employment today. You will also want to input your educational background and keywords indicating your expertise. This will help LinkedIn suggest different groups that you should join and people you could be connected with. If you are in a creative field, or a field where your products or services can be showcased, it is also a good idea to upload a Google Presentation of your work or a “video resume” showcasing your personality. These features will really make your profile leap off the page.

Include a Professional Photo: A professional photograph simply makes you look like you are a professional! A “Facebook/MySpace picture” should only be used as your profile picture on those respective sites.  A picture of you hugging your best friend sends a different message to a LinkedIn contact. If you do not have a professional photograph, go get one taken – they can be done very inexpensively at the big box department stores and you will find many uses for it beyond LinkedIn.

Get “Recommended” by Your Contacts: Sure, you say you are an expert in X,Y, and Z but there is no “LinkedIn Police” to make sure you are telling the truth. Your profile’s credibility is built with recommendations.  But don’t just wait for one of your LinkedIn connections to recommend you, take the initiative and send a “request recommendation” to a list of people. Ask them to recommend you based on the position you were in when you worked together. Make it your goal to have a minimum of three recommendations per position. And don’t forget to pay it forward. Take the time to write recommendations for your favorite coworkers and managers and I am sure they will repay you the favor.

Join LinkedIn Industry Groups and Contribute to Their Conversations: Often people will use LinkedIn as a way to keep in touch with professional connections after meeting them in person. This is a great way to use LinkedIn, but you are only scratching the surface of what this tool can do for you. Not only can you keep in touch with people on LinkedIn but you can also meet NEW connections in your field. You can do this by joining various LinkedIn Industry Groups.  Group members will post articles, events and hold chat streams on industry topics. Jump right in! Share something relevant, comment on their chat stream, and establish yourself as an expert in the field. After you build rapport with your industry colleagues you can connect with them individually. Once you feel comfortable, it’s never a bad idea to set up a time to talk over the phone and get to know them. This will help take your professional relationship to a new level. But remember, think first as to how you can support THEM and down the line maybe they can connect you with an available position in your field. Always pay it forward.

Use the Search Feature to Find Jobs, Connect with Employers and Apply: Did you know you can search for available positions through LinkedIn? For example, if you are interested in an advertising job, you can type “advertising” into the search box (make sure you are searching in the “Jobs” category) and positions will be listed. What’s even better is LinkedIn will show you how you are connected to that job. For example, it may say that you know Joe, who knows Sally who is an employee at the company who is looking to hire for that position. If you don’t know Sally, this is your opportunity to reach out to Joe and ask him to introduce you to Sally. Of course, it is important to ask for this introduction as professionally as possible so you don’t make anyone feel uncomfortable. Chances are, if you have been paying it forward this whole time, Joe won’t have a problem returning a favor and recommending you to Sally. Another thing you can do is follow specific companies that you are targeting for employment. Click on the “Companies” tab at the top of your page to search for employers you admire and “follow” them. This will ensure you won’t miss any news or new job postings from them in the future.

I hope this information gets you started on how to more effectively use LinkedIn in your job search.

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We knew it would turn ugly, but on the other hand, we couldn’t not go. Someone has got to go and if it isn’t us, then who is it?

It was December 2009, and Negar had gone to Iran with her parents to visit friends and extended family.  Negar (who, for security reasons, will be referred to by first name only) attends The University of Texas at Austin, and hadn’t been in Iran since before the hotly contested presidential election last June.  At that time, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared victory with 62.6 percent of the vote, prompting challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi and his supporters to take to the streets in protest.

The world watched for the next week as riot police and the Basij, a paramilitary group, used batons and tear gas against the demonstrators, many of whom were under the age of 30. These protests launched the Green Movement, which began as a symbol of Mousavi’s campaign, but soon became a national symbol of unity and hope for those crying out for annulment of what they still regard as a fraudulent election.

“The ‘election’ of Ahmadinejad was disillusioning to say the least,” Negar explained. “It was the end of an era but also the beginning of a new one. For many this is the beginning of a long path of resistance, but also for many, Iran is no longer a place to think about their future.”

Roughly 60 percent of the Iranian population is Generation Y, making it one of the youngest nations in the world. Despite their demographical dominance, however, young adults have struggled to maintain stable lives even before the recent protests began.

“The Iranian youth are desperate. Their social freedoms are very limited. The unemployment rate is skyrocketing, and their university diplomas seem useless in the great ‘brain drain,’” she said. “Their sense of insecurity and uncertainty defines the lives of the younger Iranian generation.”

But she emphasizes that harsh times are not enough to temper a livid and destitute youth. If anything, these setbacks are their driving force—not including what Negar believes to be an inherent will to fight and survive.

“The Iranians born in the 1980s and 70s are the Children of War. Living through the Iran-Iraq war, their childhood memories are tainted with Iraqi missiles hitting their cities, sirens and martyrdom. The trauma of war has prepared them for this.”

And the Iranian youth are holding up to their legacy, showing no signs of political reprieve—chanting, “We are the Children of War. Fight and we’ll fight back.”  They seem to carry the weight of Iran on their shoulders.

Before the presidential election, Iranian Gen Yers, like most 20-somethings everywhere, understood the usefulness of social media to reach out across communities and connect with others. But since the protests started, their use of social media has taken on a deeper significance. With the new technology, the younger generation has taken over the reins for reporters, becoming citizen journalists at a time when Iranian authorities have placed severe restrictions on the presence of foreign independent media.

“To a large extent,” Negar said, “the movement’s organization is delegated to the young people, who use text messages, social networking, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, and other web technologies to show the demonstrations and the injustices.

“This is what makes this movement so unique,” she continued. “Even though Mousavi and [Mehdi] Karoubi  [the most liberal of Ahmadinejad’s opponents in the presidential election] are the faces of the Green leadership, the movement isn’t centered around them at all. Were they to surrender, the movement would still go on.”

And on it goes. Today, opponents to Iran’s current regime continue to gather, speak out, and protest, despite the risks of imprisonment, injury, or death. Just five months ago, thousands of Iranians attended the funeral for Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, 87, who was one of the leaders of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Skirmishes broke out among the attendees and police. Six days later, on the Muslim holy day of Ashoura, protesters and riot police clashed in multiple locations in Tehran, leaving many injured and between 8 and 37 protesters killed, including the nephew of opposition leader Mousavi.

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Obama updates Haitian relief efforts (Photo by: whitehouse.gov)

On Jan. 12, Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7 earthquake, the largest the country has experienced in over 200 years. The epicenter of the earthquake was within 10 miles of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince. The Red Cross has estimated that the quake will affect at least 3 million Haitians. Haiti has a total population of around 9 million and is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

In the days following the earthquake, Haiti has received aid from organizations all over the world.  International governments, including the United States, have been offering help of all kinds.  President Obama has promised Haitians they will have the “full support of the United States.”

Worldwide, millions of Internet users have been calling on one another to donate money to the relief fund.  Donations via text message alone have already raised over $10 million.

Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and other social media outlets are serving as real-time news sources as more information on the disaster emerges.  On Twitter, trending topics such as #Haiti and #HelpHaiti have remained at the top of the list since the quake. “Trending topics” are the most talked about pieces of information on Twitter at any given time. The Top 10 topics are displayed on every Twitter user’s homepage at all times, encouraging users to see what everyone else is talking about and contribute to the discussion.

Wyclef Jean, popular singer and Haitian, is using his Twitter account (@Wyclef) to update Twitter users about Yéle Haiti, which he created in 2005 to spread awareness about his home country. He is currently using the site as a vehicle to receive donations.

Even CNN is tracking happenings in Haiti through Twitter and other social media, writing stories about the latest in the devastated country based on eye-witness accounts posted on Twitter.

But an article on Mashable, purveyor of all things social media, reminds Internet users that social media can make us aware of what’s happening in disaster areas, but it can’t actually fix the problems. That’s up to the people.

For more of Jordan’s takes on national issues and politics, follow her on Twitter @ygenoutloud.

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