LinkedIn is an amazing tool for so many reasons:  Job search, recruiting, networking, reconnecting, information, and so on.  The value has been obvious and has shown a growth from only 4,500 members in 2003, to over 175 million members as of August 2012.  But I’m not here today to talk about what you should use it for, or how big it has gotten, but how you use it.

There are two main schools of thought with LinkedIn:  Using it as a resource tool, or being the resource.  You should really decide which one you are and stick to it.

At the beginning, I began to list some of the uses for LinkedIn, and the obvious value it presented.  No matter which way you use it, it is an amazing valuable tool plain and simple!  Using it as a resource tool really doesn’t differentiate between whether you’re a LION (LinkedIn Open Networker) with thousands of connections and whether you have dozens of connections and just use the service for looking at jobs.  Most people use the free features, but millions have joined the premium services which give it even more functionality.  Again, this is not critical to this point, but the bottom line is that people focus their time on the site as getting the most out of it that they can.  And why not?  Shouldn’t you usually look to maximize your time?  Most of us are so busy that our time literally has a dollar-amount attached to it.

Another way people look at LinkedIn is that it is an extension of their own networking strategy that they employ.  My personal networking strategy is simple:  Build my network by connecting with people with whom I can add value.  What does that really mean?  If I can’t add value to that person by building a connection, whether it is on LinkedIn or in the business world, then why connect at all?  When you are a person who can add value, and have, people tend to be more responsive to you on the rare occasion you have a need.

The other day, I was speaking with a guy that I’m connected with on LinkedIn.  We know some friends in common, and work in the same office building.  He told me about his networking strategy, and I was relieved that I was in close company with someone else that used my same tactics.  He has about 800 connections on LinkedIn, and constantly sifts through his list and removes connections.  Why?  If he can’t call that person and either get them right on the phone, or get a response within 48 hours, he doesn’t believe there is mutual benefit as he ALWAYS will return calls.  This drastically increases the value of his personal network.  If he comes across someone that is qualified, and of good moral character, he will make sure he forwards a resume to a connection.  He’s not guaranteeing an interview, but simply that he will reach out to a person that can help this seeker.  The seeker is often copied on a series of communications whereby he/she realizes that this man has initiated a dialog on his/her behalf.  Is this person more or less-likely to speak about this network in a positive light at the very least?  I’ll let you decide.

Why I drew out that story, is that I follow the same methodology.  It takes work to maintain hundreds or thousands of contacts.  It takes work to stay in contact with people or even return all of your calls.  But the end result is that you rarely owe anyone a favor when you make a request, although you are still grateful.  Your value is always high to others, because in todays “gimme, gimme, gimme” society, people that aren’t asking for things are a rarity.  To be a valuable rarity is to be successful .  Isn’t that what we all strive for?

My .02