I have a funny suggestion for your New Year’s resolution. Why not get hooked into LinkedIn and/or complete your profile?

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com

Someone was just asking me how to manage all of the social media tools. I think that LinkedIn is an easier social media network for dipping a toe into the waters. The key is to spend time at the onset creating a complete profile. That means typing in your résumé as LinkedIn prompts – but it also getting recommendations.

You can get recommendations by simply asking colleagues to recommend you (once you start signing up on LinkedIn, the mechanics will be clear). Or I think an even nicer way is to recommend others. As a default, the people you recommend will get a note asking them to approve the recommendation and consider recommending you.

LinkedIn isn’t just for job and employee seekers anymore. Once you are signed up you may want to take the time to find groups of like-minded folks or folks you want to know, or even to find specific individuals. Again LinkedIn makes it easy to make connections to people you know and the search helps you find new people. The beauty of the tool is that it will also help you find a connection you might have to any new person. So it’s there when you need it. That’s why I think it’s one of the best tools to get into even if you don’t plan to dive into the deep end. Once you’re there people you know can find you – you never know they might have an offer you can’t refuse!

Happy New Year!!