Let's Connect: Using LinkedIn to get ahead at work

LinkedIn just leveled the playing field

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LinkedIn has made the world of business a much smaller place. The contacts you seek are no longer separated from you by six degrees; the number is down to one, two or three in most cases if you are on LinkedIn, by far the most successful and vibrant of all professional networking sites.

And it has leveled the playing field in ways one could not have imagined. The community of LinkedIn users can now be used by anyone for accessing faraway markets, landing dream jobs, raising capital, attracting the best of talent, building corporate brands and more. What you can achieve is limited only by your imagination and effort. The ingredients are all there to whip up something profitable for yourself.

And it is not rocket science.

This book is full of ideas, real cases and suggestions on how to get LinkedIn to work for you. Because, as you will see, LinkedIn works for you even as you sleep.

Can you afford to be ‘Linked Out’?

“LinkedIn is great for business development. I think I can get to almost any company via one or two connections. After all, people would much rather work with people who their friends know and trust.” - Guy Kawasaki, Successful entrepreneur, global investor, best-selling author and columnist, USA

Sample Chapters

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Click on the links below to read some of the sample chapters. If you like these, you are surely going to like to rest of the book too. You may order here if you do.

All these chapters are downloadable PDF files (size varying from 22-70k each)

Introduction: The LinkedIn Edge & About this book (Pages 7-9)
Your ever expanding Rolodex (Pages 53-64)
LinkedIn Answers: A Global Focus Group (Pages 73-84)
Branding & Marketing Yourself (Pages 105-112)
Finding a job you love (Pages 121-130)

Ordering the book

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YOU CAN NOW ORDER THE BOOK DIRECTLY ON AMAZON - CLICK HERE TO DO SO. CUSTOMERS FROM INDIA CAN ORDER ON A1 BOOKS.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Book Name: Let's Connect: Using LinkedIn to get ahead at work

Author: Ajay Jain

Pages: 208

First Published: January 2008 by TCP Media

E-Book Price: US $7.95 (To be sent over email after payment is received)

Paperback Version Price:
Within India: Rs. 250
Rest of the world: US $13.95 / Euro 9.95 / UK ₤7.95 (You may pay in any of these currencies or equivalent)

ORDERING THE BOOK: PAPERBACK ONLY
You can order the book by one of the following methods:

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ORDERING THE BOOK, INCLUDING E-BOOK, DIRECT FROM PUBLISHER

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Courier: For first copy: US $10 / Euro 7 / UK ₤5; For each additional copy: US $5 / Euro 3.5 / UK ₤2.5 (Delivery within 5 working days)

Note: Deliveries to remote locations where courier service is not available may take longer than mentioned.

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In advance by cheque / demand draft payable to 'TCP Media Private Limited' to be sent to B-130 (SFS), Sheikh Sarai - I, New Delhi 110 017, India.
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About Ajay Jain

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Ajay Jain is a New Delhi based journalist, blogger and now author with his first book, Let’s Connect: Using LinkedIn to get ahead at work.

He has worked in the Information Technology and Sports Management industries before taking up a career in writing.

Currently, he is focused more on covering technology and travel. He is also working on a travelogue, expected to be out early 2008. Besides writing, his other passions are photography and travelling.

He has worked as a business journalist with The Financial Express and has written columns and features for national publications in India including Outlook Business, Mint (a business daily published by HT Media in partnership with The Wall Street Journal), The Hindustan Times, Indian Management and Rediff.com. He has also edited a youth newspaper, The Campus Paper.

He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering (Delhi College of Engineering, 1992), Business Administration (Fore School of Management, 1994) and Journalism (Cardiff University, UK, 2002). His schooling was in St. Columba’s School.

His Blogs
AjayJain.com
TechGazing.com
Kunzum.com

Email
ajay@ajayjain.com

LinkedIn
http://linkedin.com/in/ajayjain9

Book Reviews and Reader Feedback

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REVIEWS / PODCASTS / INTERVIEWS

The following are some of the reviews about the book as well as feedback from readers and interviews with various media.

Review on Marketing Safari by Hjörtur Smárason, March 24, 2008
Review on Blog Critics Magazine by Andrew Ian Dodge, March 21, 2008
Review on The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur by Andrea J. Stenberg, March 18, 2008
Podcast interview with Martin Bossman at Inquire Online, March 9, 2008
Extensively quoted on piece titled LinkedIn for Dummies on Avangate by Adriana Iordan
Featured on NDTV Books, a part of India's most popular news channel group NDTV

READER FEEDBACK

Recommendation received by Sheilah Etheridge, Owner, SME Management, on Ajay Jain's LinkedIn Profile

"Ajay Jain is a true professional in all he sets out to accomplish. He is a talented Journalist and Blogger and a Published Author. Ajay’s latest creation Let’s Connect” Using Linkedin to get ahead at work has exceeded all my expectations.

Although I was honored and quite pleased that he sought my perspective (and many other members of Linkedin) on using linkedin for his book Let’s Connect, I had actually prepared myself for yet another rehash of what others have written. I am pleased to say I was very wrong.

Ajay has far exceeded all published writings on what Linkedin is all about. He has captured the true essence of all LinkedIn is and can be for all members. He has laid it out in a manner that will allow everyone an equal playing field in the great world of online networking.

Whether you are new to LinkedIn and online networking or a seasoned pro you will want to read Let’s Connect. And while you’re at it go ahead and send him an invitation to connect. Ajay is an asset to anyone’s network."

REVIEWS ON AMAZON

Review by Christopher Richards (Click here to read directly on Amazon)
Ajay Jain's book, Let's Connect, is a worthwhile introduction to LinkedIn, the professional networking site for business people and professionals. Many LinkedIn users have contributed their ideas and perspectives to Let's Connect.

Jain explains that LinkedIn is more than a bigger rolodex. He goes on to discuss the importance of quality versus quantity of network. He explains many advantages of connecting online with other professionals, yet cautions users to be careful with whom they are connecting. You'll learn how to avoid pitfalls and what you should expect from the site and your participation. The LinkedIn site continues to grow and change, but this book will give you an idea of how to use it to become a valued member of a global business community.

This book is aimed at those considering LinkedIn. But it's also useful for people who have not yet discovered the opportunities to demonstrate their responsiveness, generosity, and expertise by using the question and answer (Q & A) features.

As for this reviewer, LinkedIn has resulted in new and now ongoing client relationships. If you want to know what it is, why you should use it, and get suggestions from users who are making it work for them, then get this book.

Review by Andrea J. Stenberg (Click here to read directly on Amazon)
Many people get an invitation from a friend or colleague to join LinkedIn. They accept, sign up, get a couple of other links and then wonder, "now what?" So they sit with a LinkedIn account and do nothing further with it.

Others may put a little more effort in it; they invite their friends and colleagues, check the size of their network regularly and feel happy they're making progress. And yet, they're still not using LinkedIn to its full potential.

If you're one of those people who has an account but doesn't quite know what to do with it, then Ajay Jain's book is for you. Not a how to use LinkedIn manual, Let's Connect: Using LinkedIn to get ahead at work is a guide to using LinkedIn strategically.

Jain's book is a nice mix of practical strategies and quotes from LinkedIn users illustrating how they've used the methods Jain is writing about. These mini case studies add real authority to Jain's book and are interesting reading.

For example, Jain writes about strategies for using the Answers section of LinkedIn to your benefit. You can pose questions to conduct market research or to get ideas to solve a business problem.

You can also use Answers as a subtle form of marketing; by asking questions related to your field of business you put your name - and perhaps your website - in front of potential customers who may visit your site or start a conversation. Or they may invite you to become a connection.

Let's Connect includes some ways for using LinkedIn that I hadn't considered. If you are hiring an employee, looking them up on LinkedIn can potentially find you information that you couldn't get elsewhere. While candidates tailor their resumes to the position they're applying for, they may have a more complete resume on LinkedIn.

Furthermore, if they are connected to someone you know personally, you may get more information about this person than by contacting their past employers. You also know that any recommendations are real and haven't been altered by the candidate.

Jain also provides some information about LinkedIn that is not widely available. For example, you have a lifetime supply of 3,000 invitations. When you've used them up, that's it. Forever.

This is one piece of information I've never seen publicized on the site. As a result of reading Jain's book, I'm a little more choosy about who I send invites to. In fact, for people who are not currently a member of LinkedIn, I'm considering sending them invites by regular e-mail so that I don't waste an invitation on someone who may not be interested in joining LinkedIn at all.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Let's Connect. I'm planning on using some of Jain's strategies to build my own network and my own business. If you're a member of LinkedIn - or thinking of it - and aren't sure how to use the site effectively, Jain's book is a worthwhile purchase.

Review by Hjörtur Smarason(Click here to read directly on Amazon)
Let's Connect is not a manual about LinkedIn and how to use it but a book about the principles behind using LinkedIn as a networking tool and the philosophy behind it. In it Ajay talks about how you can make the most of LinkedIn, the worlds largest network of professionals with over 17 million participants, for your professional career. Let's Connect is based on his research and interviews with participants on LinkedIn and is full of great quotes and real examples of effective use of the LinkedIn network.

I signed up on LinkedIn in September last year and it has turned out to be a great move. I have learned a lot from Questions and Answers, got to know great people and got projects and business opportunities I would never have imagined. Part of it is thanks to Ajay Jain's white paper on how to use LinkedIn, which was the start of this book.

This new book, Let's Connect, is full of great tips on how to make LinkedIn work for you. I realized there are still so many opportunities on LinkedIn that I haven't fully utilized yet. Business is all about communication between the right individuals and LinkedIn is the place to start that communication. As Ajay asks at the beginning of his book, "Do you want to be Linked In or Linked Out?" The choice is yours.

It's a network of professionals on all levels, including executives from almost all the Fortune 500 companies, known authors and specialists. One of Ajay's examples of users of Answers is Barack Obama who posted the question: How can the next President better help small business and entrepreneurs thrive? A smart use of the LinkedIn network.

The most valuable chapter, and by far the largest, is chapter 5 "Ten ways to get LinkedIn to work for you". There Ajay covers these ten topics:

i Your Ever Expanding Rolodex
ii LinkedIn Answers: A Global Focus Group
iii Networking Plus
iv Branding and Marketing Yourself
v Hiring People
vi Finding a Job You Love
vii Finding Vendors and Service Providers
viii Running Background Checks
ix Entrepreneurs: Get Opinions and Investors
x Selling & Brand Building

I would have liked to see more on using LinkedIn for personal branding, but then again, personal branding is one of my special interests. Other chapters where eye opening for me about subjects I had not given much thought before.

If you are serious about advancing your professional career and making the most of your personal brand and your network, LinkedIn is a must and Ajay's book "Let's Connect" is your guide, whether you're new to LinkedIn or not.