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"This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.\nSuccessful business people are always looking for their next rock star employee.  The question is where do you find them?  The good news is that the latest LinkedIn stats \u2013 60 million professional profiles spanning 200 countries - would indicate this is a good place to look. \nMany of us already have a LinkedIn account, and if you don\u2019t, LinkedIn is free and easy to maneuver.  The trick is incorporating some strategies (habits, if you will) into using LinkedIn. \nBelow are five easy things you can add to your LinkedIn strategy to give you greater exposure to top talent.\n1. Build Connections\nIn the course of your daily business, you never know where your next sale is going to come from.  The same can be true for recruiting.  It\u2019s important to connect and build relationships with a variety of different people.  For example, my LinkedIn profile has connections from prior jobs, clients, and local entrepreneurs I do business with.  It\u2019s great when I can make introductions between people with varied needs.\n2. Join Groups\n\n\n\n\nIn addition to being a part of groups for your personal and/or professional benefit, join a couple of groups that might help surface candidates.   Let\u2019s say you're always looking for sales professionals.  There\u2019s a LinkedIn group - The Sales Association - that you might want to join as a way to connect with possible candidates.  They have almost 20,000 members, are affiliated with a national association, and have a job posting system when you\u2019re ready to let people know about your next opening.\n3. Engage with Questions and Answers\nOnce you start connecting with groups, look for opportunities to engage with people in discussions.  Notice people who share your culture and enter into a conversation with them.  I belong to a group called Social Media in Organizations.  This group offers multiple channels to talk about workplace social media \u2013 discussions, webinars, articles, a book club, etc.\n4. Get (and Read) LinkedIn Updates\nThis is a quick and easy way to recognize people for promotions, awards, and accomplishments.  People will remember you.  Since much of your LinkedIn profile is static, this is a way to regularly let people know what you\u2019re up to.  I\u2019ve seen some of my connections post in their status \u201CLooking for a Senior Accountant.  Got a lead?  Let me know.\u201D\n5. Embrace Mobile\n\n\n\n\nKeeping up with all of the information available can be a daunting task.  That\u2019s why I like the mobile version of LinkedIn for my phone.  I can check updates while I\u2019m waiting at appointments, so staying on top of the activity doesn\u2019t have to be a time-consuming chore. LinkedIn offers versions for the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Palm.\nOver the years, LinkedIn has taken some hits for being nothing more than an online repository of names.  But these days, more and more people are becoming reacquainted with it.  Since most people have a presence on LinkedIn, it\u2019s an obvious place to keep tabs on what\u2019s happening in the marketplace.  And as small business owners, you can easily leverage LinkedIn to find talent.\n\n\nFor more business coverage, follow Mashable Business on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook\n\n\nMore business resources from Mashable:\n\n- Growing Your Business: 5 Tips From the Founder of Foursquare- 5 Essential Apps for Your Business\u2019s Facebook Fan Page- Web Entrepreneurship: Does the City You Live in Matter?- HOW TO: Integrate Paid Search and Social Media for Better Marketing Results- How Small Businesses Are Using Social Media for Real Results"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2010/04/05/linkedin-employees/>