Get Linked In Right Now

If the economy slows down and jobs turn scarce, it may come down to who you know and the size of your professional network to obtain employment. I think the site http://www.linkedin.com/ is a great place to put your work history and keep current and former professional contact info. What is awesome about it is:

• it is free
• It can build itself, once you're in it, old acquaintances may come out of the woodwork and link up with you.
• you just have to put your information in there, if contacts you had at some company move on, they will update their profile and you won't have outdated contacts and lose the connection with that person.
• lots of people are already in it, you might be surprised who uses it. Lots of manager types, who are clued in, are already in there i.e. the people who actually do the hiring and interviewing.
• Headhunters use it as a gold mine to fill hard to hire positions, so a new job can just land in your inbox. (It happened to me twice.)
• Your able to see how interconnected the world is. I am two connections away from the State Director at the Office of Senator Bob Bennett

The sooner you organize and update your resume information and establish your network, the more prepared you become for a situation where you are looking for work. So what are you waiting for eh?