NOT YOUR FATHER'S LINKEDINByTedJanusz

Visit again (linkedin.com), and you may be surprisedto see how a few recent changes could heip promoteyour career in the parking profession.

Find YourTribeFirst, if you haven't already, join your fellow IPI members

in their Linkedln group. It's free and easy! Across thetop ofyour Linkedln home page, click on the "Interests"link and then "Groups." On the right side of the nextscreen, simply click the blue "Find a Group" button,type "International Parking Institute," and press enter.

aybe what now seems like eons ago, you created a profile on Linkedln, theprofessional social networking site. Like many users, though, you haven'tdone a thing on the site since then.

TED JANUSZ is

a professional

speaker on the topic

of "social mediafor baby boomers,"

author, and marketing

consultant. He is the

author of the Socral

Media MarketingGuide for Parking

Professionals,whichis a free publication

for lPl members and

can be downloaded

from parking.org/

socialmediaguide.

He can be

reached attnd@

ia n uspre$entfftio,is.

oom or 614.440.7487.

You will be taken to a world of 5,000members who are having 1ive1y discus-

sions, announcing promotions, andposting or searching for jobs. Need

to find or contact someone in yourindustry? You can also see or search

for other members of the group.

Say CongratsLinkedln can present you with a

screen full of the smiling faces ofyour connections who are celebrating

birthdays. new jobs. or work anniversa-

ries. Click on the link for "Connections" and then fromthe resulting drop-down menu, select "Keep in Touch."

You then have the ability to quickly and easily say

"congratulations!" as a way to keep in touch. Be sure toupdate your Linkedln profile when you have your owngood news to share, and you will flnd your connections

offer you congratulations as well. This might be thefirst step in reawakening former business relationships.

YourAlma MaterThe next option in the Connections drop-down list is"Find Alumni." By clicking on this link, you can findat a glance summary information about your collegeclassmates on LinkedIn, including:x Where they live.a Where theywork.* What they do.

a What they studied.a What their specific skills are.& How you are connected (as either a first, second, or

third connection or as a member of a group).

Beneath that graphic in classic yearbook stvle, you

will see the photos, job titles, locations, and graduationyears of some of your classmates. By clicking on the"Notables" link on the page, you will be taken to thethumbnail profiles of some of the movers and shakersin your and other lndustries.

Ifyou attended multiple co11eges, you can get similarinformation for other educational institutions by simply

clicking the "Change School" button.

Be a LeaderLinkedln gives you the ability to easily spread your

message among your conrrections. Post yourarticle on LinkedIn. It's easv!

At the top of your Linkedln homepage, to the right ofyour profile pho-tograph, simply click the pencil icon(to create a post) or the paper clip icon(to attach a file).

I attached a file to my Linkedln pro-file less than 24 hours ago, and my article

has already had 46 views. You will get

a summary of your activity by lookingto the right of your home page; "Who's

Viewed Your Updates."

Company PageYou have probably thought ofl,inkedln as a place to store

and maintair-r your online resume, but did you realize thatyour parking facility can now be represented for free on

the site, which has 300 million members?

Perhaps you have created a Facebook page for yourparking facility. Why not do something similar on the

world's largest professional social networking site? Atthe top ofyour Linkedln home page, click on the "In-terests" link and then "Companies." On the right side ofthe screen, click the yellow "Create" button.

By creating a company page, as Linkedln says, you can

"raise brand awareness, announce career opporfunities,and promote your products and ser-vices."

Worth Another LookIf you haven't visited the website in a while, you maybe surprised to see how user-friendly Linkedln now is.

More importantly, you may be able to use Linkedln tofind new ways to easily connect with others to advance

your career in the parkingprofession. O

14 TNTERNATIONAL PARKTNG tNST|TUTE I rrenUnnV ZOrS