LinkedIn is starting to make inroads into the Australian professional community, and yours truly succumbed this week. So Wired's How-to Wiki on how to get ahead on LinkedIn was timely.
They suggest that you keep your profile professional (save the quirky personal hobbies for MySpace) and that you expand your network by helping others rather than asking for recommendations and introductions:

Want a thumbs-up recommendation next to your profile, but don't want to bribe your contacts? Write a recommendation for someone else first, Alba says. When a colleague reads your glowing review of his business prowess, he'll be more inclined to reciprocate.

If you want someone in your network to introduce you to one of their network, then you need to have something relevant to offer, not just a sales pitch or a request for help:

Utilize social graces with a professional message describing your general interest or an informational interview."When I see your message, I'm looking for something that isn't 'join my Shaklee business,'" Alba says. "I want to see significant reasons for me to open my network, endorse you, and feel confident."

Any Aussie LinkedIn users out there care to share their power networking tips?


Get Ahead on LinkedIn [Wired]

Facebook seems to have taken off as the grownups networking app du jour in Australia, but I've had a couple of people mention Linkedin to me recently - one who was headhunted by a company who found her via her public profile, another who was appraising a job candidate via the person's Linkedin profile.
The Freelance Switch blog has published a guide for getting the most out of your Linkedin profile, which includes tips on creating your profile, building a network and using your profile to get work. They advise being thorough in filling out your public profile as the site carries a lot of search engine weight and a search for your name on Google is likely to return your Linked in profile on the first page of results.
Linkedin also has a tool which helps you build an email signature to promote your Linkedin profile.
I have found my way onto Facebook but not Linkedin as yet. Have you had any good, bad or indifferent results from using professional social networking sites? Please share your experiences in comments.

8 Things You Can Do to Get Work through Linkedin [Freelance Switch]