LinkedIn is a great place to keep track of all the people you’ve worked with, and maintain connections you’ve already made. But it can also be seen as a huge conference where everyone’s invited, it’s free to attend, and it never ends. And it’s not as intimidating.

LinkedIn has some features that let you connect with professionals that are usually hard to reach. Here are three ways to effectively network on LinkedIn:

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Now that you know how to write a strong LinkedIn profile, it’s time to start building your network with people you know. This should come before networking with strangers so that you build your credibility and 1st degree rapport before branching out.

It’s also important to have contacts when using your LinkedIn profile to find a new job. According to How To Change The World, you’re 34 times more likely to get approached with a job opportunity if you have more than 20 connections, as opposed to just 5 connections. That’s huge! And according to an HR rep at the company I work for, he uses LinkedIn for 90% of his engineering head-hunting.

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If you haven’t yet been to LinkedIn, it’s like the professional version of Facebook. Instead of listing your favorite movies and music, you list your past jobs and skills. Instead of a wall, past employers and coworkers can write public recommendations for you.

Your LinkedIn profile should be more than just a duplicate of your print resume/CV. You have the room to elaborate, and it’s a great opportunity to network with individuals who were nearly impossible to reach before. I’ll talk about utilizing the networking opportunities of LinkedIn in a separate article.

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So you’re ready to start a new career, and suddenly realize that your professors didn’t teach you something really important: how to apply to your first job. Because of online resources like Monster.com, LinkedIn, Career Builder, and Craigslist, it’s easy to find job listings, but it’s harder to stand out when so other applicants can easily find the same positions.

So here are 10 basic rules-of-thumb when writing an entry-level resume. You’d be surprised how many college graduates don’t even proofread their resumes, so following these simple steps will make you look really professional in the eyes of your potential employers.

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If you’re trying to start a new business, apply for a new job while you have a job, or start a new project, you might be wondering where you could possibly fit it into your schedule.

In college, I found a correlation between waking up earlier and productivity. I’d wake up at 7am (which in college life is like 4am), head to the dining hall with my laptop, and get a good two hours of work done before the dorm got loud. Then I could spend more of the evenings enjoying time with my friends.

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