Growing your Network through LinkedIn Groups

Consider joining groups with like personal and professional interests.  When joining a group, you instantly expand your network.  

Go to your LinkedIn home page (www.linkedin.com), log in, and then, select Groups on the left hand margin.  LinkedIn describes a group as:

“LinkedIn Groups allows you to join and organize communities of professionals who share a common experience, passion, interest, affiliation or goal. LinkedIn Groups features offer members a private space to strengthen old business contacts, and to be introduced to new ones. The space offers a forum for topics to be discussed and solutions to be discovered. Group members are also able to communicate freely with one another through LinkedIn messaging.”

Once there, click on Groups Directory and start looking for groups that interest you.  Some of the groups that plum is a member of include:

Action & Sport Innovators

Action Sport Networking

Apparel Executives Forum

Brand Management

Brand & Communications Management

eMarketing Assocation Network

Global Fishing (gotta have fun, too, right?)

Innovative Marketing, PR, Word-of-Mouth & Buzz Innovators

Outdoor Business Network

Outdoor Sporting Goods Connection

Public Relations and Communication Professionals

Recruiting Professionals Network

Retail Advertising and Marketing Association

Sports Industry Network

and many more...

You can also find many alumni organizations (Nike, adidas, Timberland, and even NOLS).  This can help you reconnect with people you know from previous organizations. And look to see if your university has a group too!

You can choose to allow members of the group to inMail you directly.  (you can update this in your settings for the group - see below)

This increases your visibility amongst recruiters seeking you out in professional arenas.  You can join 50 groups (and once there, you can withdraw from those you aren't interested in...to add others).  Be sure to remove the logo from your profile (unless you want them showing) and determine whether or not you would like to receive a digest (daily or weekly) of communication from the group.  Consider creating a mail folder in order to keep your inbox from becoming cluttered.

There are some great groups related to apparel, footwear, marketing, sport, and outdoor!

Check them out and join to instantly increase your visibility - and your network!