By Alexandra Samuel | Harvard Business Press Books, June 2013

If you think LinkedIn is just for job hunting, you’re missing out on the many ways you can take advantage of this social network to build the professional relationships you need to advance in your career. LinkedIn can help you initiate, strengthen, and use the very real human connections that make you effective on the job–and help you get ahead. This short, practical book shows you how. In “Work Smarter with LinkedIn,” social media expert Alexandra Samuel demonstrates the most effective ways to actively build and use your network, sharing tips and tricks on: Deciding which connection invitations to accept, Searching for potential connections when you need to establish a new contact, Using business travel to make the most of face time with colleagues and contacts, Capturing all the connections you’ve made at a conference, and When not to use LinkedIn. The book also includes a 30-minute quick guide to starting–or perfecting–your LinkedIn profile.