On LinkedIn you can list a summary resume, details of your past work history, your current employment or situation, and other pieces of information.  All of this can present a picture of you but doesn't neccesarily convey your reputation or credibility, nor does it separate you from the pack.  Hate to say it, but there are many potential competing CFO's with your general background and experience.

But LinkedIn has a number of features that help you establish credibility and build your reputation. 

1. Profile Completed?: Your goal on LinkedIn is to be found and once found to be seen as interesting/ different/ relevant. The more information you present, themore likely you are to be found. What if someone is searching for a CFO and they have five on their list. Who's more likely to catch the reviewer's attention? The person with a slim LinkedIn profile who does not "seem" interested, or the person who has taken the time to build a killer profile? Go back to Article 1 in this series if you have not built a killer profile.
   
2. Q & A: With the Answers section you have the ability to both ask and to answer questions. Both can have a positive impact on your reputation. The questions you ask will say something about who you are and the level of experience you possess. But, don't ask pointless, self-serving spam-like questions. You want to focus on asking questions that will generate thoughtful responses. "Are companies finding ERP system implementation to be disappointing?" Answer your own question if no-one takes the bait. In the Answers you can share your knowledge and display expertise and experience. Link to White Papers hosted on your web site - buy a cheap site and just use it to store documents, or now post PDF files on your LinkedIn Profile.
   
3. Recommendations: Another opportunity to pay it forward. This is a great way to build a reputation bank, by discovering old colleagues and making contact. This is not the place to give a recommendation in return just because you received one. Many times a reciprocal recommendation will be obvious in the Status update - it just looks fake. As a job hunter you should look for client, colleague and even employee recommendations.
   

The three areas discussed will start to build credibility, and separate you from the pack.  A further benefit from answering questions and getting recommendations is that all your contacts will see this information in their Status Update.  Thus you give your network multiple, credible touches and people will visit your profile based on these links.  Another benefit to providing a recommendation is that you create a link on the recommended person's profile page to your profile.  People will often look to see who provided the recommendation.  This is just another way to draw traffic to your profile.

Linkedin is poised for even more dramatic growth and will likely become a "go to" site for employers.  Just as you are Googled before the interview, you may be "LinkedIn" to see if you are worthy of consideration.  Don't wait to join the parade.

In future articles we will discuss Linkedin for Job Hunting, Using Groups and Searches, and the science of LinkedIn Domination.