It still amazes me when I hear there are people in business (including my husband, sister-in-law, and even some clients) who have not yet set up a profile on LinkedIn. I know, I know, social networking is not for you. You don't have time to set up a profile. You certainly don't want to put your picture online for old boyfriends to see. And why is it anyone's business what you are doing right now anyway?

In my view, LinkedIn is as important—if not more important—than your paper resume. Is your job so secure, or your business going so well that you no longer need to generate new leads or contacts? Are you actually too busy to passively look for a new job? Do you honestly not care where that awful assistant you fired landed next or where the boss is that you swore you would never work for again? If true, you can skip the rest of this post.

But If you are self-employed or run a small business there is really no excuse for not getting LinkedIn. Here's why the site works. In the real world, you don't have time to make phone calls to all the people you once worked with, simply for the sake of keeping your address book up to date. LinkedIn does that  for you! Recently, one of my contacts changed his profile to reflect a new position, in a new state. My LinkedIn Network Updates automatically communicated this information to me via email. I was able to quickly drop him a note, congratulate him on the new job, and offer up my services should he be in need of freelance PR help. Guess what? He called me the next day with a potential assignment. I know you are skeptical, but this truly did happen.

Once you have created your own profile, it's very easy to find old connections. You can search for people who attended your high school or college as well as people who worked at the same places you worked, all within a matter of seconds. Looking for a job in a particular industry or with a certain company? Find out who can help you. Get names, titles, and see who you might know in common. Then ask your connections for an introduction.

But here's an important tip: If you are an Internet lurker, and don't want people to know you've checked out their profile, be sure to update your account settings accordingly. I was talking with an old colleague about this the other day. He said, "What ever happened to JR, anyway?"

I replied, "I think I saw him on LinkedIn. I'm sure you can find him there."

To which my friend said, "I'd rather not. I wouldn't want him to know I was looking for him."

This is very important to remember. If you don't want your old boyfriend or former boss to know you've been snooping around their profile, be sure to go into Account Settings, then Privacy Settings. Then click on Profile Views. Then select "Don't show users that I've viewed their profile."

You can also control the amount of information LinkedIn sends you about your connections, and how much information your connections receive about you. I think it's handy to have LinkedIn broadcast any major professional changes, like a city relocation or a new job. But do your connections really need to be notified whenever you change your status? Probably not. As with any social networking site, being connected can quickly turn into TMI if you are not careful. Always double check your account settings because the defaults may not be set the way you would choose.

Proof of the site's success in helping job hunters can be found online in several posts documenting the  stories of people who happened upon their dream jobs through Linked In. Maybe you will be the next success story. So set up your profile and get connected. Because let's face it, you always hated going to those obnoxious networking events. Even the free wine was bad.