Working in a business development role means that I spend a lot of time working my way into various communities and developing mutual beneficial relationships with potential customers and affiliates. One of the tools I use is LinkedIn – “facebook for professionals” is how I often describe it to those who have yet to hear of it. I find the ability to search for professionals worldwide very beneficial, although I spend a lot of time filtering out irrelevant content and have a fairly low reply rate to my personal messages that I send to fellow group members. Industry groups are a fantastic tool for any professional, but some are better that others. Below I outline a few groups that I am a member of that pertain to the industry.

PCB East Website

LinkedIn Group
Do you, or any of your co-workers, plan on attending the PCB East 2009 Conference in Waltham-Boston, MA? If you do, you should join the LinkedIn group “PCB East Pre-Event Networking”. There you can begin to network with potential suppliers, customers, and colleagues. Why wait until that week to begin your research and to develop your relationships? Start now and ensure that your time there is spent efficiently. Feel free to discuss dinner options, happy hours, local events, and any other networking opportunities …