Here is the first part of the article:
Long is a longtime Westporter. She moved here 30 years ago for the usual reason β the schools β and over the years, rose through the sales and business development ranks at Pitney Bowes.
She discovered LinkedIn shortly after it launched. Long realized she could use the professional networking website β which connects employers and job seekers β as a way to become more knowledgeable about sales prospects. The site was intuitive. She never had to learn its features. As LinkedIn grew, she grew with it.
In 2013, Long left her corporate position. She did not need LinkedIn to find a new job. Instead, she formed Post Road Consulting in Westport and Stamford. But the online networking platform is at the heart of what she does. Long offers LinkedIn training for large corporations, as well as small- and medium-sized businesses.
She helps university students, alumni and career-services departments understand LinkedInβs power. In addition, she provides personal training, including profile makeovers, to executives, consultants, attorneys, job seekers and other professionals.
Late last year, Long became an author. Her book, βLinkedIn for Personal Branding: The Ultimate Guide,β is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and, of course, through her LinkedIn profile. Naturally, that includes links to her vast cyber presence, such as YouTube videos.
In other words, Long practices exactly what she preaches.
She preaches the LinkedIn gospel because she is a true believer in a world in which individual employees represent not only themselves, but their employers, online. For businesses that search the internet to learn everything about a potential hire, and for many people with a sprawling cyber life, they may not even realize LinkedIn can be the one place that ties it all together.