Tip: LinkedIn can help retirees, families

If you're an executive, a manager, a sales professional, an administrator or any kind of decision-maker in a big or midsize company, there's a good chance you are a member of LinkedIn. If you're retired, self-employed or work for a small company, there's a good chance you're not a member. But perhaps you should be.

LinkedIn bills itself as the "world's largest professional network," with more than 150 million members. Most features are free, although there are some for-pay premium services. But even longtime users are often confused about what LinkedIn is and what it can do.

David Gowel, chief executive of RockTech, a consulting firm based in Cambridge, Mass., that helps companies get the most out of LinkedIn, compares the service to "a thousand-blade Swiss Army knife." But he notes that most members use only a few of LinkedIn's features.

Gowel, author of "The Power in a Link: Open Doors, Close Deals, and Change the Way You Do Business Using LinkedIn" (Wiley, $20), says LinkedIn offers rewards even for those no longer trying to make business contacts or to further their own careers. "LinkedIn is a relationship amplifier," he says. "It's not just a resumé tool."

For example, you might not be interested in getting a new job, but what if somebody in your family is? "If you're trying to help a child or a grandchild get a job or get warmly introduced into a company, your background could be very helpful," Gowel says. For boomers and seniors with a lifetime of contacts, their LinkedIn network can be invaluable when it's tapped into by someone else. "It's the potential energy built up by decades of relationships," Gowel says.

Keep in mind that LinkedIn's "professional network" isn't exclusively focused on business contacts. There are experts in an array of fields and interests you can add to your network. "If you pick up a new hobby and you're retired, or you're looking to get into something new, you can get an entree through someone you trust," Gowel says.

And with LinkedIn's powerful search engine, you could find old friends and colleagues from years ago. "It's also fun to re-engage with people that you've forgotten about," Gowel says. "In the personal-professional life, anywhere where relationships are valuable, LinkedIn is a must-have."