How To Make Microsoft's $26.2B Deal For LinkedIn Pay Off For You

By Ian Bush

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The company behind Windows is scooping up the 'professional' social network for a cool $26.2 billion. Microsoft's deal for LinkedIn is one of the biggest-ever technology mergers. So how can all those dollars make sense for you and your career development?

The purchase of LinkedIn gives Microsoft a foothold in social -- and a way to leverage all the site knows about its 433 million members to make software like Office more connected.

"So many people have started to think of LinkedIn solely as a job search platform," says Donna Serdula, president and owner of Vision Board Media. The Delran, Burlington County company is behind LinkedIn-Makeover.com. "But that's just a small part of what LinkedIn can do. This partnership with Microsoft, I believe, is really going to allow it to move it more into business and sales -- it's no longer just going to be job search. And I think that's what makes me so excited."

Serdula specializes in professional branding -- writing LinkedIn profiles for executives and others because, she says, "it's hard to write about yourself." With all this buzz surrounding LinkedIn, isn't it time to spruce up the brand called 'you'?

"I always say your LinkedIn profile is not your resume," Serdula advises. Your resume is your professional past, and you LinkedIn profile is your career future. So don't copy and paste that resume. Really look at your LinkedIn profile as a digital introduction -- as a first impression -- and write your story. Write it as a narrative, write it in first person, and tell people who you are and how you can help. If you do it in that manner, you will find success."