• Improve your connectability -- You should fill out your profile like it's an executive bio, so include past companies, education, affiliations, and activities. As you consider your profile ask yourself if someone who does NOT know you will be willing to take a chance to meet with you for an interview after looking at your profile.
• Make sure your picture looks professional. This isn't facebook... dress for your profile picture like you would for a job interview.
• Keep your profile current.
• Improve your Google PageRank/search engine results -- To do this, create a public profile and select "Full View." Also, instead of using the default URL, customize your public profile's URL to be your actual name. To strengthen the visibility of this page in search engines, use this link in various places on the web, for example, when you comment in a blog, include a link to your profile in your signature.
• Make your interview go smoother -- You can use LinkedIn to find the people that you're meeting. Knowing that you went to the same school, plays hockey, or shares acquaintances is a lot better than an awkward silence after, "I'm doing fine, thank you."
• If you have a last name that is misspelled frequently, a maiden name, or a nickname, put these misspellings and names into the Summary field of your profile so that people can still find you.
• Connect to your "real-world" friends. The first thing to do as a new LinkedIn user - after creating a rockin' profile for yourself - is to invite your true-blue friends and former workmates to join your network. There are three steps in this process:
  1. Find your friends who are already members.
  2. Use the Find Colleagues and Find Classmates functions to synch up with people you know from school and past jobs; and
  3. Invite bunches of "real" friends who aren't already LinkedIn users, to join the network - you'll be helping them get connected at the same time you grow your own network.
  4. Look through the LDS Michigan MITTEN group for members of your ward and stake that you know and invite them to connect to you.
• Avoid becoming an Invitation Spammer. If you want to reach out to someone you've spotted who has an enticing profile, send the person a Contact request rather than an invitation to join your network. A Contact request, to use an offline networking analogy, is like an invitation for a lunch date. An invitation to Connect is like asking someone to go steady. Unless you know a person already, don't spam him or her with a "want to start recommending me to people, and vice versa?" invitation - it's creepy.
• Search under Linkedin Groups for those that may pertain to your industry or desired career. To do this use the search box at the top of the page. To the left of the search box is a drop down list of what to search. Change that to "Search Groups", enter the keywords for your industry or career, and click the Search button.
  
• Don't pass along questionable requests.
• Don't abuse the Find Colleagues feature.
• Avoid the temptation to claim employers and employment dates you're not entitled to.
• Disconnect from bad apples when you need to. LinkedIn gives you the ability to disconnect from other users if you find that the connection no longer works for you or if you're plagued by inappropriate requests or other annoyances from one of your connections.
• Learn to use the Linkedin program to do your job searching. Have you tried to search under the "JOBS" section (see the title on the page for this link). Under the title "Find a job using Linkedin network" type the keywords related to your desired occupation and then click on the search button. These will only show the jobs available under "Linkedin Jobs", click on the tab next to it called "The Web" and here you will see many jobs posted on the web. Pick a particular job title that you like and then click on the icon on the far right of that line, in the column noted as "Jobs Insider". This will bring up all the people that you are connected to that work at or have some association with that firm. Now you can start using your Linkedin connections as a way to find out who is working where and what contacts you may have to help you gain an "in" to that company.

LinkedIn Best Practices Bibliography:

1. Comments and suggestions from various users.
2. http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/01/ten_ways_to_use.html
3. http://www.the-linkedin-speaker.com/blog/
4. http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-Ten-Linked-In-Dos-and-Donts&id=184051