Finding your LinkedIn "Style" of Networking
PART
II Your networking style if you are in a job search.
In
our last post we discussed the different styles of online networking, from timid to
gregarious.
Your
decision on which networking style you want to use should depend on your
networking goals. Your personality and
approach to marketing Me, Inc., are also factors. Some people who are
bashful in person-to-person networking (my kind of people, actually) may find
online networking more comfortable. Those who are trying to create networks in
new career fields or in other physical locations (say, Chicago, San Francisco,
Boise, Lubbock or Shreveport) may find online networking and phone networking
essential.
When
is the best time to grow your network for a job hunt? This question is similar
to the (Japanese, I believe) adage:
When
is the best time to plant a tree? Twenty years ago.
When
is the second best time to plant a tree? Today.
Likewise,
the best time to grow your network for a job hunt was three or four years ago.
The next best time is right now. (If you actually did start to network on LinkedIn,
collect recommendations, and develop your profile years ago, congratulations!
Now is a good time to get a bit more aggressive.)
If
you are job-hunting, there are practical reasons for creating a larger network. Many companies are
now using employee referrals to vet potential hires. Some companies even give
bonuses to employees if those referrals result in hires. One of the current
trends in HR circles is to use employee's connections to help find new
employees instead of using expensive search services and recruiters
[See
earlier blog post. ]
Therefore,
to find connections from your list of target companies, you want to use the
LinkedIn's Company listings. Look for people in your geographic area or work in
the same locations you want to. Find out what professional (or other groups)
they belong to that are of mutual interest. Join them.
If
that seems too much like stalking, see if they have a Twitter or other social
media link on their profile. If so, that's an invitation to connect with them there.
Also check and see if they advertise themselves as a LION. If so, feel free to
send them a personalized invitation. Note that some LIONs get so many requests
to connect, it could be difficult to get noticed in the crowd. If they have a
blog, that's also an invitation to read it and leave a comment.
Once
you get to know these people, they could be great advocates for you if the
right job opens up. (This is similar to the approach that Richard Bolles has
espoused for many years in What Color Is Your Parachute?, way, way
before online social networks.)
When you join professional groups on LinkedIn, if you have a free account
LinkedIn may still put a few obstacles in your path to contacting 3rd degree
connections. Mainly, they may hide the last names of 3rd degree (or further)
connections and make it difficult to send them a message (unless it's one of
their $10 InMail messages.) There are many ways around these restrictions, but
one way is to connect with one or two LIONs in that group. (LION = LinkedIn
Open Network.) Do that and nearly everybody in that group, however large, will
be a 2nd degree connection. That's a good incentive to accept an invitation from
a LION in that group, too. How do you know if a person is a LION? Look at their
profile. Many LIONs actually post in their profile the term, LION, or announce
that they accept all invitations.
You
can also make it easier for other people to find you when they have the same
problem of indentifying you. It’s easy. Just re-type your name in the Headline
section (just below your name, next to your photo). You do that by clicking the
Edit button next to your name when you edit your profile. This way if a group
member points at your photo in a group, they might see your first name and last
initial from the name field, but they will also see your full name in your
headline. You can also add your full name to your links to your Twitter address
and other accounts on your profile. This can make it much, much easier for
people to find and identify you for jobs and networking.
Also,
when people write you a recommendation on LinkedIn, simply ask them to use your
full name in the recommendation. If an HR person is searching recommendations
instead of entire profiles, your name will pop up there, too.
You
can also be strategic in accepting invitations, especially if you get one of
those boring, canned "I'd like to invite you to join my LinkedIn
network" invitations. When you get that invitation, that could mean one of
three things:
2. The person doesn't really care enough about you to send a personalized invitation, they just want to collect connections. (Why would you want to connect with somebody who won’t even take the time to personalize an invitation?)
3. They assume you are an open networker and will accept most if not all invitations. (A less impersonal, but still careless error unless, of course, you actually ARE an open networker.)
There
actually is a fourth possibility: they clicked the wrong button and sent you an
invitation by mistake. It does happen. Again, this is not usually a great way
to start a networking relationship.
If
you get one of these impersonal invitations from somebody, be strategic. Look
at their profile. If that person is in your field or one of your groups,
consider accepting the invitation and writing back, "I'm happy to connect.
Was there a particular reason you sent me an invitation? How can I help
you?" This could be a good way to start a conversation. If they don't
write back in a reasonable time, you can always disconnect.
If
that invitation is from a person in the HR field, they might be working
strategically to build their network for their specialty, or they may be
flailing, randomly sending out invitations to anybody they can find who is
connected. Again, if they are a specialist in your field or in your region,
consider accepting the invitation. If (as in some recent invitations I've
received) they work in an entirely different part of the country (or world)
and/or place clients in a field unrelated to yours, you can simply hit the Ignore
button with a clear conscience.
When
job hunting, you also need to make sure your profile is close to or at 100%
completion. Use keywords for your occupation in your job descriptions and use
those to make it easier for HR people to find you, too. There are other
techniques we'll talk about in other posts, too.
If
you are thinking of planting your tree now, start digging.
