As so much in social media is trial and error, I was happy to receive some advice from a Career Enlightenment subscriber, Hugh Knight.
We’ve all experienced the frustration of sending out a LinkedIn connection invitation and getting ignored. Even though I consider this bad LinkedIn etiquette, people are busy or uninitiated. Hugh has found a great process for getting around this problem.
Step 1: Search for Related People
No, I don’t mean relatives. I mean people related to your field of interest. Use LinkedIn’s people search with targeted Keywords. In Hugh’s example, he searched for people with the word “Sharepoint” in their profile.
Step 2: Be Totally Transparent
Too many people simply send off a LinkedIn invitation without personalizing it. I know some folks who categorically refuse to accept un-customized invitations.
When you send your invitation, LinkedIn asks you how you know this person. Pick “friend”, even if you don’t know them.
Hugh highly recommends a 100% transparency policy when reaching out. These new connections have very little knowledge of you accept for what you have in your note. So use the following phrase to make it clear why you want to connect.
I am new to the area and am wanting to build my network.
Step 3: Begin On Common Ground
If you notice anything in common with this person, be sure to mention it right away.
If you have a mutual connection, say “We have a mutual friend in (someone’s name).”
If you have a school in common, or anything else, mention it.
Bonus Tip: Leverage Your New Connection
When they accept your invite and it shows in your email. Follow up with this easy text:
Thank you so much for accepting my LinkedIn Profile invite. . . .. I would be interested in obtaining any suggestions or contacts that you think would be in line with my background and work experience.
Notice these 2 things with this note:
A. Beginning and ending thank you . ..
B. Asking for suggestions or contacts
Try this approach the next time you invite someone to your LinkedIn network, and tell me how it works for you!
Joshua Waldman
Joshua Waldman, author of Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies, is recognized as one of the nation's top authorities in Social Media Career Advancement. To learn Joshua’s secret strategies for shortening the job search and getting the right job right away, Get The Missing Manual for LinkedIn Success
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@greghorowitz @JoshuaWaldman Thanks greg, you got exactly what I was referring to. It’s that phrase “We’ve all experienced the frustration of sending out a LinkedIn connection invitation and getting ignored. ” that got me. Getting through to people by introducing yourself as you really are is one thing. Pretending you’re someone they already know is not a desirable method of approach for me. I have been tempted to do that but I choose not to. Being honest shouldn’t be a barrier to building a solid network.
@greghorowitz @beth redmond Ah! Indeed. That’s right. Sometimes it can be annoying. I think it’s probably bad etiquette by the person sending the invite without personalizing it. Thanks for the comment.
@JoshuaWaldman @beth redmond I think Beth was referring to this: “We’ve all experienced the frustration of sending out a LinkedIn connection invitation and getting ignored. Even though I consider this bad LinkedIn etiquette, people are busy or uninitiated.” I had the same reaction as Beth. If a stranger sends me an invite and can’t even be bothered to write a personalized note, I feel no obligation to respond.
@JoshuaWaldman @BillBoorman Isn’t that what ‘social networking’ means – that its networking! Quite rightly you point out it’s the quality of the person that counts and that quality is measured in an enormous number of ways on LI – your profile, your participation in groups and answers and the recommendations of others to name but a few!.
I followed a link in Twitter after reading the headline because I was intrigued – I’d written a post about the self same subject at the beginning of the month simply because I was so fed up with receiving the canned ‘I’d like to add you to my professional network’ requests. You might find it interesting – even if it is a bit of rant! http://wp.me/p1jLP-sc
@BillBoorman Bill, you make some very good points and your resources are well worth the read. I do disagree with you on one point. ” You have to be found rather than heard…” this is not true at all. Actually, when targeting specific hiring managers in a job search, getting discovered is not so important. What matters is that your profile speaks to the needs to the job you are going for. And your own direct communications with a specific person will draw them to your profile. Networking remains the main point of using LinkedIn and is still the most effective way to look for work.
Of course, there is no harm in also pursuing the more passive approaches you mention in your blog posts. But my idea of running a job search is not tweaking my LinkedIn profile so that I “may” show up on some fancy recruiting tool.
@beth redmond Beth, curious. where was it said that it was rude to ignore a request. I couldn’t find it any where in the post.
Second, thanks for sharing your opinion about choosing “friend” versus “other” when requesting connections. This is indeed a good point.
@beth redmond Just had to amplify my “like” by saying I like very much about “being consistent is important to build trust.” Why is that not so darn important…it is insanely critical. As Covey Jr. said in his massive book (paraphrased) “where trust is missing there is a huge tax on all that is attempted or being done.” sQs Delray Beach FL
I disagree with the idea that it’s rude if I choose to ignore someone’s request for contact if I don’t know them. I also don’t like the idea of checking off ‘friend’ to get through to someone I don’t know. Doing that contradicts the advice to be transparent with the potential contact. Instead you can check off ‘other’ and fill in the text box that appears with a personal message. Being consistent is important to build trust.
@JoshuaWaldman @BillBoorman Thanks Joshua, this is the original data relating to LinkedIn invites on myold blog Social Job Search http://socialjobsearch.wordpress.com/2010/09/18/linked-in-invite-research-and-other-tips/
The key point to having a wide network on LinkedIn now, compared to 12 months ago is the referral engine that is due to be launched shortly. The semantic engine that sits behind LinkedIn has 2 key features for job seekers. Referrals are recomended based on connections, first and second level. Many new applications search linkedin connections to recommend candidates who match jobs posted, shared or looked at. I’m thinking tools like JobsInsider, LinkedIn Referral Engine, Work4Labs, Bullhorn Reach, Bernard-Hodes Social Job Match etc. The more people you are connected with, the more searches you come up in.
Equally, when you post a job on LinkedIn you get 26 profiles recomended back to you to look at. These are returned by first and second level connections first, matched by location and skills (not completed on 90% of profiles!). The wider your connections from targeted groups, the more likely you make the list.
LinkedIn has changed beyond recognition. With a wide network you get greater reach, and you can organise connections by friends and follow to prioritise updates. and keep in touch with target employers. One underused feature is setting RSS feeds from company profiles/jobs. This alerts job seekers to jobs as they come up, rather than having to visit multiple profiles.
The other big change is how people communicate with LinkedIn. The average user visits 2.9 times a month and communicates via e-mail or application. This means theres less grazing, searching or looking. You need to be found rather than heard, and the best way to be found is to have a wide network.
This is my post on how LinkedIn has changed: http://recruitingunblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/linkedin-is-changing-are-you-keeping-up-in/
Hope this adds to the discussion. It’s important for job seekers to understand how LinkedIn works now rather than in the past.
Bill
This is a dialog worth having. Other elements worth considering: When I get (usually cookie cutter) invitations I challenge the source to communicate FIRST in line with LinkedIn’s recommendation even if I know the person and especially if there has not been an interaction for years. Response? Hardly ever. Their loss, not mine. In fact silence tells me that going forward it is likely there will not ever be a natural, periodic, and robust exchange of thoughts, ideas, concerns, and volunteered giving of authenticity. I am not on LinkedIn or any other so-called Social Media “outlet” to gain numbers; congruent relationships, yes! As for all who have a job; read Harvey Mackay’s classic networking bible, Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty. Network cramming the day of job loss is not where it’s at.
@BillBoorman I’ll read your data. Please send it. My question to you is that although you may get a higher close rate, what about the quality of those connections and the expectations you set. Will those people be valuable members of your network? Have you tested the quality of the connection or just the quantity?
Do you have any data to support conversion rates from invites to acceptances using this method? It’s well written but flawed in terms of advice for jobseekers, and based on the way LinkedIn worked 18 months ago. Remember that most invites are now accepted by e-mail.
I ran a trial to find the most succesful way of connecting. The best results by far came from the standard invite without personalisation. Further investigation on this showed that the reason for this is the more explanation you give as to why you have connected, the more suspicous people are over your motive, and decline. The best way to connect is via groups, sending standard invites to other group members. This has close to 100% acceptance, the group seen as the common theme. It is a modern myth that personalized invites get better results, and you are missleading job seekers by quoting this. I can provide the data that supports this if you want to use it.
Bill