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That you are "tending to the backlog of LinkedIn invitations that Iâve
received" suggests that you may not be a LinkedIn regular. Is being a
LinkedIn member important to you? Do you think it might help you advance
your career?
Having a LinkedIn profile is a far cry from Facebook and should be treated
as such. LI is not a social club. Its purpose, in my view, is to help
professionals connect with one another, much as you might have exchanged
business cards at a job fair or trade expo. The difference is now you can
tell your whole story on your LI profile.
The more connections you make, the more your name (brand) appears on the
scrolling Updates feed. If you're looking for a new assignment and are
regularly making new connections, this equates to seeing "Drink Coca-Cola"
subliminally flashed onscreen at the theater. Does this work? I have no
stats regarding its success, but I don't believe it hurts. I believe
pounding LinkedIn for work is a numbers game. This is especially true, I
believe, as recruiters work the system looking for candidates. Your LI
profile, along with the frequency of "so-and-so connected with John Doe"
messages scrolling on the Updates page, help advertise your availability.
If you aren't making new connections, you're losing out. To think of your
LI connections as being restricted to only those you truly know is to limit
the usefulness of your participation.
However...
When I get a non-personalized invitation, if the person appears to be
someone I may want to connect withâbased on fairly lenient criteriaâI'll
accept the invitation. That person must fit into some professional realm
loosely associated with what I do. For example, a person who does nails for
a living would be rejected. Any invitation must fit my geographical
constraints, too. I do not accept invitations from those living in Russia
or India, for example, as those connections are of no use to either of us.
But I've connected with many Indians living in California, most of whom
I've had the pleasure of working with. Connections like these may yield
future assignments, and having a glance at their connections may be of use
in a job search. This morning I also rejected an invitation from a young
woman who clearly is only interested in marketing her mail lists.
> Chris
On Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 7:48 AM, Cardimon, Craig <ccardimon -at- m-s-g -dot- com>
wrote:
> You need to get into their profile before you get the personal message
> option.
>
> Craig
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+ccardimon=m-s-g -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:
> techwr-l-bounces+ccardimon=m-s-g -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of
> Peter Hirons
> Sent: Monday, July 21, 2014 10:48 AM
> To: 'Monique Semp'; 'TechWR-L'
> Subject: RE: LinkedIn invitations - accept "unpersonalized" ones ?
>
> When I click on the button in he "persons you may know" lists I don't get
> an option to add a personal message. I only get that when sending an
> invitation from some other route.
>
> Peter
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+peter=galley -dot- ie -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:
> techwr-l-bounces+peter=galley -dot- ie -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Monique
> Semp
> Sent: 21 July 2014 15:20
> To: TechWR-L
> Subject: LinkedIn invitations - accept "unpersonalized" ones ?
>
> Hello, TechWR-L-ers,
>
> As I periodically do, Iâm tending to the backlog of LinkedIn invitations
> that Iâve received, and Iâm struck again by how the vast, vast majority
> (say, 99% ?), are not personalized in the least little way.
>
> And although the theory of LinkedIn is that every connection should be
> welcomed, Iâm finding it difficult to believe that anything usefulâand I
> just mean in the way of writing-related conversation, NOT a lead to a
> future job or anythingâwill come of connecting with someone who doesnât
> even take the time to say where I might know the person from or why I might
> want to connect.
>
> I can assume that many of these invitations come from participants in the
> many groups and listservs in which I participate, but thatâs just itâI
> participate in so many that itâs hard to keep up and recognize everyone.
> But of all people, Iâd expect my fellow writers to want to add a sentence
> or two to the default message that results from clicking âPeople You May
> Know.â
>
> So two questions:
>
> 1. When youâre on the receiving end of invitations, do you treat them any
> differently based on whether theyâve been personalized? Why or why not?
>
> 2. When you send invitations, why or why not do you choose to personalize
> the message?
>
> Just wondering,
> -Monique
>
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