LinkedIn Connections – What is your Policy?

LinkedIn has certainly become the online place for business people to connect and stay in touch. While it is a very powerful tool, it is only as powerful as you make it.

 

Networking is more effective when you use it to give to your network as well as receive from it. The same applies on LinkedIn. If you want LinkedIn to work for you when you need it (i.e., when you are looking for work), you need to work with, assist and engage your network when you don’t need your network.

 

As someone who uses LinkedIn on a daily basis to connect and add value to my network, I regularly get LinkedIn requests. Many times, it is from individuals I do not know. Yet.

 

I am interested in making genuine connections with people. It is my business to know people and meet people - LinkedIn is a great tool for this. I’m not interested in the game of “How many Connections do you have?”

 

So how do I choose who to connect with?

 

I connect with people that:

 

• I know
• I have met in person
• I have spoken with
• I have engaged with online

 

When I get a request from someone I do not know it is my policy to reply to them and ask questions that will help me get to know them better before I actually connect.

 

I categorize networkers on LinkedIn into the following categories:

 

1) LIONs (LinkedIn Open Networkers). These people have a policy to connect with anyone and anybody. They call themselves “Open Networkers” but in my opinion are not real networkers – they are just looking for leads to move their agenda forward and have access to names they may not otherwise have.

 

2) Real Networkers. These people use LinkedIn to support their in-person networking activities, not to replace their in-person networking. These people are meeting people in person and using LinkedIn to stay connected and engaged with their network when they are not in front of them. Real Networkers do develop relationships on LinkedIn, but only as part of an engagement strategy with their network, groups and questions to build real relationships, even if they start them online.

 

3) Passive Networkers. This is how I would categorize the majority of people on LinkedIn. Passive LinkedIn Networkers connect with some people they know on LinkedIn, but really don’t go out of their way to connect or engage their network. These people are generally passive networkers in their day to day lives. While I am an avid evangelist of the powers of networking, I am aware that most people don’t love networking, and feel more comfortable not networking. For them, just being on LinkedIn and passively being involved is certainly a step up to those that do no networking at all.

 

4) I’m here, but leave me alone. There are people who have a profile on LinkedIn because someone they respect asked them to be a part of it, but have no desire to put an effort into networking at all. I respect the choice these people have made, but I feel for them – they are missing out on a revolution that is positively affecting the careers and personal lives of everyone around them.

 
I categorize myself as a Real Networker. What kind of LinkedIn Networker are you? What is your LinkedIn Connection Policy?

 

Recruiters: Should your connections be viewable?

Recruiters: Should your connections be viewable? - http://bit.ly/ac54dD

Follow this link for an intersting discussion on LinkedIn about whether recruiters should allow others to see their connections.

Network for Work

This past year and a half has seen an economic downturn that has affected almost everyone in the business world. No one has been more directly affected then those that are currently unemployed.

I have had numerous conversations recently with highly qualified people finding themselves in this situation. Many of them are rebuilding their network after years of neglect (but let's call it 'lack of nurturing').

If there was one thing that they should have done differently while they were employed, it was to keep their network alive and nurtured. If they did that, they would be in a better position today to find their next opportunity, or they would be possibly working today.

Recommendation: If you are employed, continue to build and nurture your network.

Who you know, What you know PLUS Reputation

I'd like to slightly modify my answer to What you know vs. Who you know. See my posting to an answer on LinkedIn.

Comments appreciated.

Another Key to Success

Many accounting and finance professionals are noted for their dedication to their career and their company. There is a key to long-term success that many successful CFOs have learned that others haven't figured out, which could be why they didn't (or won't) make the C-suite.

The answer is community involvement.

Becoming involved in the community allows you to showcase your talents, skills and abilities to others, as well as learn things from a different perspective. Working with a Not-For-Profit can help you learn to make decisions that are not purely profit oriented. You can also learn how to facilitate decision making, learn new skills, and get to know people you would never meet otherwise.

As Colleen Johnston, FCA, CFO of TD Financial Group said recently on her community involvement, "I originally thought it was about what I could contribute in the community. I learned that it was not so much about what I can give, but what I can learn."

If you're serious about becoming a CFO, make the move and get involved.

What you know vs. Who you know

What you know = knowledge
Who you know = network

In reaching for success, which is more important?

Ultimately, they are both important. Each career minded individual needs to use their knowledge and their network to succeed.

From my perspective, many career-minded individuals focus too much on knowledge, and not enough on network. This is very evident when people begin to look a new job – they usually start their network again from scratch.

People that have mediocre knowledge with an excellent network often find their next great career opportunity quicker than those with excellent knowledge and a mediocre (or non-existant) network.

Lesson: ABN – Always be networking. You never know when you’ll be looking for that next great career opportunity