Bloggertone » Management » How to get LESS from LinkedIn

How to get LESS from LinkedIn

by Paul Mullan on June 11th, 2010
36 Comments



There are few of us 100% comfortable immersing ourselves into a room full of strangers or phoning cold leads.  This means real world networking is often relegated to the bottom of the list of strategies used when developing a business or hunting a new job. When we do eventually drag ourselves to a networking event we rush to the first familiar face and use them as a life jacket for the evening. We stay at the event until the canapés and wine run out and we head home satisfied with our great work. We watch a DVD “how to network effectively” only to realise that all we actually gained from our networking efforts was a few extra pounds from all the rich food and drink.

The benefits of becoming a better networker are appealing but the thought of that room full of strangers not so appealing. Fortunately the equivalent to a knight in shining armour for networking was developed – LinkedIn. I believe LinkedIn has made networking more accessible to the masses. More importantly it offers a less daunting proposition than real world networking in a room full of strangers. LinkedIn has changed the fortunes for jobseekers and business but there are still many who don’t achieve positive results. These people misfire using LinkedIn to network as they do in the real world. Below are 3 (of many) strategies that will ensure you get less from LinkedIn.

Asking strangers to marry you – By this I mean sending out random invitations to connect with strangers. The culprits of this strategy normally don’t even take the time to customise the invitation which means the receiver doesn’t know who they are or why you want to connect. This strategy is like walking up to a stranger and asking them to marry you. A connection on LinkedIn is a commitment just like marriage. Are you growing connection numbers without growing any real value?

Attention seeking – I can be guilty of this on occasion and my mother always said I was a seeker of attention. LinkedIn success is about visibility and groups offer the main platform to achieve this. Commenting within a group can help you get noticed but it can be very clear when you are just trying to get noticed. Are your contributions within groups meaningful?

Virtual relationships – A very large % of US adults met their current partner online. These guys and gals engage online but quickly move into the real world by phone or meeting in person. Many LinkedIn users meet other professionals online but don’t develop this relationship beyond LinkedIn. Keeping a relationship online will rarely lead to anything. Are you engaging with connections in the real world?

Love to hear your views and comments. Please feel free to share successful or unsuccessful strategies. Other useful LinkedIn articles – “Become the Pied Piper of LinkedIn” and “LinkedIn – Do you dance?”

“Measurability Careers & Jobs Club” – LinkedIn Group dedicated to offering free advice and discussion for jobseekers.



Category: HR and recruitment, Self- development

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The Author: Paul Mullan

Paul Mullan is an experienced career and outplacement professional with 14 years experience working within careers, outplacement and recruitment in the UK & Ireland. He is a former owner of Eden Recruitment and founder of career firm Measurability in 2006. Paul has delivered outplacement programmes for many leading organisations and ran graduate career workshops for leading third level institutions. He has worked with many individuals helping them define and achieve career goals through creative approaches to personal marketing and job hunting. Paul integrates traditional strategies with new Web 2.0 strategies to deliver optimum results. He is known for his up to date, creative and friendly approach to delivering career solutions. Paul is a recognised career professional regularly commenting on career related topics in the national media. He has acted as Career Doctor with Irish Independent and he is currently an online career expert with RecruitIreland. http://www.measurability.ie

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  • http://twitter.com/fredchannel Fred

    Brilliant Paul!I’m a big fan and daily user of this platform and those are three phenomenal ways to get less indeed :) Another good one: there are people that reach a good amount of connections and then they regularly spam you with invitations and messages. Whoever does this, if it was through the “marry me” strategy, there was no connection already but it’s a pity to see people that took the time to build a meaningful network and then they decide to spam :(

  • Anonymous

    Hi Paul – well said! I joined loads of linkedin groups at first. But I am learning that you have to be selective. Like marriage, it is a commitment. So now I am in the process of extricating myself from lots of groups (In Linkedin and elsewhere) so that I can focus on a few and get more involved. (I also made the mistake of joining groups that were made up of competitors, not potential customers!)

  • http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

    Hi Paul, the percentage of members that participate in the groups in a meaningful/valuable way is still pretty small. I also echo Fred’s point about spamming.

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  • http://twitter.com/GregCantyFuzion Greg Canty

    Great article, I would add that “patience” is another key point to remember. I find a lot of people login, get really active and if they haven’t received a new account within a short time they write the platform off as being a waste of time.

    Be patient, build your reputation slowly, share your views generously, build relationships and wait ..

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for the comments everyone and apologies for delay in replying. I have been in Rome since Thursday at a wedding. Great time but paying for it now.

    @Fred – I don’t have a huge problem with this with my network (just one or two culprits) but I have heard others talk about this. I bet very few of these spammers have ever taken the time to connect with you on the phone or in person. On the topic of spamming we could probably include the overuse/misuse of #in function too.

    @Ann – I think there can be potential gain from any group but as you rightly point out joining too many groups can over stretch. In relation to competitors in the groups – it provides an opportunity to help the T in your SWOT analysis.

    @Niall – Agreed but hopefully starting to change.

    @Greg – spot on!! This is the same with real world networking. All networking and platforms like LinkedIn require substantial time investment and blind faith – you got to believe that the opportunities are out there.

    Paul

  • http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

    Love this Elli, these are all needed reminders! Recessions create vast opportunities, change is rampant and markets become ripe for new products, new services and new ways. Jump on this wave, listen, learn, innovate and position your business as one that will take full advantage.

  • http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

    For some businesses, they are simply not “back” at square one because they are starting a new business venture. So perhaps previous businesses were effective by outside influences, but for a business to begin in a recession, it does not have the “downturn” within the business to overcome.nnEssentially, this means they can bring together all the knowledge, skills and determination, and make a fresh start, flying through step 1 to 2 or step 1 to 5, depending on the individual business.nnOlu00e9!

  • http://blog.myprojecttracker.com Barney Austen

    Hi Elli. Some great reminders in here.nnI would add that you also “know yourself” far more. I know that as I have developed my business that I have learned an awful lot about my strengths (a few) and weaknesses (more than a few).nnI know what I know and I know where I need help. I think that if you are starting out afresh that understanding and dealing with your own short-comings can make a huge difference. I know that if I was starting out again knowing what I know now (an awful lot of “knows in this paragraph!) I would do things very differently.nnDon’t be too proud to admit your own failings!

  • http://www.stress-solutions4life.com/ Catherine Connors

    I agree with Fred, very often those starting out do have a starting base…. great post Elli

  • Anonymous

    Barney,rnrnKnowing oneself is one of the most valuable assets of any business owner! With all of those “knows” in your reply, I’d say you’ve learned a lot since founding your business.

  • Anonymous

    Elaine,rnrnGood point about how business owners starting new ventures aren’t at square one either! It’s interesting to see how many successful businesses started in economic downturns. Perhaps if you start in adverse conditions, everything else is much more tolerable and manageable. rnrnOle!

  • Anonymous

    Niall,rnrnThere are often aspects of our businesses that need to be “blown up” and starting over (for whatever reason) gives us a great opportunity to re-think, re-imagine and redo what is available to us.rnrnSurf’s up! Ride that wave!

  • Anonymous

    Fred and Catherine,rnrnYes, a community is SO important. We have built-in fans, evangelists and like-minded people to inspire us and keep us motivated. There are days when that overwhelm can seem to hard to manage. Even if you don’t actually vent to someone, just connecting with them by phone, Skype, post or in-person can be rejuvenating.

  • http://twitter.com/selfemployedguy Self Employed News

    thanks elaine for your narrative style of writing…

  • http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

    Love it Elaine, more please! This video ties in well with your post and is from a guy called Cameron Herold where he explains why education and often parenting fail to nurture our entrepreneurial side. Its well worth a watch and really makes you think http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx3GuO41Jygn

  • http://www.sianphillips.ie Sian Phillips

    Great post Elaine – and history of your life. :) My father was always of the Entrepreneur mindset and I’m sure passed that down to me. You’re right that we are conditioned to think otherwise through school and then getting a job. It’s about thinking outside the box, letting your imagination flow and not being scared to have a go

  • Anonymous

    Elaine,rnrnLove your “why-how” perspective! Most of us are unlearning something and, to dovetail on Niall’s point, our families give us lots of messages about what makes a “successful” life. The catch is, not all of us are easy in that box. We have our own boxes which we want to create with movable sides, angles and colours.

  • http://blog.myprojecttracker.com Barney Austen

    Hi Elaine. This post is a breath of fresh air. The indoctrination that we have in our lives, from before we are out of nappies, is to be good little economic generators. This drives me mad. We live in an economic and not a social society driven by the need to generate wealth as opposed to the more fundamental human needs of contentment. (Rant over!)nI am not naive and do know that we need a sound economy and that the entrepreneurial spirit fosters economic growth. I also know that not everyone is comfortable putting on these shoes. But we should have an educational system that allows for both! If the individual has the desire to step off the ladder, as you put it, they should be shown how to do this earlier than when they discover that they can come off it by chance!nThanks for sharingnBarney

  • http://twitter.com/JBBC Beyond Breast Cancer

    You’ve opened up an interesting debate here Elaine on what makes an entrepreneur. You are so right – attitude is all. You can spot it when you watch something like “The Apprentice” on TV – even though they are going for a “job” many of the candidates have that kind of entrerpreneurial spirit you talk about. They are the ones who are highly motivated to achieve, the doers who make things happen; they are extremely hard-working and you can see they have that single-minded determination and independent spirit that would make them more suited to an entrepreneurial enterprise.

  • http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

    Thank you Fred,nThe thinking and doing is winning already. I come across a lot of clients who don’t even realise they are not thinking, as in questioning if the ladder life suits them, and ARE there alternatives?nnWe are generally raised to be charitable to others. I feel we need to begin to be more charitable to ourselves (some refer to this as being selfish, I say bring-it-on!!), and start questioning inherited beliefs and self limiting decisions.

  • http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

    Thanks for stopping by to read. My narrative style hits a lot of nerves, as people realise that being professional does not mean being un-feeling, un-imaginative, and un-sharing. By sharing personal experience, I feel it touches the core of humanity, the heart :)

  • http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

    Hi Marie, thanks so much for stopping by and sharing :) nnGood point on the apprentices, I don’t follow the show but saw a guy being fired last week because he clashes too much with Cullen, a sure sign that they are too alike. So he probably should try out something for himself, rather than going for a “job”.nnUnfortunately, many people start businesses because they hate their boss, this however, does not mean they should get off the ladder completely. They should maybe look at the issues that are causing them unhappiness in their job.nnEveryone should try some kind of business at some point in their life (preferably sooner rather than later) to really test their entrepreneurial spirit, as it may be suppressed. It may blossom if really put to the test :) nnUntil we tackle the self limiting decision that “I could never run a business” or the “if only”‘s, many will stay on the ladder and become increasingly unhappy.nnLIBERATION NOT LIMITATION !!

  • Facundo

    Great post Elaine. Funny that you mention Yanky. I first saw his talk with the ladder (literally jumping from a ladder) at an event about 3 years ago. It changed my perspective on a lot of things. I Particularly liked your point on courage.

  • http://www.chuckbartok.com Chuck Bartok

    Hooray,nAnother like Minded person.nIt has been heartening to see a re-insurgence of the Entrepreneur Mindset.nFor the past 40 years I have been sharing the FUN, Rewards, and sometime set-backs living the life of an entrepreneur.nNew to this Internet Power. nBut we have established a series of Business Building Webinars, Two weekly podcasts ( one now in it 285th episode), a Facebook Fan Page Best Business Mindset, and endless Blog Posts. nI will definitely Share your Posts.nThanks for verifying the TRUTH

  • http://www.chuckbartok.com Chuck Bartok

    Forgot to mention:nVery soon a new Life Skills course will be introduced ON-Line,that promotes Financial Management and HOW TO think out of the Box.nThe preliminary curricula is being shared with Court referred young people, from a clear thinking circuit Judge from the US Southwest.nShe believes that preparing for REAL life scenarios and developing the Entrepreneur Mindset is a salvation to many of the current problems faced in the USA

  • http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

    Hi Chuck – good of you to stop by and share your sentiments, thank you.nnRecessions always bring a lot of entrepreneurial mindsets out of the woodwork, thankfully. However, they also attract people who should really stay on the ladder, and they generally find out the hard way that it’s not for them.nnBut we should endeavour to ALWAYS encourage entrepreneurship, from a very young age!

  • Anige

    Great articele and thanks for sharing. This is totally me as well. I think we have all been conditioned to go do the M-F 8-5 job, but it is not for me. When I started my business in 2009 that was when I realized that working for myself was what I wanted to do. It would be a lot easier to do the 8-5, but I don’t have the passion for it. I don’t mind putting in 50-60 hrs a week, but it is what I love.

  • http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

    That’s a great comment – “it would be a lot easier” ~ for some, the concept of 8-5 M-F is unthinkable.nnI feel that it is only possible for those who began as an employee and is now self-employed, to know this, and can actually compare :) nnFor those who have never worked for another, probably at this stage cannot imagine it, therefore cannot do it. As long as we are comfortable with our choices, we are on the right path.

  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    Thanks Aisling, hope you will like the changes – stay tuned! :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/wchingya Ching Ya

    I agree with Helen, the new site looks great! Excited to see how everything turns out. Congrats on the new launch Niall and everyone who made it happen!

  • Facundo

    Looking good!

  • http://www.bloggertone.com Niall Devitt

    Thanks Helen :)

  • http://www.bloggertone.com Niall Devitt

    Cheers mate :)

  • http://www.bloggertone.com Niall Devitt

    Thanks Ching Ya, we’re all looking forward to test driving it now!

  • http://twitter.com/JimmyDaugherty James Daugherty

    I’m new here but the changes look good. Exciting times!

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