Are You On LinkedIn? Ask This and Grow Your Network

A really simple technique I use in my daily activities is to get into the habit of asking people that I meet, "Are You On LinkedIn?"


By asking this, you will typically get one of three responses. 

1. Yes. 
2. Not yet, but I've been meaning to get around to it. 
3. No. What's LinkedIn?

If they respond "yes," that's your opportunity to exchange business cards and mention that you'll send them an invitation to connect. 

If they respond "no," tell them it's a great way to stay connected and to build their professional network, as you never know where the future may lead. 

If they respond "No. What's LinkedIn?" and they are over the age of 18, walk away slowly. Chances are they have been living under a rock and you're just going to confuse them. Just kidding. (well, maybe I'm a tiny bit serious)

See this? Ask: "Are You On LinkedIn?"

My visual reminder of this question "Are You On LinkedIn?" is when I offer or receive a business card. That's my prompt to ask the question, and to demonstrate how I value a connection to this person, and how I plan to do something with their business card. 

When I send the invitation, I always make a point to personalize my invitation (read more here about why it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to personalize your invitation). Then, I will also review their profile to view their professional summary and see if there is anything interesting to note.

This tip alone will help you to continue to grow your network over time. Like this suggestion? Send me an invitation to connect on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/brendameller 

Requesting an Introduction

One of the most powerful features of being on LinkedIn is the ability to request introductions to connections of your connections. That is, you want to connect to someone on LinkedIn who is a 2nd or 3rd level connection.

When would this occur?

• When you are applying for a new job. It might increase the likelihood for your resume to be read if you have a warm introduction via a connection at the company.

• If you are seeking advice or insight on a company or an industry where you don't have much experience. If you don't have knowledge, find someone who does, through someone you know.

• You may be considering changing professions or industries, and seeking to meet for an "informational interview." During these interviews, you are looking to pick their brain about entry requirements, candid comments about their profession/company/industry, and hopefully to gain insights to help you affirm your consideration of this potential move.

Basically, you are seeking a warm introduction. As with many other features of LinkedIn, there is a process and there is also the unspoken etiquette which may help your chances of connecting. Hopefully this post helps you with both. 

Here's how to request an introduction to connect to a 2nd or 3rd level LinkedIn connection:

1. Click on the person's name who you wish to connect with. This will bring up their LinkedIn profile page.

2. Check to see if this person is in your LinkedIn network. If so, you will see a small blue "2nd" or "3rd" next to their name. Note: if you see "1st," you are already connected. 
3. Click on "Get introduced through a connection," which is located on the right side of your screen. See image below. 
4. Select a name that appears in the list.
   
   I recommend choosing the person you know the best from this list. If the person you are looking to connect to is a 2nd level connection, your note will go through one connection. If it's a 3rd level connection, your note will go through your direct connection, and then that person will have to send it through one of their connections to help you connect.
5. Follow the steps to compose your request to connect. Select the appropriate option from the drop-down menu and provide your contact information. Then, type a short, professional, gracious note explaining why you wish to connect.
6. Keeping in mind that your note may be forwarded along to the person you wish to connect with, compose your request to your connection. Be specific. Explain why you wish to connect and be honest. Provide a bit of detail and if necessary, remind your connection how you know each other. Then, make sure you politely request an introduction. This involves a sentence with a question mark, not one with a period. (ex: "Can you please connect me with Kari Kovar?" versus "Connect me with Kari.") Remember that your note may be forwarded along, so be sure to be professional and gracious.
7. Proofread your messages, then click send. Did I mention to keep in mind that your message to your connection may be forwarded along? Yes, it's worth mentioning this again. You'd be surprised how often people assume this message is deleted, and therefore they aren't as professional or gracious in their request.

That's it! Hopefully within a few days your request will be reviewed and approved, and you'll be directly connected to the individual you are seeking.

Simplify Your LinkedIn URL

When you first set up your profile on LinkedIn, you will automatically be assigned a URL or web address that anyone can type in to access your public profile on LinkedIn. Your LinkedIn URL is a combination of your first and last name plus some numbers and letters, and random slashes "/" for reasons unknown.

It's a valid address - meaning if you type it in, it works, but the tricky part is making sure that people type it in correctly. If you're a job seeker, I highly recommend including this in your address section at the top of your resume. I'd also recommend adding this to a business card. With both options (resume and business card), a fellow LinkedIn user may either search for you by name on LinkedIn, or they may try to type in your LinkedIn address to access your profile, or possibly to invite you to connect.

Note: You can also include this link in your blog, on your Facebook page, on your Twitter profile, or even in an email footer. However, all four of these methods don't involve the user typing in the web address.

When someone sees your LinkedIn address in print (resume, business card), they type in your address:
example: www.linkedin.com/pub/brenda-demo-meller/2a/412/523
(don't try to access this link - it's a demo account I've set up to illustrate this point and I have not activated this profile to make it accessible yet)

What if the user types in the wrong combination of characters? What if they forget a slash mark? What if they transpose the numbers, get frustrated, and decide it's not enough effort to figure it out? Or worse, what if they assume that YOU are the one making the error and they decide it's not worth their effort to troubleshoot your typo?

Step 2: hover over "Profile"  and select "Edit Profile"

Simplify Your LinkedIn URL
People like things simple. Simple is good. When it comes to your LinkedIn profile, simple can mean the difference between someone accessing your profile (and eventually hiring you) and taking you out of consideration.

So let's simplify that LinkedIn URL.

1. Log into your LinkedIn account. If you need help accessing your account, visit the LinkedIn homepage at www.linkedin.com
2. In the top menu, hover over "Profile" and select "Edit Profile"
3. Under your Public Profile, click "Edit" then follow the link to "Customize Your Public Profile URL"
4. Customize your public profile URL. My recommendation is to make this as simple as possible: first name and last name, with no spaces.

   

   Step 3: click "Edit" next to your public profile address

   The nice thing here is that LinkedIn will cut out all the random letters and numbers that were automatically assigned to you when you first set up your LinkedIn account. Plus the telltale sign of a beginner that most advanced LinkedIn users will notice: the extra slash marks combined with "pub."
5. Click "Set Custom URL" and you're done. It's important to note that your previous LinkedIn URL address will no longer be valid. So, my recommendation is to do this as soon as possible before you start using your LinkedIn address on resumes and business cards. Otherwise, it will require you to reprint everthing. 
6. BONUS TIP: Omit the http:// when you type your LinkedIn URL on your business cards, resume, etc. It's not necessary and helps to simplify things even further.



Step 4: Simplify Your LinkedIn URL with your first and last name, no spaces.

That's it! You can now start using this new and simplified URL whenever and wherever you share your LinkedIn address. Haven't shared your LinkedIn URL anywhere yet? Here's your chance: reply to this blog and comment on this posting, and include your LinkedIn URL. It's a great, quick way to gain instant visibility outside of your network.

And when you see someone else's LinkedIn URL posted here, visit their profile on LinkedIn and send them an invite to connect. Reminder: make sure you tell the person that you read their URL address here to give them a frame of reference as to why you want to connect.

Personalize Your Invites for More Contacts

When you're getting started on LinkedIn, you learn many things from trial and error. Or by poking around the site. Or by asking friends and connections for their tips. And sometimes LinkedIn gives you advice along the way, but sometimes the LinkedIn system has pre-populated fields -- like the message invitation text -- which appears to be completely acceptable and foolproof, but could actually slow your efforts to expand your LinkedIn network.

This post is dedicated to helping you learn why to personalize your invitation, and offer some tips on how to personalize from various areas in the site.


TIP: Skip the Import Step
So let's start at the beginning, when you first sign up for your LinkedIn account, there are several steps in the process: signing up, receiving a confirmation email, clicking the link to verify your account, and setting up your profile. LinkedIn also offers you a quick and easy way to Invite people to connect with you on LinkedIn. This page looks like this:

Who You Already Know on LinkedIn - the tricky "Import" Feature

Personally, I never think it's a good idea to use this particular LinkedIn feature for several reasons:

1. There may be people in my email contact list whom I do NOT wish to invite to connect with me: my Dad who is not and will never be on LinkedIn, my great aunt who would have no use for such nonsense, my friend whom I am already connected to through their work email (so I wouldn't want to send them ANOTHER invitation to their personal email, which they may not have connected to a LinkedIn account), a few fellow members of Toastmasters that I know aren't active on LinkedIn, etc. etc. 
2. LinkedIn accesses my personal email box and stores that information. I'm obviously open to sharing information on the Internet, but anytime a site asks to store my personal information even when I'm not using the site, it makes me nervous.
3. If you follow their simple, step-by-step instructions, it will automatically send those individuals a impersonal invitation, the infamous, "I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn." With the growing popularity of LinkedIn, you might receive this message a few times a week. And if you can't quite place the person who is inviting you to connect, you're likely to ignore it. 

TIP: A Personalized Invitation is ALWAYS Better than the Standard Invite
aka "Optional" should not be "Optional"

"Personalize EVERY invitation," suggests Brenda Meller.

I always suggest that LinkedIn users take a few moments to personalize EVERY invitation. As in EVERY invitation. This includes EVERY invitation. (Yes, it's that important). How do I personalize, you ask?

1. Start by deleting the standard invitation text. Consider it garbage: "I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn." Whenever I receive an invite with this text -- and I don't know the person offhand, I typically respond back with three words, "Have we met?" This gives the person an opportunity to explain how they are and why they want to connect. HINT: most people won't do this. They will simply ignore or delete your invitation and you've lost the opportunity to gain a new connection.
2. Insert a greeting appropriate for the person, "Hello John" or "Dear Michelle" as an example.
3. Give the person a frame of reference how they know you. Ex: "It was nice meeting you at the Troy Chamber breakfast this morning." OR "Hope you've been doing well. It's been a while since we worked together at PMH." OR "We sat next to each other at the expo on Tuesday and exchanged business cards."
4. Invite them to connect. Ex. "I'd like to connect on LinkedIn." OR "Let's connect on LinkedIn so we can stay in touch."
5. BONUS: extend an offer for assistance. It's always better to offer something FIRST before asking for their assistance when you may need it later. Ex: "Let me know if there is anything you need."
6. Your signature name. This is the only part of the pre-personalized LinkedIn text that I leave in.

An example of a personalized invitation on LinkedIn. ~Brenda Meller

The simple technique of personalizing every invitation will help you to increase the number of connections by providing you a higher likelihood that the intended recipient will read and accept your response.

Plus, you've started the dialog with this contact with some friendly conversation, which will go a long way in making LinkedIn more useful to you in the future.

Finding Jobs on LinkedIn

What you might now know about me is that I found my job at Walsh College on LinkedIn. I started my job search in 2008, right about the time the economy was really starting to soften up. The job market was already becoming more and more competitive, and I dreaded the Monster/Hotjobs job search process.

Don't get me wrong - those are -- or rather, were -- wonderful sites. In the past I had used them extensively and almost exclusively for my job search, and I'd landed two jobs through Monster. But, just as our cassette players evolved to CD players which evolved to MP3 players, so has the job search market.

At the  time of my job search, I knew I had to do something different. So I stepped up my job aggregate searches (I found www.indeed.com to be very helpful) and also my efforts on understanding and using LinkedIn for my job search.

And one magical day, I found a job on LinkedIn for marketing manager at LinkedIn. I read the posting, felt I was a perfect fit, and followed the process to apply for the job (send your resume to HR@(insert email here), etc etc... you know the routine). But then I took it a step further, and I made a direct connection with the person who posted the job, who was the hiring manager. I sent him my resume and cover letter and it went directly to his email box -- rather than through HR and as a result, mine was the first resume he received for the job. The next day, I received a reply back with a request to come in for an interview. And the rest is history.

LinkedIn did not get me the job -- but it did get my foot in the door. Once I got that interview, it was up to me.

Since then, I've been using LinkedIn more extensively than ever and have even given many presentations on using LinkedIn for Job Search and for Your Business to groups large and small. And since then, I've learned a lot of other ways you can search for jobs on LinkedIn as well as recruit for candidates using LinkedIn.

Job Seeking? Try these three tips:

1. Search the "Jobs" tab on LinkedIn. It's the most obvious tip but some people don't realize LinkedIn offers a job board. It's much different than the other job sites because you can see who in your network WORKS AT THE COMPANY or knows someone who works there. And what better way than to apply for a job than to make a connection with the hiring manager, or someone with a connection at the company. It's always better to send a "warm" resume (provided to the hiring manager by someone who knows you and can vouch for you professionally) than to apply blindly and keep your fingers crossed.
2. Join "Groups" within your industry of interest/experience. There's a weird phenomenon going on right now where people are scared to post job postings because they fear they will be overwhelmed with job applications. I call this the "Titanic" effect. Even though there were lifeboats and extra seats available, the lifeboat captains didn't want to go back to rescue others for fear the lifeboats would be overturned by the hundreds of people who were desperate for the seat. So what is now happening is people are "just asking around" to find candidates, and they are trying to find them through their network, in Groups on LinkedIn, and in other corners that might be talent-rich but avoiding the masses. Groups on LinkedIn offer members the ability to post jobs in "Discussion" boards as well as within the Groups' "Jobs" board. And guess what? Jobs posted within groups aren't necessarily posted in the jobs section on LinkedIn.
3. In your status update, remind your network WHAT you are seeking. I have over 1,300 connections in my network on LinkedIn and many of those connections are job seekers from workshops where I've spoken. There are probably a few dozen I can remember offhand where I can recall the profession they are seeking. There are probably another hundred or so others who have made a huge impression on me at the event, or afterwards through our conversations on LinkedIn, but I can't tell you offhand what job they are seeking - which saddens me because I hear of opportunities in my network every week! That's why I always ask people to remind me what they are seeking. I might not know about an opportunity today, but who knows what next week or next month will bring. Here's an example of a status update I would recommend: 
1. ...is seeking business development / sales positions in metro Detroit area. Let me know if you hear of anything.
2. ...is looking for engineering positions on the west side of Michigan.
3. ...is looking for social media positions with a sports organization. Know of any openings in your network?
4. ...is seeking purchasing manager positions in a non-profit organization. Please keep me in mind.
5. ...is experienced in project management and seeking to move into technology. Please let me know if you hear of any opportunities.
6. ...is in career transition seeking marketing manager / marketing director positions in the film industry. Know of any openings?
7. ...is an experienced web designer offering freelance support. Let me know if you are in need.
8. etc etc. etc

In creating today's  blog, I scanned through days of status updates and found ONE candidate reminding me of the type of work he is seeking:

• Peter Fulda Mechanical engineer with extensive experience developing mechanical systems and components in switches and electronics modules.

But, ironically enough, I found at least a dozen updates from connections seeking specific candidates, like these:

Shelli Gutholm

Rita Smieska

Derek Mehraban

Laura Rosen

• Derek Mehraban My company Ingenex Digital Marketing is looking for a Digital Operations Manager. Qualified?  
• Shelli Gutholm TORONTO web analysts, want to work on one of the most innovative projects/agencies in town? apply here! http://tinyurl.com/34ygu8v
• Laura Rosen, PHR Looking for an Asst for a home based real estate and online sales business in WB, MI. Ideal for a college student-9-20 hrs per wk. If interested, let me know. 

  
  
  Rita Smieska Purchasing Manager for Michigan company. High profile position for Tier One supplier needed. 
    

If you're a job seeker qualified for one of these roles, feel free to reach out to these individuals. And please tell them Brenda Meller sent you.

I hope these tips help you in your job search. And do your job-seeking friends a favor - please share this blog with them!

Keeping Your Profile Fresh

It's very easy to fall into the typical pattern of setting your initial profile on LinkedIn and then leaving it as is. For months and even years. 

Today's post is to remind you to refresh your profile, including a few areas you may want to update.

1. Visit your public LinkedIn URL. For me, that is http://www.linkedin.com/in/brendameller. Do this without logging into LinkedIn so you can see your profile as others see it. Print this page and circle the items that have changed over time.



Oh yeah, I remember her!

2. Picture this: When you initially set up your LinkedIn profile, you may have been a bit leery of using a photo. Now that you understand the technology and the value of networking online, you may want to add a photo in. Or (more for women), your profile photo may be out of date due to a new hairstyle. I went from a shorter haircut to a longer style and noticed that people connected to me on LinkedIn said they didn't recognize me right away.
3. Is your profile sticky? Are you using websites and/or a Twitter feed? Personally, I rotate different websites into my profile every few weeks. Sometimes I post my company's website. Other times, I post my membership organizations' sites. And occasionally I'll post links to my SlideShare presentation slides. Or, I'll even post my blog websites. The point here is to have a LinkedIn profile page that includes multiple links to click.
4. Are you memorable? Your LinkedIn status update can help. Chances are, if you connect to me I will be one of those people who are always top of mind for you. This is because I frequently (once every 3-5 days) update my status on LinkedIn. Sometimes I post jobs I'm hearing about through my network. Othertimes, I post events for Walsh College. And occasionally, I'll post events I'm attending that day or simply words of inspiration.
5. Read your Professional Summary statement. Does it inspire you or bore you to tears? If it's the latter, change your summary statement now. Today. Look for other people on LinkedIn with similar job titles if you need inspiration.
6. 
   

   

   Hint: how do you describe yourself to friends?

   Highlight your volunteer work. Do you have any volunteer positions that aren't listed on your profile? Why not?! Add them in. I do this and it helps to further demonstrate my areas of interest. As an example, I recently became president of the Warren Toastmasters club and added it to my profile. At least half a dozen people commented on this to me, either via LinkedIn or in person.

And that's your 15 minutes on LinkedIn for today! 

Hide or Seek? Sharing Slides Using SlideShare

LinkedIn has an application directory that you can select to add to your profile. I'll admit I don't use every application that's offered - just the ones that appeal to me. 

Having some experience presenting social media to job seekers as well as the professional community, I'm always on the lookout for new tips as well as to learn from my peers. One way I do this is by searching through presentations that the LinkedIn community has uploaded to SlideShare.

To Hide or to Show?

As a LinkedIn user, you have the ability to upload your presentations and then either make them viewable/downloadable or invisible by others. Personally, my thought would be "why bother" to upload unless you're planning to share your resources. But, there are some who may want to maintain all rights and ownerships of their content, so there may be the occasion where you cannot download slides from this directory.

How to Seek?

To find the application directory and add Slideshare to your LinkedIn profile:

1. From the top menu bar, go to "More"
2. Hover over "More" and then click on "Application Directory"
3. Click on "SlideShare Presentations" and follow the instructions to add it to your profile

Then, once you are on SlideShare, start using it immediately! The fastest way to do this is by a keyword search. What are you interested in? Perhaps more tips on LinkedIn? Then enter "LinkedIn" in the search box and click "Search."

Within seconds you'll find thousands of results. 

Want to make those results more meaningful? Click the tab titled "Your Connections" and you'll instantly have access to all Slideshare presentations shared by your network.

Happy searching!