Do you review your LinkedIn connections?
I received a LinkedIn invitation from John in Chicago recently. As is my normal practice, I looked at his profile to understand his background and see what we have in common before accepting his invitation. I am also looking for something interesting in his background to start a conversation. I am interested in learning a little more about each person I connect with. I follow this same routine for people I know and people I do not yet know.
John’s background in logistics is good. He has worked at some high-quality companies and he has some consulting background. What really struck me was his recommendations. Wow. Very impressive.
John has recommendations from past CEOs and CEOs from the suppliers he works with. That is nothing to sneeze at. Right away John went up in my estimation.
Think about how you view LinkedIn profiles. Don’t you check out the skills and recommendations? I am interested in what other people say about someone. If other people who know an individual say nice things about his or her then I have a warm sense of confidence about that individual too. I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Good recommendations from a boss or a supplier, especially an executive, improve the quality of connections.
We need to consider quantity and quality when looking at profiles. As you work on your profile this week, consider how you can improve both the quantity and quality of your profile to make you more interesting and useful to others. Here are some tips:
Quantity: We need a high quantify of connections to leverage that “six degrees of separation” networking we need from LinkedIn.
- Solicit invitations from everyone you meet so you can extend your reach and leverage connections.
- Accept invitations from everyone who asks if that person makes sense. Review their profiles and ask questions to start a conversation to turn a connection into a networking opportunity.
- Set goals to increase the number of connections each month. I set an annual goal. This year I want to increase my connections by 500 from 3309 to 3809. It is a worthy challenge. PS: I invite you to connect with me to help me reach my goal!!
Quality: Seek connections and endorsements from high quality individuals who can attest to your abilities.
- Solicit recommendations from people you worked with who can testify to your character, behavior and results. Be prepared to offer a recommendation in return.
- Solicit connections from former colleagues and bosses including high level executives you interact with.
- Seek out connections from potential colleagues and bosses to build relationships for networking your next positions. See how you can be helpful.
- Be sure the top ten skills in your “Skills” section represent the way you want people to think of you. These words and the associated endorsements represent your brand so choose wisely.
Take time to consider the quantity of your connections as well as the quality by seeking out connections who can help you, reflect well on you or you can learn from.