After creating a LinkedIn profile, you have two strategies to follow if you intend to be proactive: build a targeted network of people that you know personally or build as large of a network as possible regardless of whether or not you know the people in it. Here, I will cover the advantages and disadvantages of both strategies and will tell you how to grow your network to several thousand in less than 48 hours.
The targeted network allows you to really capitalize on several of LinkedIn's features. The people that you know are obviously more likely to introduce you to someone in their network, write a recommendation for you, and heed your call for recruiting help. It's still possible to build a relatively large network by inviting each candidate that you interview, each hiring manager that you work with, and each reference that you contact. Keeping in touch with a strong network like this will keep you fresh in the minds of both clients and candidates. The biggest disadvantage to this approach is that you are purposely limiting your pool of resources when it comes to searching LinkedIn for potential candidates.
I have personally adopted a "the bigger, the better" approach to building my network. I have roughly 3000 first degree candidates and 10,000,000 third degree contacts. I receive about ten invitations per day to join the networks of others. It goes without saying that when I perform a people search, my results are much more numerous than the average "Targeted Networker". If I ask a question, I have a large pool of experts to answer it. Plus, my network is REALLY interesting - people from all over the world, from all different professions (note my first LI review referencing the professional dominatrix), trying to accomplish very different things. It's definitely part of the fun.
Here is how I built my network from under 100 people to over 2000 in 48 hours. If you're like me, your email application saves everyone that you exchange emails with as a contact. After several years of recruiting, I had about 10,000 people in my contact list. I uploaded the list to LinkedIn, checked who was already a member of it, and sent them all an invitation to join my network. The next step is to join three groups (myLink500.com , TopLinked.com , and TheMetaNetwork.com). Each have lists of LIONS (LinkedIn Open Networkers) that will (theoretically) accept an invitation from you if you send them one. Upload the lists from these three sites into LinkedIn and send out the invitations. I'm sure there must be other sites with similar lists, but I've not yet discovered them.
Before doing this, I recommend doing three things: 1) Set up a mail filter so that all incoming emails from LinkedIn go into a particular folder different from your inbox (makes it easier to keep up with your regular emails). 2) Customize the invitation to say something other than the default message. Tell people briefly what you do, why you are building a network, and what kind of information you are interested in receiving. 3) Add a note at the bottom that people should just archive your invitation if they do not want to connect rather than select the "I Don't Know" button. LinkedIn hates this approach to networking, so they'll limit your invitation capabilities if you get too many people that say they don't know you (easily remedied by email customer service, but still annoying). Also, if you sign up for the lists on the sites listed above, people will be doing the same to you, so you'll begin receiving your own steady flow of invitations.
The drawbacks to this approach are definitely real. You will see a large increase in spam. People of mal-intent create fake profiles, get on these lists, and use them to send out hordes of spam. Every day, I win about 10 foreign lotteries, get requests from 10 widows of foreign ambassadors asking for my help in transferring money (I get to keep 25%, of course), and offers for cheap Viagra and other pills that will make me "more substantial" (to put it cleanly). I also receive a lot of emails from real people in my network trying to get me to check out their new blog about pocket lint, their new book about cat herding, etc. It comes with the territory, but I do have to wade through some junk. Another disadvantage is that the people in your network are not motivated to help you simply due to the fact that you are a stranger. If you ask for an introduction, you may or may not ever get it. Additionally, LinkedIn only gives you a limited number of invitations. After you've exhausted them, you must beg for more (I'm told it's rather difficult). So there you have it.
Have a different networking strategy? Know other ways to build your network? Please share your comments.
4 comments:
so, you don't much care if there's a real connection.. just going for the numbers eh?
Your suggestion to import email contacts is just fine, as it the idea to connect with open networks.
But it's not networking if you don't really connect. Mass invites to people you don't know is spam. You might as well be telling me that I won a lottery.
Read the TOS for LinkedIN.com and the sites you mention. They specifially tell you not to do this.
The right way to build a network (once you get to those you know) is to read the profile and meke sure the person you are inviting is someone you want to know.
Then give them a reason to want to know you better. (for instance, you read on their profile that they are trying to do something)
I'm on open networker, and will accept invites. However, it's laughable how every new recruiter thinks they need numbers. If they took 20 seconds to read my profile, they would see I'm not looking for a jog, don't hire people and do all I can to promote escape from corporate life.
Still, I welcome a connection with any real human being that wants to join my network. We probably have something else in common.
But PLEASE.. don't spam the open networker lists. You WILL get reported and banned eventually
It's a shame that everyone thinks that if you want a lot of connections on Linkedin you must be planning to spam everybody. Not always the case.
Linkedin is a numbers game. It's a database whose access is granted most to those with the most connections. There's tremendous value in those connections even before you email a single one.
The idea that one should connect only to those they know well is a contradiction. Why on earth do you need Linkedin to keep track of your friends? Even Linkedin themselves offers a the tools to mine one's contact list, with little ability built in for filtering.
Linkedin's a great tool, but it's not a religion.
I would agree with Steve here.
I also use Marzar and Ecademy, other than the fact that they have a great messaging feature, they do not discourage large networks...
My personal experience has been that with a larger network, you gain more exposure and therefore, more potentials for generating business... which is after all, why people are connecting... right?
The way you cultivate your network makes all the difference in the world. I, too, am an open networker, but I also readily accept updates from my connections and in turn I send updates to my connections. I have made loads of real-life business connections based on my open-networker status. That said, I don't invite many people to LinkedIn anymore, I do receive upwards of 10-20 invites a day though and happily accept them.
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