With 277 million users, LinkedIn is the go-to site for professional networking. But despite the social platform’s growing popularity, confusion about its rules and etiquette abound.
Case in point: In February, job-seeker Diana Mekota, 26, made news when she requested to connect with Kelly Blazek, the manager of a Cleveland job bank through which Mekota hoped to land a gig. Blazek responded with a vitriolic rejection note (in part reading, “Your invite to connect is inappropriate . . . and tacky”) that went viral.
Although most LinkedIn lapses aren’t newsworthy, missteps can be all too easy to make. Here, experts dish on the site’s most common flubs and share their top tips for navigating the network with grace.
DON’T play the numbers game
According to LinkedIn’s career expert Nicole Williams, the site’s primary purpose is to cultivate “legitimate professional relationships” — which, she says, is a shift from the mentality of other social networks.
“This isn’t Twitter or Facebook, where the name of the game is numbers,” she says. “It’s not a popularity contest.”
So instead of clicking on names willy-nilly to rack up connections and build a huge network, focus only on those you know and trust for professional
support.
And since members aren’t notified when their request is rejected, you should never feel obliged to accept requests from those you don’t know well — or at all.
DO take it slow . . .
It’s possible to establish new relationships over the network — but only if you approach them with the same care and sensitivity as you do offline.
“I think the biggest mistake people make is that they tend to ask for too much too soon,” says Barbara Safani, founder of Career Solvers, a Midtown East career management firm.“Sometimes people [online] suspend the etiquette that they would use in the real world.”
In other words, if you wouldn’t ask someone for a job an hour after meeting them at a networking event, you shouldn’t pitch a perfect stranger via a LinkedIn message.
“You have to build rapport and trust first,” says Safani, who recommends that you start following that particular connection and joining the groups that they are in. “It’s always about making the lead warmer. Otherwise, it’s kind of like opening up the phone book and picking a name out.”
. . . but DON’T be afraid to reach out
While the Blazek brouhaha might suggest otherwise, it’s actually not poor etiquette to reach out directly to hiring managers on the site.
Jennifer Biehn, a Colorado-based executive recruiter with Witt/Kieffer, says job seekers request to connect with her “all the time” — and far from being off-putting, it can actually put you on recruiters’ radars.
“We’re in the business of networking and connection,” she says. “So if someone sends me a request to connect with a thoughtful note and a little background on themselves, I’ll put that in my notes.”
DO ace your photo
Even though LinkedIn is a job site — and not, say, match.com — your profile pic still matters. And according to Williams, unprofessional and inappropriate photos are hugely common.
“Unless you’re a pediatrician, there shouldn’t be a picture of you and your kid,” she says.
Your best bet is a smiling photo that communicates your energy and enthusiasm. It needn’t be a professional headshot.
“You’re 11 times more likely to have your profile looked at if you have a photo,” adds Williams. “It’s kind of like dating online — you’re not going to pick the guy without the photo.”
DON’T forget privacy settings
You don’t need your boss or colleagues to know when you’re on the lookout for another job — and a recently revamped LinkedIn profile is a surefire clue that you’re revving up to change jobs, says Safani.
She recommends updating your privacy settings so your network isn’t notified when you edit your profile. And if you are following certain groups that you don’t want the world to see — say, a recruiting firm or your direct competitor — it’s easy to hide those, too.
DO stay active once you’ve landed your dream gig
Even if you’re perfectly content in your current job, an active LinkedIn presence can go a long way toward creating that all-important digital footprint.
“It’s important from the standpoint of building an executive brand for yourself,” says Beihn.
Plus, it never hurts to catch the attention of recruiters scanning the site for someone with your experience and skills.
“Knowing where you stand is a really powerful thing,” notes Williams.
DON’T worry about ‘stalking’
One of the most alluring aspects of the network is the opportunity to see who’s viewed your profile. The flipside is when you look up that exec you’re trying to land a meeting with, they’ll be notified you visited their page.
Afraid you’ll come off as a creep? Don’t be.
“People are used to and expecting it,” says Williams. “For the most part, people are going to presume your interest in them is professional.”
DON’T be afraid to go long
One of the most infuriating aspects of creating a resume is distilling your professional history into one page. And even though there are no length limits on LinkedIn, Williams says many users don’t take advantage of the extra space.
“You’re never going to lose a hiring manager for having too much information,” she says. “It’s at their discretion — they can go as deep as they want.”