Okay, I’m going to try not to be ranty because it is nice to have a LinkedIn profile that draws attention.

However.

I’ve recently received a spate of interesting inbox messages on LinkedIn, and as I was evaluating them, they made me think of:

• My value as perceived by others
• What happens to networking when it’s used as currency
• Actions and agendas and asks, oh my!

In an earlier incarnation of this blog (and my career), I talked a lot about career resources. So for today, enjoy the career resource resurrection!

3 Ways Not to Network on LinkedIn (Or Anywhere Else, Really)

1. “Congratulations on <insert achievement here>! Is <job position> still open in your company?”

Congratulations lose their appearance of sincerity when you combine them with an ask for yourself in the next breath.

You’ll do yourself more favors by cultivating and nurturing an even-handed dialogue versus throwing an immediate “Let’s talk about me” bid for attention.

Sure, you still have an agenda, but it’ll be accepted far more easily if you leave off the pouncing.

Or just, you know, do a straight inquiry about the job. It’s okay!

 

2. “Thanks for accepting my invitation to connect! <Cue far too many paragraphs about why I should use your product/support your agenda/just click this link already>.”

or

“After viewing your profile, do you use LinkedIn for <something that has nothing to do with what I do>?  <link>  

I get that we’re all mostly on LinkedIn to sell something.

Will we catch the eye of an employer, acquire information, make sales, make connections? Where does our value rank? How do we get our voice heard?

Even these seemingly guileless posts are heavily calculated bids for your attention and support.

But there’s something majorly off-putting about being hit right after connecting with a form letter and a link. Even if you take the time to personalize it with my name and a few details, to me, that’s not building a relationship. That’s not a dialogue.

But it is pushing your agenda on me.

And if you seemingly viewed my profile but try to sell me something that has little or nothing to do with me? Fail.

What you could do instead: Just ask me what I do or what I’m looking for. If it’s something you provide, THEN share your link.

 

3. Forgetting that oops, you didn’t treat the person very well in the past.

There’s that old saying, or there should be, that you never know who’s going to help you get your next job, so it pays to be respectful.

There’s another saying I think I made up that I use when talking about Yammer networks: “What happens offline is reflected online.”

I have an acquaintance who has done a great job of ignoring me–to my face!–over the years.

But now we’ve got a job opening in my department.

Suddenly this person wants to connect and talk about it.

I’m a benefit-of-the-doubt person, but I’d say “Hello,” and this person would cut me dead a la the Victorian era, so much as I find the Victorian era fascinating, there was not much doubt left to have.

You know how word gets around. I quickly found out that this person will ignore anyone until they decide you’re someone to use, and then, well…“Oozing charm from every pore, he oiled his way around the floor.” – Henry Higgins.

And now I was someone to use.

Is this the kind of person you’d want to work with?

There are worse things, sure. But had this person treated me better in my personal life, I may have given more thought to helping them in their professional life. As it was, they self-selected themselves out of the running.

Conclusion

We all make mistakes. That’s one of the sure things of life, so we’ve got that going for us. But if you find yourself doing any of the above, cease and desist. And if you see me doing it, please tell me!

What’s your take? Do you find that people are skipping over the usual conversational steps when they’re on LinkedIn? Does it bug you–or not?