Minding Your LinkedIn Etiquette
LinkedIn has emerged as the most popular and beneficial social networking site for professionals and job seekers. Whether you are already on LinkedIn or planning to create a profile on this platform, you should stick to some basic etiquette on LinkedIn to benefit the most from your networking efforts on this site. Here are some things to keep in mind:
Ask for recommendations only from people whom you know well
LinkedIn recommendations can be extremely beneficial, especially when you get one from your supervisors, clients or some famous professionals. So, you shouldn’t waste your time by putting forward an unclear or weak request for recommendation. Rather, be clear in what you seek, and request people in your network (who could be present/former boss, supervisors, or any other person with whom you had done business) to recommend you. Things that you need to include in your request for recommendation are:
- What exactly are you seeking?
- Where will you use the recommendation?
- Will you ask the person to provide his working experience with you?
Before sending a recommendation request, you can also send a personal email to the individual, especially if you have not been in touch with that person for long. This way, the person won’t feel surprised, or annoyed, and will be most likely to recommend your work on LinkedIn.
Lastly, you should steer clear of asking recommendation from people whom you hardly know.
Always send a personalized note to unknown people whenever you invite them
Before inviting someone on LinkedIn whom you don’t know, you must send them a personalized note. And in your note, you must include who you, are and what your intention and objective is for sending them the invitation. There are some professionals who receive thousands of LinkedIn requests every day, most of which are generic ones that don’t deserve a proper read. So, if you send a generic request to such people, they will ignore it for sure. Hence, whenever you want to send an invitation to a professional contact, make sure to send them a personalized note to increase the chances of being accepted.
Stay away from the default text
You will get a number of default text and nifty templates on LinkedIn, which will make it easier for you to communicate with a contact. But whenever you want to communicate with a professional contact, avoid the default text. Instead, you should make it specific and personal. Avoid being lazy and express yourself in your own words, which will reflect your ability to communicate well with others. So, whether you want them to respond to a questionnaire that would help your career evaluation, want their feedback on a new project/design, or anything else, make sure to craft well-planned content that encourages them to respond positively.
Proofread the grammar and spelling of your content
Whether you are asking for a recommendation, writing a recommendation, introducing yourself, or communicating with someone, make sure to check the spelling, and correct grammatical errors as well as typos, if any, in your writing. If a request or recommendation contains a lot of spelling and grammatical errors, it will create a bad impression on others. So, take care to show the world that you are impeccable, articulate and a meticulous person from the very beginning.
Keep these basic etiquettes in mind and soon you will see your LinkedIn network soaring with the right connections.