| │ EER/WFR/Leaving │ Contacts │ Benefits │ Medicare │ Stock │ Pension │ Finance │ Career │ HP History │ Index │ | |
|
||
LinkedIn Tips and Traps - Step 5 - Networking Using LinkedIn's networking features: to find former co-workers who know you and your work.
- LinkedIn
suggests "People you may know" -- based
on where and when you worked and your
connections in common.
The suggestions are uncanny -- and
actually fun.
- Unless you are seeking sales leads, only send invitations to
people you really know. If too many invitations are not accepted,
LinkedIn's system will restrict your ability to send more invitations.
-
LinkedIn will regularly nag you to "see who you already know." This
is an attempt to gain access to your entire email address book.
If you do, LinkedIn will send several
request-to-connect emails under your name to every person and company
you have ever corresponded with --
dog-sitter,
city streetlight repair, etc. (If you have already done that:
How to Unlink Your LinkedIn Address Book )
- Try joining the
LinkedIn professional networking groups
related to each former employer that fit your location and career.
(Groups are operated by informal groups of alumni around the
world.) LinkedIn has changed how
Groups work, making many of them much less useful.
- Try joining the LinkedIn groups related to your interests. Click the
LinkedIn logo in the upper left corner. Enter the topic in the search
window. Click the magnifying glass. Select "Groups" from the row of
links below the window. LinkedIn
has changed how Groups work, making many of them much less useful.
-
Accepting invitations to connect. Unless you are seeking sales
leads, only accept LinkedIn invitations from people you really know.
Forbes career columnist Liz Ryan has an example that went
badly wrong. If you don't immediately recognize the person, check
their profile. Lots of fake members on LinkedIn -- often posing as
recruiters. Fakes generally have profiles cut-and-pasted from real
members -- usually obvious if you scroll through the entire profile.
Scroll down to "See all" at the very bottom of the profile and click
"Groups." If there is a random list of large, unrelated groups, they are
a fake. They often have glamorous photos copied from the Web. If using
Chrome, right click on the photo and select "Search Google for image."
There she is, Miss Louisiana!
- Sending invitations to connect. Depending on your level and
role -- and depending on what you signed when you left your last
employer -- you may want to be careful about sending connection
invitations to former co-workers. This may be viewed as a solicitation
to join your new employer. These issues are
being litigated. (We've had no reports of this coming up with
respect to HP or related companies.)
- Check the companies you are following. The 50-employee
"EDS" outsourcing company
with a red logo -- actually "Egyptian Document Storage"
--
inexplicably has 2,600 followers on LinkedIn.
- Adjust the notifications in
your "LinkedIn Updates" emails. Some of the seven default "Updates
about your network" settings will suggest things that may not be a
good idea -- or bury the information you want in notifications that are
not useful. For example, leaving "Work anniversaries" set to "On" will
get you notes like "John Smith is celebrating 30 years at
Hewlett-Packard. Congratulate John" -- which may be based on a profile
that they haven't updated since their WFR. If you send a message via
LinkedIn, be sure to substitute your own wording for the default
wording. If a connection changes their profile to "Looking for new
opportunities" -- the canned suggestion is "Congratulations on your new
position!"
Website operated by volunteers. Not officially endorsed or
supported.
Question or comment? Email:
info@hpalumni.org.
(Updated
Dec 14, 2021.)
Next step -- Emails: Return to first article in this series: "LinkedIn Tips and Traps - How LinkedIn Really Works." |
||
Helping each other with life after HP and HPE: Website Forums Operated by volunteers. Not officially endorsed or supported. © 2023 Hewlett-Packard Alumni Association, Inc. By using this site you accept these terms. |