"I have received many 'add' requests from people who left the company in one way or the other, people that I have spoken briefly with once, maybe twice. Which I haven't obliged to, of course. First, I do not have a linkedin account and if I did, why would I add people I do not know ? It means nothing at all at best, and in the worse cases can be detrimental."
jonetsu, I think there is a misunderstanding here on what LinkedIn users are trying to achieve when adding connections.
The point is to grow a network and utilize the networking effect on your career. This is a big numbers game. And it makes sense to add people even if you are not best buddies. LinkedIn is not Facebook and serves a different purpose.
Imagine you are a software development, a person you barely spoke to adds you on LinkedIn and you accept. Later on in this guy's company they are searching for a software developer. This person thinks of you because they sometimes see automated LinkedIn events mentioning you (like you having a birthday or a work anniversary, which happens automatically). They then write you on LinkedIn about this job opportunity. And you may find it actually interesting and go to that job.
Of course, it really matters who you are adding, but generally it is a good bet that people you've worked with in the past could be your network, potentially useful in the future.
Will it always work? Of course not. But will the increase in your professional network generally increase your chances to hear about interesting projects, jobs or professional events? You bet. I have been helped by LinkedIn contacts in the past quite considerably.
Having said that, LinkedIn has specific functionality that allows you to decline an invitation and also mark it with "I don't know this person". So, it's very different from Facebook and LinkedIn allows you to tak your connections seriously and filter who you want in your professional network.
"As a result, I look like a spammer in return because I can neither communicate with contacts there, let alone accept invitations from professional associates."
Karen, I don't understand. What keeps you from communicating with contacts or accepting invitations from associates? And why would communication with contacts there should make you look like a spammer?
jonetsu, I think there is a misunderstanding here on what LinkedIn users are trying to achieve when adding connections.
The point is to grow a network and utilize the networking effect on your career. This is a big numbers game. And it makes sense to add people even if you are not best buddies. LinkedIn is not Facebook and serves a different purpose.
Imagine you are a software development, a person you barely spoke to adds you on LinkedIn and you accept. Later on in this guy's company they are searching for a software developer. This person thinks of you because they sometimes see automated LinkedIn events mentioning you (like you having a birthday or a work anniversary, which happens automatically). They then write you on LinkedIn about this job opportunity. And you may find it actually interesting and go to that job.
Of course, it really matters who you are adding, but generally it is a good bet that people you've worked with in the past could be your network, potentially useful in the future.
Will it always work? Of course not. But will the increase in your professional network generally increase your chances to hear about interesting projects, jobs or professional events? You bet. I have been helped by LinkedIn contacts in the past quite considerably.
Having said that, LinkedIn has specific functionality that allows you to decline an invitation and also mark it with "I don't know this person". So, it's very different from Facebook and LinkedIn allows you to tak your connections seriously and filter who you want in your professional network.
"As a result, I look like a spammer in return because I can neither communicate with contacts there, let alone accept invitations from professional associates."
Karen, I don't understand. What keeps you from communicating with contacts or accepting invitations from associates? And why would communication with contacts there should make you look like a spammer?
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