Friday, September 12, 2008

The Missing LinkedIn: Personalization


I've written about LinkedIn a time or two.

Here's another ditty, which dates back to two weeks ago, when a woman asked me to connect via LinkedIn. Problem is, I had no idea who she was. Then I did some cursory searching online and discovered that she and I share an alma mater.

One would think that would have been a relevant shred of information for her to mention when she tendered the invitation. Wait a second--scratch that. She didn't do anything that resembles a legitimate invitation. Instead, she clicked on a few buttons and triggered an automated message.

She's yet to follow up with me, and I've yet to respond to her.

So, here's a tip for anyone looking to add value to your LinkedIn experience: take a few moments and actually personalize the greeting. Maybe you can indicate why you think the linkage would be mutually beneficial. Or perhaps you can simply refer to some common ground. Or the weather.

Or anything, so long as it shows you are investing some thought into the process.

It's a nice start to the LinkedIn liaison, and it shows professionalism and personability.

I do it every time I make a LinkedIn invitation--even with people I know very well and interact with daily. Heck, I did it when I invited my own brother into my LinkedIn network. (Of course, he's not yet approved the invitation. "Yo, Andy, it's me, your brother!")

One final note: A recent LinkedIn partner of mine has some other worthwhile remarks you may want to check out.

1 comment:

Bridgett said...

Personally, I think it's lame for people to even ask to Link In when they have almost zero in common with you.

Do you know how big Northwestern University is? Being an N.U. grad is, IMO, simply not enough to be LinkedIn with someone.

LinkedIn allows you to ask mutual "linkers" to introduce you. So, IMO, the better route would have been to find someone she had in common with you and ask for an introduction.

Yes, personalization is most definitely important. But how about let's start with more than a teeny tiny fine line of a connection? :)