Dan Schawbel, a personal branding expert, put a link about LinkedIn on Twitter. The article is entitled LinkedIn Skyrockets As Job Losses Mount. Apparently more and more people join as they are getting laid off. I have seen alot of people join and I have advised alot of people to join. I think it is important to be connected on social media. Here is my profile. However, there are some fundamentals about networking that are important to remember, regardless if that is done through LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, email, in person or on the telephone. These fundamentals include:
- Actually connect with the person, don’t just add them as a contact. They really serve no purpose just being on a list.
- Don’t start off immediately with an appeal to “help me find a job.”
- Pay attention to what is said about or by the person you are contacting. Try to connect with them through some interest of theirs.
- Keep in touch with them by emailing or snail mailing some item about that interest. You may have noticed they went to a particular school or they support a particular team or they have a favorite author, etc.
- FOLLOW UP with them, and don’t wait to do it. Keith Ferrazzi talks about the importance of this in his Greenlight Community blogs.
- STAY IN TOUCH. Don’t let the contact die. People are busy. They are not going to remember you and your particular need if they do not hear from you on occassion.
- And lastly, stay in touch even AFTER you become employed. You never know, you may need them again and it is much easier to keep the contact than it is to start them up again.
Oh, and a good tip to be interesting to people is to be interested in them. I suggest you read Keith Ferrazzi’s Never Eat Dinner Alone or Harvey Mackay’s Swim With the Sharks.
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Excellent points Mike. I think people are paying attention now due the employment issue, but really networking should never stop…even when you are employed.