In a world where online connectivity is instantaneous, it’s easy to assume that traditional networking has lost its relevance. A LinkedIn message, a quick DM, or joining a digital community can make us feel like we’re expanding our network with minimal effort.

But despite the convenience of technology, nothing replaces the power of in-person, human connection—especially for women professionals who are navigating visibility, influence, and career advancement.

A networking opportunity takes me to play elephant polo in the jungles of Nepal

Almost 25 years ago, I faced the prospect of a gap in my resume because a managerial level job that I had been offered was rescinded a month before I was supposed to join. The firm was merging with another accounting firm and the mood was one of laying off people, not new hires.

It wasn’t an easy time for me. I had just returned to India and didn’t have a solid referral network to help me back then. LinkedIn didn’t exist and the only thing to do was look at online job portals, or to send the resume to Executive Search firms and hope for the best.

That was the time when the BPO industry was booming in India and the only jobs that seemed to be available were in these BPOs. Besides the job descriptions didn’t match my profile or experience. 6 months into interviews and dealing with headhunters who couldn’t help, I got angry and decided to employ myself!

The way I saw it, I had an apartment with space for a home office, a computer with printer, a car and a landline phone with fax and answering machine.

The Universe must have approved of my plan because within a month I landed one of the most enjoyable projects ever and even got to play elephant polo in the jungles of Nepal!

One evening my parents were invited to a cocktail party and they urged me to come with them. I wasn’t really in the mood to socialize but something inside me said to go and meet new people, even if over drinks and canapés with small talk.

That evening, I ended up having an engaging fifteen -minute conversation with a couple who took a keen interest in my work. The wife exclaimed that I was just the person Jim would want to meet. She didn’t say much but asked for my phone number.

The next morning, I got a call from the wife asking for my resume which I faxed across. An hour later I was invited on an all-expenses paid trip to Nepal to meet the owner of Nepal’s biggest adventure travel group in the forests of Chitwan for a consulting assignment. The rest is history.

And here’s the truth: none of this would have happened if I had stayed behind a computer screen or decided to watch a movie on the television at home.

We may be digitally connected, but are we really connected?

We live in an interconnected world. Messages are instant, introductions are made in seconds, and social media constantly promises us access to “opportunities.” It often feels as though traditional networking has become optional—almost outdated.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

Digital platforms are excellent for exchanging ideas, discovering opportunities, and connecting with people you might never meet otherwise. They’re a valuable starting point. However, online communication can only go so far.

Online interactions can never replicate what happens when two people share a conversation in the same physical space.

As women professionals, where relationship-building and visibility are essential to career growth, this distinction matters.

Face-to-face interactions allow you to build rapport faster and more authentically. You communicate not only through words but through presence, energy, body language, and the subtle cues that create trust.

These are the very elements that help women sharpen their executive presence and stand out in rooms that matter.

A few seconds in person often give us more insight about someone than weeks of online messaging. That’s because when you’re physically in a space with someone, your brain processes micro-expressions, tone, confidence, and emotional cues far more effectively.

The Power of Being in the Room

There is something quietly powerful about looking someone in the eye, sharing a smile, or hearing the tone behind their words. In just a few seconds of in-person contact, you understand someone’s sincerity, energy, and intentions far more deeply than through text or video.

These micro-moments build trust, which is something that women often need more of in professional environments where credibility and executive presence are constantly judged.

When you are physically present:

• People remember you
• They feel your confidence
• They sense your authenticity
• They’re more willing to champion you.

That’s the kind of connection no online persona can create.

Limitations of the Online World we need to consider

Let’s be honest: it’s easy to look impressive online. A polished profile, perfectly crafted posts, and the right buzzwords can create an image that doesn’t always match reality.

And sometimes, it’s not intentional but just the natural limitation of digital interaction. You simply don’t get the full picture.

That’s why online networking must be a step, not the destination.

Networking is a give-and-take process and fundamentally relational. It requires a willingness to engage, offer value, and build a reciprocal exchange. That level of connection is difficult to achieve through messages alone.

It thrives on human connection. And real connection happens when you move the conversation from messages to meetings.

Start online but don’t stay there

Women often face unique networking challenges which include social conditioning, confidence biases, smaller informal networks and difficulty accessing “old boys’ clubs”.

These challenges and barriers can be overcome if you focus on intentional networking and netweaving to add value to your existing network. One way is to form your own business lunch network.

Think of using online platforms as the first step in your networking strategy. Not the whole strategy.

For example:

• LinkedIn can help you identify decision-makers, mentors, or peers.
• Professional communities and women’s leadership groups can introduce you to new circles.
• Virtual events can help you start conversations and share expertise.

Online platforms like LinkedIn and groups on Meetup or Eventbrite or niche groups on LinkedIn are excellent places to begin building your network. They help you find like-minded professionals, industry leaders, and communities where you belong.

But the goal should always be to bring the relationship offline.

Whether it’s over coffee, at industry events, or at conferences, meeting people in person validates the connection and strengthens trust. It’s why people often say, “It’s nice to put a face to the name.”

Even virtual connections feel more real when you take them one level deeper.

Remember you don’t have to meet everyone. Some people live too far, schedules conflict, or priorities differ. That’s completely fine.

But the women who invest in selective, meaningful in-person relationships are the ones whose networks truly support their career growth.

The true impact comes when you take the next step: moving the relationship from digital to human.

Even today, most meaningful partnerships—referrals, collaborations, sponsorships, and leadership opportunities come from relationships built offline.

There’s no Magic Formula but this works

There’s no perfect script for networking. There’s no one-size-fits-all path. But one principle holds true time and again:

Face-to-face connections create stronger, more influential networks than a purely online approach ever will.

And as women navigating the complexities of leadership, career transitions, and credibility, we need networks that see us, support us, and stand with us, not just “follow” us.

If you’re a woman aspiring to grow your influence, increase your visibility, and elevate your leadership trajectory, investing in real human interaction isn’t optional. It’s a strategic advantage.

So, the next time you’re tempted to rely solely on digital connections, remember my cocktail party story. That fifteen -minute in-person conversation led to my first lucrative consulting assignment I could never have predicted.

Imagine what could happen for you when you put yourself in the room.

If you want to strengthen your executive presence and build a powerful network that supports your leadership journey, explore my coaching program 5-Day Confidence Kickstart for Aspiring Women Leaders.

The idea of working from home is not a new one. In fact, many organizations have allowed it earlier as well as definitely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And while many workers have had to return to the workplace because their employers have insisted, or they’re doing a hybrid model, one question that often comes up is, if I choose to work from home, how am I going to ensure that my promotion prospects don’t get affected?

In this video I am going to share with you 2 effective strategies which will help you improve your promotion prospects while you continue to work from home as well as the 12 tactics you need in order to make it work.

Prefer reading? Here’s the transcript with the 2 strategies and 12 tactics

First a few points.

Telecommuters are 50% less likely to get promoted

A Stanford University study actually indicated that Telecommuters are 50% less likely to get promoted. I’m going to share more about this study with you in a while.

But I also want to tell you other research has shown that this happens due to the assumptions that your colleagues make when they don’t see you around the office on a regular basis. They may think that you’re playing hooky when in fact you are actually working.

Another point is that this problem of inequity in promotions between remote and in-person workers has existed since well before the pandemic forced many people into home-work situations.

In fact, the Stanford Study that I was referring to earlier was actually done in 2015 and was conducted in China by researchers from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. And what they found was that people working from home were actually more productive. In fact 13% more to be exact. But – they weren’t rewarded with promotions at nearly the same rate as their in-office colleagues.

And according to Nicholas Bloom who was the study’s lead author and a professor of economics at Stanford, he said that it was striking that promotion rates plummeted. It was roughly half the promotion rate, compared to those in the office.

Now, if you do choose to work from home and you are concerned about your promotion prospects, let me tell you one thing. This can be overcome but you have to ensure that you raise your visibility and you’re able to demonstrate your reliability.

And for that I’ve got 2 strategies. The first is to increase your face time and the other one is to prove that you are reliable.  So, let’s have a closer look at the first one which is to increase your face time.

How to Increase Your Face Time

Now this is very important because as I had told you earlier that research has shown that people assume that others are not working. And managing your face time is a very big point in how your colleagues view you.

Because just seeing you around tends to create an impression that you’re actually a committed as a team player. If you are working remotely then you just simply have to make an extra effort.

1. Attend meetings

The first tactic is attend meetings. Now what I mean by that is occasionally do come into the office even if your presence isn’t required to attend meetings. And make sure you actually network with your colleagues. Talk to them. Share your ideas.

But definitely make sure you’re putting in some physical appearance. If location-wise that’s not possible then make you’re online with them so that you increase your face time.

2. Participate in social events

 The other one is to participate in social events. Now if your office is organizing an outing or a retreat or if your department is doing something, make sure that you participate in those events and in fact even volunteer to help out with it. All these little, little things can help people to know you, to recognize you and they will realize that no, this person is working, is very much a part of the team.

3. Throw a party

Now the third if you are up to it, is actually to throw a party. Now it doesn’t mean that you throw a wild party or something, but you can invite your colleagues over to your house for potluck dinner or you may invite them for cocktails or just generally, you know get together with them even outside the workplace so that they know that you are around.

4. Travel together

The other ways to increase your face time is, like I said, if your company is going on a retreat then try to book your tickets so that you’re travelling along with the rest of your colleagues in a group. That makes a very, very big difference.

5. Volunteer as a group

You can also volunteer as a group.  If there is a project that your organization does as a Corporate Social Responsibility one, then you can volunteer your time in there. And also try to help out with the logistics. All these things make sure that people know that you are very much around.

6. Join a Committee

You can join a committee if there’s one in your organization that looks at different matters or something which is of personal interest to you. In other words, volunteer. Working from home doesn’t mean you don’t step out of your home or come into the office. What it means is you work from home, but you make sure that other aspects are covered.

7. Share photos

And then, share photos. And when I’m saying share photos, I’m not saying share photos of your dog or of your cat playing office assistant and things like that. Keep that for social media if you want.

But the kind of photos I am telling you is that if you are going on site visits or if you are going for client meetings then take photographs and share with your boss so that he knows that yes, this person is stepping out.

This person is doing their work and in general this is going to help you because you also have to show that you want to get that promotion that you have good people skills and that you know how to deal with customers and clients and even vendors if required.

How to Prove Your Reliability

Now, the second strategy is you have to prove your reliability. And by here, what I mean is your boss has to know that you can be depended upon.

In fact, funnily enough that Stanford study showed that employees who work at home were happier and more productive. The facts are on your side.

1. Share your Personal Office Hours

You just need to let your colleagues know what you’re doing. So, when I say share your personal office hours, have it up in the system, the intranet of your organization so that your colleagues know when to contact you and when to follow up with you on different tasks or projects that you guys are doing.

2. Meet deadlines

The deadlines are very important. Make sure you are committed to them. No slacking off. In fact produce high quality work and try to exceed your boss’s expectations.  Just don’t do enough to be a 3 on a Bell Curve.

3. Exceed expectations

Make sure that you keep exceeding expectations and that you can be relied upon.  Keep your boss in the know about what all you are doing. Give regular feedback also and in general make sure that you keep others in the loop and you stay in the loop.

Now these 2 are very important when we’re talking about promotions and career prospects. Apart from doing everything to show that you’re reliable and people get to see your face and they know who you are, these 2 things are critical.

4. Track accomplishments

You have to track your accomplishments. In other words, you have to keep track because you’re not in the office and you’re going to have to provide evidence. So keep detailed records if you’re working independently most of the time.

And I suggest you take the last few minutes of the day to jot down what all you have achieved and then you can tell your boss about your success stories.

5. Prepare for evaluations

Likewise, prepare for evaluations and if possible, encourage your employer to actually base your promotion on key visible deliverables that you have done and on the outcomes you have produced.

In fact, present your accomplishments and suggest any broader issues that you want to discuss. You could talk about any other professional development that you may have or ask your boss about it. And all of this is basically indicate that you are serious about your career.

It will also help you to demonstrate your Executive Presence and also that you understand the dynamics of your workplace and that you are very much a team member even if you are working from home.

Final Words of Wisdom

So, my final words of wisdom are that you have to create more face time and you also have to show your boss that you’re indispensable.

These are the first 2 things you need to do. But also remember that you have to ask for what you want, whether it’s a raise or a new position or a project because your boss is not a mind reader.

You have to ask for what you want, and you have to demonstrate you are up to it.

And if you put all of this together, you’re going to be well on your way to a successful career while you work from home. And everyone’s going to be happy.

Now I have mentioned earlier about Executive Presence. Some people think that in order to show Executive Presence you actually have to be in the office. That’s not quite true.

You can also demonstrate Executive Presence on the phone. You can demonstrate Executive Presence on video calls. It’s just that you have to change certain ways of doing it.

And I invite you to download for free, my Executive Presence Checklist and see where you are actually measuring up.

Along with that checklist you also get a series of emails where I am going to be pointing out the areas you need to focus on.

Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you cannot develop or demonstrate your Executive Presence. So please go ahead and download this checklist and see where you stand. And that’s a wrap.

My question to you or rather my parting question to you is, which of these tactics are you going to try first for maximum results? Go ahead and do it and then come back and share your results with me.

This is Vatsala Shukla from Karmic Ally Coaching signing off. All the best. Let’s rock your career!

When it comes to networking, I have discovered that there are 3 categories of networkers along a spectrum.

On one side you have the super networkers who just love to network. When on the other side of the spectrum you have those who wince at the very thought of ‘oh God, I have to network?

And then of course there’s a middle of the road path where most of us come into the picture which is that it depends on where you’re networking. And what happens when your contacts go cold? Especially if they are valuable?

(Watch the vlog or read the transcript below it.)

Hi, I’m Vatsala Shukla from Karmic Ally Coaching and today we’re going to be looking at this very topic. I’m going to help you to be able to regain communications and connections with those valuable cold contacts.

Reaching out on LinkedIn with Cold Network VS a network that has gone cold

But first, I want to talk to you about reaching out on LinkedIn with a cold network or a network that has gone cold.

These are 2 completely different things and in fact this vlog post was inspired by a recent incident where I received a connection request and it was a pure sales pitch. One which made me wonder, have you even bothered to check what I do?

Now this is reaching out to a cold network on LinkedIn and if you are doing similar things then I advise you to stop it immediately.

When we talk about personalization, we talk about trying to find a common ground. Not give a veiled cold pitch and hope that you’re going to get business. Because, hey, I don’t know you from Adam or Eve. I’m not going to work with you for getting this kind of a message.

On the other hand, a network that has gone cold is one which was quite active till sometime back and then you have lost touch and you need to reconnect.

What’s the temperature of your personal network?

So here’s a question for you. Think about it. What’s the temperature of your personal network? Is it hot? Is it cold? Is it mild? Is it lukewarm? Tepid waters, maybe? Whichever way it is, unless it’s hot, there are ways that we can reignite the network.

But first, another truth bomb that I need to give you is, that when you’re reaching out to your contacts looking for a job or referral and you haven’t been in touch with them for some time then you are going to get disappointing  results.

Now it’s natural for your important colleagues to be less enthusiastic if they only hear from you when you’re asking for a favor.

Regular communication will strengthen your relationships, and in fact if you prove that you are a better contact to have, people will be delighted to hear from you.

I go into more details in how to do that in my blog post about being, the difference between networkers and netweavers. And I’ll be sharing the link with you later.

So let’s get started.

Tip#1 – Offer a sincere apology

The first tip that I would like to offer you when you are reaching out to a contact that has gone cold especially if you’ve been neglecting to return phone calls early because you were simply too busy is to apologize – a very sincere apology.

Acknowledge your lapse and ensure that you’re considerate in the future if your contact decides to forgive you and recommence the relationship.

Tip#2 – Start within your immediate network first

The second tip is to start within your immediate network first. Use the opportunities you have to practice your networking skills and make new contacts. They’re all around you. You simply have to find them and look for the leads among those you interact with daily, including coworkers and other job seekers or business friends.

But start with them first and build up your confidence before you move on to even colder contacts.

Tip#3 – Research before reconnecting

When you’re planning to reconnect with someone please do some research first because you must have some common point to talk about. You could try to find out if someone has changed job or gotten married since you last spoke.

And some good resources to do that are to check on LinkedIn or their LinkedIn profile. Even go on Facebook if you are friends with them on Facebook. Or talk to mutual friends and find out what’s up in their life.

And using this information, make sure that you’re prepared for your first conversation after such a long time.

Tip#4 – Stay informed about current affairs

Another tip is to stay informed about current affairs. You know, when you’re an interesting person and you’re able to give good interesting conversation about what’s happening in your field or in the wider world, people will be happy to reconnect with you.

So I would suggest you read books, you watch movies, and engage in deep conversations. You may also feel like first posting on social media about things that you’ve been reading or some perspective you wish to offer first so that in case that connection is on LinkedIn, they will see that you’re active there and maybe the conversation will get started from that point itself.

Tip#5 – Give more!

And the fifth one is to give more. This is again successful networking is all about being generous. And, again this is about the same thing I was telling you about netweaving.  You can always help others by sending articles, or making referrals, or just sharing an encouraging word. It’s so easy.

If you’re too scared to get on the phone to your cold connect to revive, all you have to do is maybe send an email or a message. Share something that you found or make an introduction between 2 people who might find each other’s, you know, network useful.

Give first then ask later.

7 Tips to prevent your network from going cold

Now having given you these 5 tips, I also want to talk to you about how can you prevent your network from going cold because the tips that I’ve given you earlier are only there to help you to revive it. You may not succeed. Or if you succeeded, you may not succeed as well as you want.

So prevention is always better than a cure. Let’s look at these 7 tips.

And they are very easy ones.

Be Selective

The first is to be selective.  Now in a way we all have a limited amount of time and here I suggest that quality is always better than quantity if you want to cultivate authentic relationships. So you have to prioritize.

Figure out who your key contacts are and devote more time keeping in touch with them. Then it won’t feel so cumbersome. In fact, if you look at the number of friends you may have acquired on Facebook or the number of connections you have acquired on LinkedIn, how many of them are you actually actively engaged with?

Select the ones that really matter and make sure we don’t lose touch with them. There are other results of taking care of other network members and I’ll tell you that about later.

Create an Organized System

Now here it is to create an organized system.

And that means that networking has to be organized. It may mean that you scan business cards or create a whole database, or even keep an Excel spreadsheet. Or something that helps you to know who you connected with, when you connected, some additional extra information about them so that you can find reasons to keep in touch. It could be their birthdays or work anniversaries or other useful things.

Block out Time to Network

Coming from the organized system learn to block out time. Because if it’s not on your calendar; it’s never going to happen. You could set aside say about a half an hour in the morning or in the evening to communicate with people.

Maybe make some phone calls or you can set a goal to eat lunch with one of your contacts if they are in the same city or even just, you know, fix appointments to say ‘hey let’s catch up’ sort of thing. And it doesn’t have to be a 2 hour session but could even be 15 minutes just to say hello.

Increase Your Visibility

The other one is to increase your visibility. In other words speaking or even posting on the social media networks where your contacts hang out on topics which are related to your career or your industry or even current affairs will also give you opportunities to make new contacts and refresh old ones.

So if you’re not being affected by any COVID lockdowns check with your local communities and contact the organizers for any upcoming industry event. Or if there’s an online event going on which has the facility of networking use that but definitely raise your visibility in a good way.

Offer Congratulations

Another thing I want to tell you is that people always love to hear from you if you are expressing a genuine interest in their lives and appreciation for their achievements.  So relay your good wishes when you find out that somebody has been promoted or has landed a major account or has gotten a new job.

The 2 networks, Facebook and LinkedIn often give you notifications. A simple Happy Birthday can make a very big difference. Or if you find out somebody’s got a work anniversary you just shoot them a message or post on the newsfeed and say Congratulations.

It doesn’t take too much. It’s easy.

Send Holiday Greetings

And then, send holiday greetings.  Now here you may be saying, ‘my God, I’ve got a thousand people in my network, how do I do that’? So, here’s what I recommend.

There are certain occasions whether it’s Diwali, or Eid, or Thanksgiving or Christmas or New Year’s when you can reach out to your network even if you’re not in touch with them regularly.

A bonus tip – personalize the messages for your key contacts while creating a more general message for those people with whom you interact with less frequently. The point is that they should know that you remembered them.

Take Scheduled Time Off

And finally, take some scheduled time off. You know, when you take time off it will help you to stay more motivated and balanced.

You may want to forget about business or your career when you’re with your family or with the rest of your community. It will also give you time to relax and think who do I need to connect with or who do I need to stay in touch with?

So that’s from me and because I started with LinkedIn and I’ve mentioned it so many times I have a little special gift for you and that is my ebook on the 5 Mistakes Professionals Make on LinkedIn.

The link to get this ebook is in the comments or in the summary and I recommend that you download it. Very simple mistakes and I also provide you with how to avoid it or make up for it so that you don’t irritate your network.

Final Words 

My final words are to always remember that an effective network is more than collecting business cards.

It’s developing closer professional relationships and you can do that to advance your career by keeping in touch with your contacts.

And lastly even if it kills you take the initiative to reach out if you’ve let a valuable connection grow cold.

So that’s all from me for now. I’m Vatsala Shukla from Karmic Ally Coaching signing off. Do tell me about your own experiences. Bye for now.

Most professionals know LinkedIn is a networking platform for employers and working professionals, allowing companies to present themselves through online pages and for users to find job listings and enhance their network in their area of expertise.

Businesses use it as a platform for businesses to connect with potential leads, prospects and acquire clients.

LinkedIn is also a popular social recruiting tool provided it is used properly.

I’ve already covered topics on optimizing one’s profile and the unique etiquette to be applied when creating connections for job search assistance and growing one’s network.

One thing professionals don’t realize is just because they send out an invite to someone, doesn’t oblige the receiver to accept that connection (you can check 9 good reasons for that rejection here).

Even if they do accept the connection invite, it doesn’t mean much unless one builds a relationship and they can remove the connection or even block the other person if certain boundaries are trespassed.

In my post on making your one-on-one networking effective, I’d pointed out that LinkedIn is not a numbers game but requires making meaningful contacts.

Otherwise maxing out the number of connections you have without really knowing those connections well doesn’t serve much purpose.

There is another way to expand your network and actually get to know others on LinkedIn too. It’s by talking to them or rather communicating online through LinkedIn Groups.

Groups are a key component to the success of your future networking efforts on LinkedIn.

Groups are where you can get to know other professionals in your industry or field and engage with them. They might be able to provide the leads for a new job or even business provided you are active in that Group.

I’ve made some wonderful professional connections and then discovered we had a lot in common even outside of the Group and profession and strong friendships have been forged that make it impossible to believe I’m half way across the world from these professionals.

One thing to remember – no matter what your membership level is with LinkedIn (free or premium) – you’re limited to joining only 50 groups. So use some care in joining.

If you find later that some groups are not proving to be as productive as you want, you can leave a group so that you may join another.

But before you go and start applying to join groups that are relevant to your profession or industry, make sure you have a complete profile.

A completed profile is very important because many group owners/moderators actually review your profile to make sure you are an ‘appropriate’ new member for the group.

It happened to me when I wanted to join the global Alumni Group of the partner firm where I had done my training. In the years that followed, that firm had merged with another firm. I had to provide evidence that I had worked for them and was a Bonafide alumni.

New people with incomplete details very often will have a difficult time getting accepted into the more active and beneficial groups, but since you have taken the time to set up a good, solid professional profile – you should have no problem getting into the majority of the groups that you apply for.

How to find and engage in the right Groups for your job search or business leads

You can join up to 50 groups. Unless you spend all your waking hours engaging in conversations and discussions in these Groups, I doubt you’ll get very far with your goal leveraging LinkedIn Groups for your goals.

Instead of joining all 50 groups in 1 go, I suggest you use the following approach.

First decide on your intention for joining a group.

After that, look for large groups with high engagement rates. If you’re looking for a new job, then focus on 1-5 groups that fit the bill and then participate actively.

If that feels daunting, then start with your Alumni or professional Groups who will be happy to welcome you and it will be easier for you to also connect personally with group members.

If you’re in job search mode or looking for business leads or collaborators, you need to be able to talk to people in the company you’re targeting for the job or business.

That means connecting and building relationships with people who work for that company or even own it. Let them know you’re looking for a position.

When you join a Group, you also get access to their job postings that might not be advertised or available in the general job search function of LinkedIn.

Joining a Group is not enough though– you need to engage in discussions and even start conversations that bring value to the Group.

When other Group Members see you being active, they will get to know you and inclined to help if they see a common interest or ground.

The best part about Groups is you can send messages to Group Members although there is a daily cap to prevent misuse.

Make sure you read the rules established by the Group Manager or Admin for each of the Groups that you join and observe the Group and discussions before joining in.

Of course you want to get noticed but it has to be as a valuable new member, not a sore thumb!

Do this to create the right impression in your new LinkedIn Group

Once you have joined all of your selected groups, write a brief intro about yourself and your business – nothing too elaborate, just enough to let the group owner and members know that you are going to be a valued contributing member of the group.

I usually spin it a bit for every 4 to 5 groups, as there are going to many people that will belong to several of the same groups you are posting to – you don’t want it to look totally ‘copy and paste’ across all 50 groups!

So spin it a bit – change up the opening sentence every few sites, switch the paragraphs around, change the close.

You don’t have to write something totally unique for each one. But you do want to vary it a bit so that across the 50 groups you have at least 5 different versions, and ideally 10 different versions.

Consider content curation.

And if you’re like me, you don’t need to join all 50 groups in 1 go. I have about 25 based on education, profession and interests and I find that’s enough for my networking.

Have you leveraged the power of Groups for you career or business goals yet?

Additional Guidance on using LinkedIn Groups

This post would be incomplete without providing some guidance on using Groups on LinkedIn. Especially if you have never used them before. Here are 2 sources to help you.

LinkedIn Groups Membership – Overview

Find and Join a LinkedIn Group

5 Mistakes Professionals Make on LinkedIn

Privacy is back on my radar after the latest Facebook Data Breach and Cambridge Analytica events and I wonder, has Privacy become a myth in the Digital Age?

There is danger in getting too comfortable with the known because it means we let our antenna for danger down.

The point was driven home a few days back when I received an email from Tumblr informing users that 84 accounts had been closed and their posts cleaned up for propaganda activity by Russians and IRA. Even though we were not in trouble, we were informed about the steps taken for our protection.

It reminded me of how Buffer and Tumblr had sent alerts after millions of user emails and passwords had been breached and made users change their passwords as a security measure even if they had joined after the period of the breach.

I appreciate these sites for taking proactive steps to ensure the safety and privacy of its users.

The truth is, Social networking through sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn is flourishing like never before, and many of us have now become comfortable with communicating online.

However, before we relax too much into this new way of interacting, we may need to take a closer look at the issues regarding safety and privacy in order to protect ourselves both online and offline.

The onus to protect our privacy lies with us.

In this post I’ll share what I believe are important issues regarding privacy, in addition to providing strategies and tips for communicating safely and effectively while online.

3 points you need to keep in mind about Privacy and Social Networking

Social networking and sharing on the web is fun but provided the conversation stays between the intended participants and is not taken out of context or used by others to manipulate our decisions or choices based on our alleged behavior.

It means being circumspect when posting on social media. Could an innocent tweet lead to a defamation suit? Or posting a photo without permission on Facebook that doesn’t show the other person is a positive light?

Libel and defamation cases are becoming common. What we share on social media is written documentation that can be traced back to you if required by law as pointed out in the article, Going Viral: Social media defamation cases on the rise

Circumspection includes considering how much information you are sharing in your online profiles.

Sharing too much information like your address, birthday and other information like saving your credit card details is manna from heaven for cyber criminals. If you can’t control who sees the information, don’t post it.

It’s a known fact that many social media as well as commercial sites collect data from your online activity to determine your preferences and enhance your user experience.

However, when social media sites have 3^rd party apps that ask you for permission to view information from your profile, your data is transferred to them.

For example, you see a friend has taken a quiz on Facebook that tells you what you were in your previous life. It’s late in the evening and you’re chillaxing and decide to take the test too for fun. You get the results but before that, the quiz asks for permission to view your profile and you agree.

Without realizing it, you’ve transferred not only your information to that app developer but also details about your friends and the works.

That’s the reason a number of social media experts are advising their audience in the wake of the latest Facebook saga to go into their settings and remove any unnecessary apps and games. I’ve got a resource to help you do this further down in this post.

If the game belongs to Facebook, all the stored data will be removed but if it belongs to a 3^rd party, you will need to contact the party yourself to get the personal data removed.

.

7 actions you can take today for online privacy protection

You can’t change the past but there are steps going forward that allow you to continue being social on networking sites.

There’s a lot of guidance on this topic available on the internet but here are my top 7 that I use as part of my routine maintenance of privacy and social media presence.

Review your privacy setting on all social media sites

Once you’ve finished reading this post, I recommend you visit each social media platform where you are active and review your privacy settings and customize it to suit your needs.

For example, we might have given an app permission to post tweets for us on Twitter. If you are fine with it, that’s great. But what about apps you might have used once and then forgotten about it?

It’s time to withdraw permission. Likewise for Facebook. Check what permissions you have given and if they are no longer required or used by you, then delete them.

Many sites regularly update their privacy settings as well as policies and a good practice is to review them every 6 months.

It’s not enough to have read these policies when you first joined. It’s equally important to understand how your information is displayed and used.

Sites like PayPal inform their users whenever there has been a change in policy or terms of use. They

guide the user to the new information but there are some that don’t and the onus to stay on top of these changes lies with you.

Policies change to adapt to changing times and your continued use of these sites implies consent. Take it a step further and check the privacy and Terms of Use policies for the websites that you frequent most.

Google yourself to make sure you know what information is being shared about you

I’ve written about this in my blog post Are You Game to accept the Karmic Ally Coaching Google Yourself Challenge? and shared what results I came up with in regard to my name and business.

Google is a tool used by recruiters and businesses to learn more about people and you want your information to be reliable.

It’s also a good way to discover if your information and images are being misused. The story of how my Facebook Page image and other images being made available for free download as well as plagiarized blog posts where I issued tons of DMCA notices and had to track website owners serving cease and desist notices is well documented in my LinkedIn post How to protect copyright images & reputation from devious people

Both posts have tips on next steps to protect your information.

Review your profiles on social media sites and remove superfluous information

Some sites require basic information like an email and password to set up an account while others might need a little more details.

Having signed up, a visit to the Accounts Setting shows you can provide more information. There’s no rule saying you need to complete the entire account information.

Provide only as much as is needed unless there is a business need to provide more.

Think twice about who you connect, follow or add on social media sites

Connect only with people whom you know in real life or with whom you have interacted in a Group setting whether on Facebook or LinkedIn. This ensures these are real people and not fake profiles created by spammers and malware writers.

Think before you post

Once you post online, the information is recorded forever. It doesn’t disappear. At the most with the passage of time, your posts may get buried but they are permanent. If you are in the job search market, you don’t want recruiter and potential employers getting the wrong impression about you.

Also that information becomes part of public domain and can be used for scams and identity theft.

Close accounts that you are no longer using

This tip is based on the recent experience of a friend who had not used an old movie subscription account for some time. She’d forgotten about it.

She was alerted to an identity theft when she received intimation from an online grocery store about a purchase of Nutella that she hadn’t made.

Her investigations led her to the old movie subscription account that had been hacked!

She’s plugged the leaks but the shock that someone could ‘steal’ her identity is not one that she has taken lightly. Don’t let that happen to you.

Don’t click on links for the sake of clicking

This is a tip I picked up from Pinterest. Make sure the pin leads to an authentic site related to the pin and not an adult site or rogue site.

Additional Resources for guidance on privacy

You might want to take your own research and actions further and here are 4 resources I found that I recommend you read.

How to protect maintain your privacy on social media 

Protecting your privacy on social media networks

11 Simple Ways to Protect Your Privacy

Do you know any other good privacy tips? Let me know in the comments below!

Now that you know how to secure yourself online, want to create a robust professional brand and awesome online presence?

Click the image below or here to download this resource. It’s got an additional resource on online privacy too!

Did you know that LinkedIn was originally meant to have been a platform for job hunters before it became a business platform too?

In fact, I joined LinkedIn way back in 2008 to reconnect with my globally scattered colleagues and create a database of my contacts to keep in touch. In time it became a means of offering mutual support for our lead referrals and enhancing our network.

Since then the network has gone on to include new contacts some of whom are fellow coaches and others with whom there is synergy for mutually beneficial business opportunities. Some of these contacts are now considered friends and our association has moved on to emails and Skype calls to ‘catch up’. Both parties have nurtured the connection.

I was listening to a webinar by JoAnne Funch of Marketing Dish last week and she referred to the choice of nurturing relationships or building a database.

I’m an admirer of Ms Funch and I listen to her and read her guidance very carefully because she is on the money.

JoAnne’s words hit a nerve.

Along the way, I too have found myself become an involuntary member of an online Yellow Pages Directory.

I’ve culled my contacts to contain real people who engage with me –even if it is only to wish me on my birthday or acknowledge my greetings.

The past week, I received 2 LinkedIn invitations where 1 person mentioned their reason to connect was for the purposes of finding a job even though he knew I was not in Executive Search.

Considering he had over 50 connections in common with me who were better equipped for the task, I felt he really should have approached them. As it turned out nobody responded.

Had he cultivated the connections?

The answer was no. I suggested he update his profile and start building relationships with contacts who could get him a job interview.

Then I got another invite from a lady who was looking for a job for a Chartered Accountant friend of hers with 2-years’ work experience and wanted access to my network. She stated as much in her invitation email.

We have 1 mutual connection in common and I told her that he was a better referral fit for her friend. The lady couldn’t recognize the contact until I sent her a link to his profile.

As for me, she hadn’t checked my profile properly and might as well have done a 1 click connection. I have resources for job hunters and gave her a link to share with her friend.

Her response? She’d think about.  You can see why I didn’t connect with her.

These 2 experiences and the webinar got me thinking about job hunters and the way they use LinkedIn or even understand the dynamics of this platform.

One of the best ways to open doors for possible job interviews is to get referred for the position but nobody is going to refer a complete stranger.

This holds true in the offline world and is equally important in the online world, whether you are looking for a job or a business referral.

I’ve already written about trusting strangers on LinkedIn and being a savvy networker.

I’ve also explained the finer nuances of job hunting in the online world in my Kindle book 5 Reasons your Job Hun is failing

In this post, I’m going to focus on 5 tips that I can give job hunters on LinkedIn.

Build Relationships even before you need them by making it about them first

In other words, keep in touch and be of service. One of the easiest ways to do this is to share an article or link to one with personalized message to your connection telling them that you thought they might find it interesting.

It serves 3 purposes – keeps you top of mind in case an opportunity comes to their attention, helps get a conversation started and establish your professional presence.

Create a schedule to keep in touch

This is an excellent way to nurture and build relationships. It could be a friendly email every few months to check in or even greet them for a special occasion. LinkedIn makes it easy to do this with their notifications service.

Create a profile that shows you as a professional and as a person, not a cut and paste of your resume

Gone are the days when simply uploading your resume worked. There are lots of talented professionals out there looking for a job and your task is to stand above the noise.

Showcase your talents and skills and if you did something exemplary during your career or school days, like a hobby or passion show it.

One recent example that I can share is from a LinkedIn expert who invited me to connect. I have been following him for the longest while and knew of his expertise.

This time, while I was preparing to respond to his invite, I checked the profile again. I discovered we had both written for our respective school and university newsletters.

Imagine my delight at finding a mutual interest. It also explained why I enjoyed reading his books – he got his experience way back before he joined the workforce!

Learn how to ask for a referral for a job

This is where building a relationship earlier helps because the person from whom you are asking for a referral or introduction can easily decline, especially if they don’t know you.

That’s the mistake the 2 job hunters I mentioned earlier made with me and I’m sure with others too, especially the first person.

He simply sent me a message he was looking for a job. His LinkedIn profile was incomplete and he wasn’t willing to get on the phone to talk to me.

A better approach especially when requesting a referral from someone who doesn’t know you that well, write to them with reference to what you have been doing and your current work history and the specific job that you are looking at.

Ask them if they are comfortable giving you a reference. Offer to forward your updated resume so that the referrer has something to work with.

Give them the option to decline if they aren’t comfortable with it.

I remember when I was setting up my credentials as an independent IFRS Consultant, a family friend and colleague approached highly respected Alumnus on my behalf who agreed to see my resume and portfolio of professional work.

He was impressed but had the principle that if he was going to refer anyone, he had to talk to them too. By chance, he was visiting New Delhi. We met up over a cup of coffee and he got a chance to assess me as a professional and ask in detail about my work.

I landed one of the biggest projects I could have envisaged that helped me meet half of my business plan revenue target that year.

You can get more guidance on framing the letter or email in this post from Happy Schools that provides a framework for your referral request. How to Ask a Stranger in LinkedIn for Job Referral

Let your referrer know if someone contacts you

Getting a referral for a job might not lead to getting the job if the hirer doesn’t think you’re a good fit. The fact a potential employer reached out to you based on a recommendation is an important enough event for you to reach out to the referrer. Update them about it.

Thanking them for the introduction has the added benefit that perhaps the referrer can reinforce the recommendation once they know the company is interested.

Besides, it’s good manners and if that introduction doesn’t work out, the referrer might be willing to look out for something better suited to you.

Follow these 5 tips and your job hunt on LinkedIn will lead to better results than you might be having right now.

At the end of the day, it’s all about building relationships and becoming a real human behind a LinkedIn profile.

It can take anywhere between 6-8 months to land the perfect job. Building a viable network instead of a database of strangers is always a better strategy.

Have you ever used LinkedIn to find a job or potential leads?

What advice would you add to these 5 tips?

Quite possibly the title of this post would have caught your attention. We all know about networking. We do it all the time, whether with the clients that we meet and contacts that we make at seminars/workshops/cocktail parties.

Even when we strike up a conversation at the pet shop with a stranger and find mutual interests that lead to an exchange of phone numbers or Facebook/LinkedIn connection requests.

One aim of networking is to identify and connect with people who can help us to further our goals and ambitions or even assist us when required.

The big question in our minds is very often, “how can this person help us” or even a unilateral, “what can I get out of this person”.  

The agenda of the latter is clearly one-sided.

Personally, I prefer to think the other way around. I ask myself, ‘what can I do for this person” or “how can I contribute and add value to my network”.

In other words, I think of netweaving. It’s more gratifying.

Think about the times that you have been down or in trouble and a friend or acquaintance have stepped in and bailed you out or helped find a solution to your problem. Think a bit about how you have felt to receive timely help and have waited to return the favor or pay it forward. 

What the other person has done has netweaved. They have established credibility and standing in your eyes. You perceive they are resourceful. Good ingredients for creating social and professional standing among one’s peers.

In addition, net weaving helps to build the foundation for a longer-term association. This doesn’t mean that you cannot do networking. I suggest you do both.

Networking and netweaving both require seeking opportunities to work together. The difference lies in the context of the connection and the balance being sought.

My most successful friends and colleagues who have survived recessions, redundancies and bad patches have been net weavers. Their credibility and credentials being established as impeccable. People take their calls even when they have nothing tangible to offer or are in the wilderness. No wonder they bounce back magnificently!

How effective Netweavers create value for their network

Next time you have a networking opportunity, try connecting with others based on what you think you or your network can do for them.

Think along the lines of how the person can be beneficial to others in your network and create an introduction at an appropriate time. Consider areas where you and your new contact can collaborate to create a win-win situation all around. 

Tip: Consider how you can create an all-round win-win over lunch or a meal like I did in my post Networkers who Lunch.

There is nothing worse than having a card book, or a social profile full of names without substance.

Think about your most recent networking interactions, whether in business, work, personal life or social media.

Would you say you were networking or netweaving?

Is there any area where you can add value to your network? Do share your views in the comments box below, I’d love to read them.

PS. Do you use LinkedIn for expanding your network? Want to try out your new skill of netweaving? It all begins with knowing what you shouldn’t do. Click here to download my short guide 5 Mistakes Professionals Make on LinkedIn or on the image below and become the contact everyone wants in their circle!

This post originally titled ‘Do You Network or Netweave?’ was written in March 2012 and has been updated for relevance and new content.

Written By: Vatsala Shukla

Establishing contact with recruiters, HR personnel and potential rainmakers for job hunting has become easier through LinkedIn because you can connect with the target professional through your 2^nd degree connections, Groups and even boiler template invites via the People You May Know section with 3^rd degree connections.

The latter are often accepted if the other person’s agenda is to build a wider network or they see merit in your profile.

But (and I mean a really big but), if the invitation isn’t done properly, it also raises the possibility and danger of inadvertently insulting those very professionals who you need to be in your corner to achieve your end goal – an introduction and a chance to get your resume on the right desk and  job interview invite.

I’ve written tons of posts about LinkedIn etiquette, as well as a free downloadable ebook 5 Mistakes Professionals Make on LinkedIn that addresses professional conduct when connecting with people whom you don’t know in real life. The same etiquette and good manners that you demonstrate in the offline world is required in online networks.

I’m observing a break in code of conduct especially among the millennial generation. I wish someone would tell them that just because a professional is on LinkedIn doesn’t mean they are open to accepting your invitation or giving you access to their network unless they feel the connection is mutually beneficial.

There’s a Haitian proverb

Don’t insult the alligator until you’ve crossed the river.

I think this proverb applies to the situation.

You don’t behave obnoxiously with people who can be rainmakers or help further your career aspiration.

Here’s a real life example.

Way back in 2009 when I first joined LinkedIn, I received an invite from a young professional whose profile was incomplete, no profile photo and who didn’t respond to my inquiry about how we knew each other. It was a polite request on my part because I meet a lot of people and simply wanted to be reminded. I had no reason to remember him until he resurfaced in a shocking manner.

He started trolling me in an IFRS Group where I had numerous 1^st degree connections from the offline professional world.

This person started abusing me instead of providing value to the technical questions that were the topics of discussion.

Then he made the mistake of mentioning my former employer and something very nasty which wasn’t true and  provided grounds for defamation and slander against the Troll as well as my former employer for their staff’s conduct.

I did 2 things – reported him to the LinkedIn Group Manager who blocked him and issued a warning to the Group to maintain propriety and secondly, contacted the HR Manager at my previous employers to discuss this person and his so-called connect at the firm.

Imagine my surprise when the Manager told me that there was no such manager in the firm (I had left in 2007 and attrition is high in that company). He took it seriously though and asked me for details of this young professional.

A few months later, the Manager called me to tell me that the person had applied for a job at the company and he had issued a notice that the person was blacklisted and wasn’t to be interviewed because ‘he wasn’t fit to be employed’.

A couple of Group Members including my connections wrote to me personally about how they admired my handling the situation and their own sense of disgust.  I emerged a stronger and respected member of the Group.

The difference between Troll and the others is the former didn’t recognize the alligator while the others did.

He made another mistake which can be summed in this Creole Proverb:

Don’t call the alligator “big-mouth” till you have crossed the river

Had the Troll played his cards right, the story would have been different. 1 phone call from me or my forwarding the resume would have helped him at least get noticed in a pile resumes because I had left on good terms to follow my dream.

Troll had caught my eye for all the wrong reasons. A Google search indicated that the same conduct had led him to be debarred by the professional body whose qualification was important for him.

This shouldn’t put you off from making introductions when you can or request introductions but be aware that when you make a request, the other person may do more research on you and an uncomplimentary Google search might mean a dead end to your request.

This brings me to the second tip for effective job hunting.

6 Degrees of Separation: networking with influential alligators

Six degrees of separation is the theory that everyone on Earth is 6 or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of “a friend of a friend” statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps.

In fact, it’s the same concept behind the parlor game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon where a group of players to try to connect any such individual to Kevin Bacon as quickly as possible and in as few links as possible. (Kevin Bacon Trivia: In 2007, Bacon started a charitable organization named SixDegrees.org).

The concept is well explained in this video by Veritasium and I encourage you to watch it in full.

The point is, it can work in your favor or even against you like it did for the Troll where there was a second degree of connection which went terribly wrong in his job search.

5 ways to stay in the Alligator’s good books

The adage “it’s not what you know; it’s who you know” applies to both job hunters and   self-employed professionals.

Having the right connections that are able and willing to recommend you is as important as a resume that makes you stand out above the crowd. Make sure you are adhering to the following 5 pointers to make your network viable:

Courtesy is not old fashioned – Manners still Matter

Assume everyone you meet whether in the offline or online world is either an alligator or has the potential to be one for you and needs to be treated with courtesy & respect. You don’t know who they know who might be someone you need to know (remember The Troll).

Even when you are leaving a job that you hated, make sure you part on an amiable note. Potential employers often do reference and background checks or if it is a closed industry, they know each other. You certainly don’t want to be given a verbal reference that is in conflict with a written one.

On the alligator note, here’s another Haitian proverb worth remembering

Only when you have crossed the river, can you say the crocodile has a lump on his snout.

Build your Network before you need it

Make networking a part of your regular professional activity and not something you do when you suddenly need a job. Start building your network of professionals with whom you share common interests, industry and professional backgrounds.

This will not only keep you abreast of industry developments but quite often provide you with an inside tip-off for a potential job.

Many companies offer incentives to their staff for recruitment referrals. You want to top of mind if your contact is in a position to recommend you.

Know Like Trust Factor

Make sure your network really knows you. People like to help out those whom they know, like and trust. If you make a new connection, whether it is offline or on social media, cultivate that connection with useful information and generally get to know them better. That way, if you need help the alligator who is in a position to recommend you would be able to do it with confidence and you’ll avoid the disappointment of a no response.

Exercise your Gratitude Muscle

Remember to always thank your connection for leads whether they work out or not. Acknowledgement of their stepping out to help you ensures they will do it again if required.

Become the Alligator!

Networking is a 2 way street. Just as you may need an alligator to help you achieve your goals, avail every opportunity to be a rainmaker alligator to someone who needs your assistance or recommendation.

It demonstrates your prowess as a well-connected professional. Helping others often results in help when we need it. The Universe always makes sure that assistance given is returned even if it isn’t by the same person.

Have you ever experienced the 6 degrees of separation in your job hunt or in setting up your business?  What about the alligators? Ever experienced the wrath of an angry alligator?

PS.  Do you understand the dynamics and purpose of this professional networking platform?

I invite you to check out 5 Mistakes Professionals make on LinkedIn. In this short guide, I’m sharing 5 key mistakes and potential areas where you need to be careful. If you’re making any of these mistakes, you’ll find doable tips to course correct.

Click on the image of the ebook to get download directions and start creating meaningful connections with alligators on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is an important professional networking platform whether it is for business or career professionals. I’ve written 3 blog posts about this networking platform over the years and honestly thought I had covered my bases after my last post on LinkedIn Etiquette in the Social Media Etiquette series.

The one exception was touching the topic of LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index that was rolled out after my etiquette series which I covered in my January coaching teleclass. (This is now a bonus when you engage me for the Building Your Brand on LinkedIn service)

I guess I was wrong.

My LinkedIn Experience last week

Last week, I received a connection invitation from a stranger – the kind I wrote about in my post Networking Alert: How to connect on LinkedIn without Trusting Strangers, but worse.

The chap had not bothered to personalize the invitation, had an incomplete profile with an Andy Warhol type of profile picture, no connections or groups in common with me.

I’m guessing he was the anonymous profile viewer that week who hadn’t taken the time to read my profile till the end and literally went off the other end when I asked how we knew each other.

I was accused of needing an email address to connect when in fact there is no such restriction but yes, just so that you know, LinkedIn automatically activates this control if you receive ‘I don’t know this person’ alerts 5 times and can even restrict your account if there are too many complaints..

Given the fact that there are lots of fake profiles, scammers and spammers out there, my question was perfectly legitimate as I will explain later.

Just because you send an invite to someone to connect on LinkedIn or befriend on Facebook doesn’t mean that they are obliged to connect or make friends. Since I don’t like abusive people and wanted to put a stop to such behavior in future, I’ve become as blunt as a few of my other connections and like them, now clearly state in my advice to connect or contact section that I will ask questions with the request to be professional and not get abusive via LinkedIn Message. I’ve also marked that specific invite saying that I don’t know this person.

Maybe I should have asked ‘So What?’ and put him on the hot seat instead of being polite. I certainly don’t want to connect with a fellow who is rude, obnoxious, and disrespectful.

When we connect with professionals on LinkedIn, whether known or unknown to us, we give an implied endorsement within our network that we know the inviter and that it is okay for our known actively engaged connections to believe that this person is trustworthy and they can also connect with them.

But then I would have been out of integrity and not me. Instead, this chap is the Muse for my blog post about why I or anyone who takes their network seriously may not accept your LinkedIn connection request if you make any or all of the 9 mistakes that I am sharing in this post.

In many ways, this post is a continuation of the one I wrote in July 2014, Networking Alert: How to connect on LinkedIn without Trusting Strangers.

I’ve seen a lot of posts in LinkedIn publisher on this subject by LinkedIn experts and gurus so I guess I am not the only irritated person out there but have joined the growing majority who don’t want to be part of an online rolodex of people on the planet. We want to connect with real humans.

9 Reasons why your invitation to connect may not get accepted

In previous blog posts, I’ve given suggestions from your perspective on how to be a good networker on LinkedIn. Here are my top 9 from the perspective of the invitation receiver. It is understood that personalizing your connection request is a must and the tips that I gave in Are You the Missing Link on LinkedIn are essential.

Reason 1 – I don’t recognize your name

Maybe we have met in the past but memories do fade with time unless you did something so wonderful or so disgraceful that I have a solid reason to remember you. So if I ask you to jog my memory, don’t be offended. Just offer an explanation even if it means that we haven’t met but you want to connect having read my profile.

Reason 2 – There has been no interaction in the past

Maybe our paths haven’t crossed yet and now, the time is right for both of us to connect. There has to be a reason. The suggestion for 1 holds here too.

Reason 3 – Your LinkedIn Profile is a company name with a company logo

Or your profile is a company name with a person’s picture but there is no way that I can determine who you are because there is no other information. So what if you have 500+ connections? LIONs specialize in having thousands. You are leaving me clueless!

In fact I once wrote to one of these invitees to and the response was with a human name who I then asked to connect via the professional individual profile. I never got the human face invite so I guess that was that. If I want to connect with a company, I’ll follow them on their company page.

Reason 4 – Your profile is incomplete and key sections that should be completed aren’t

If you are a stranger, I will look at your profile to find some common ground to connect and if I can’t find anything, I will write to ask a few questions and if you don’t respond, I will decline the invitation.  So please complete at least the portions that I have mentioned in my Missing Link post.

Reason 5 – You don’t have a profile photo and if you do, it is a small one with your car or dog or cat being more prominent and I can’t see your face

Or like I mentioned earlier you have the logo of your business. I agree that some people love their privacy and don’t post their profile photo. Quite a few of my former colleagues are guilty of that but then their professional reputations are such that we would know it is them. It is their conscious decision and they are not very active on LinkedIn anyway.

Make sure that your profile is complete enough for the other person to either recognize you or make them want to reach out and accept your connection request.

There is another reason why one has to proceed with caution in accepting faceless invites. It might be a fake profile with the intent to harvest information about you. More about this in the next reason- so keep reading!

Reason 6 – You’ve used a fake photo

I’ve seen this on Facebook as well and using the photograph of a celebrity will result in an immediate decline, especially if the rest of the profile is incomplete or inconsistent.

The best way to find out if a photo is fake is Google the name to see what images turn up. I’ve actually declined invites on this ground because it was clear that it was a fake or a potential spammer.

If you want to learn more about finding fake profiles, then these 2 articles that were published in December 2015 are a good starting point. They also share information about the technique of reverse image search on Google to determine if a profile is a fake.

BBC: Fake LinkedIn profiles used by hackers

Or the one in Indian Express Cybercriminals using fake LinkedIn accounts to scam users: report

Reason 7 – We have no common connections – not even 3^rd degree or a group

This is a real red flag. It doesn’t mean I won’t connect with you, just that I will be more careful because there are lots of scammers and fake profiles out there whose sole purpose is to get connected with you to gain access to your email address and to your network.

My suggestion to anyone who genuinely wants to connect with someone outside of their network is to personalize their invitation. You won’t be able to do this from the People you may know section and perhaps not from your mobile. So better to do it from a desk top computer and directly from the profile of the person you want to connect with.

Reason 8 – Your first interaction with me is a Sales Pitch

That is a big no-no. Connecting with someone who may be a good target for your business or career progression is a first step. Nurturing the connection is the second step and then once you have built your credibility and trust factor, should you even consider pitching about your agenda.

Also refrain from sending mass sales emails where everyone can see everyone else. That is not professional.

This has happened twice with me on LinkedIn where junior Alumni requested to connect. The next email was a sales pitch to buy an Accounting Technician’s course that would help me get a job in USA. The brush down was immediate with a suggestion to look at my profile to see that firstly, I was holding a qualification that was at the top of the accounting education echelon and secondly, I had a new business.

One lady apologized, the other was thrown off my list but not before she had connected with 20 of my colleagues who had accepted her invitation via my profile.

This is what I mean by a tacit endorsement and yes, I’m more careful now. You can learn more about savvy networking on LinkedIn here.

The way I see it, if I don’t ask, I won’t get information and if someone really wants to connect then they shouldn’t mind a few questions.

Reason 9 – You lie about how you know me

Okay, so you want to justify a reason for connecting but remember, the other person is intelligent and may not realize it immediately, especially if their career is over a decade old but what happens when they do find out? Did it ever strike you that they will disconnect and maybe report you as Spam or worse?

Social media networking is all about transparency. If you build the right professional network, the doors can open for mutual benefit. But it means starting off on the right foot and your first step is to appear professional enough for the other person to want to accept your invitation.

Your turn – any LinkedIn connection peeves that have stopped you from accepting an invitation or are you happy to connect with people who are just a part of an online directory?

Need more help? Karmic Ally Coaching’s ebook on the 5 Mistakes Professionals Make on LinkedIn is a must read. Download it by clicking the preceding bold link or the image below. A new window will open giving you the details of the ebook and the download procedure.

You will also be added to my subscriber list and given access to tips and resources that every professional needs for career and life balance. Be assured your email is safe with me.

As a newbie to LinkedIn back in 2008, I learned something from a L.I.O.N in disguise.

I promised myself, I was not going to be a chimp and decided to set up my first LinkedIn policy long before I knew that there was something called a social media policy.

This week, I’m taking out another real story from my life on social media and sharing precious lessons learned.

The story about connecting with the Missing Link

A few years back, when I was still deeply into my IFRS consulting practice, a trusted friend introduced me to a gentleman whom he knew through his family. Since the gentleman and I had a similar profile, his intention was that perhaps we could work together on projects. Preliminaries went well.

It was decided that we would get in touch when the right opportunities arose, and I happily accepted an invitation to connect on LinkedIn.  At that point, the new contact had about 25 connections.

A month later, I saw his name on my news feed bouncing with contacts, many of whom were personally known to me. These were not the ones you see in the People You May Know section and blindly click to connect with, but people who I had actually worked with.

So out of curiosity I checked his LinkedIn Profile.

In 2 weeks, he had jumped to over 250 out of which at least 12 were former colleagues of mine.

I thought to myself, this is great; I can get more references about his professional style from my colleagues.  What happened next left me gob smacked.

My colleagues said they did not know him from Adam and connected for 1 reason – they saw my name and that was good enough for them.

I went back to my friend and told him what was happening.  Seems the same had happened with him and he was angry. I remember him saying something to the effect that if street dogs had LinkedIn profiles, this guy would connect there too!

In subsequent chats he was jokingly referred to as the Missing Link.

We both disconnected from him as did many others.

The last I heard of him, he had managed to get himself featured as a LinkedIn Power Profile for the 5 most viewed profiles in his niche that same year and he actually has that as an accomplishment on his profile.

My friend and I know how he did it and I admire him for his strategy. No harm in giving the Devil his due, but even now, I cannot help but wonder – does he have a strong connection with his contacts or is it a numbers game for him?

How do you ensure you don’t end up being called a Missing Link? Or much worse by people behind your back when you try to connect?

Here are 10 pointers:

1. Understand that LinkedIn is a professional social media platform. People want to connect to further professional or business interests, not win popularity contests. They want to know you professionally and not learn about your private life. Keep it professional.

2. If you are trying to connect with someone who is outside of your circle, find a reason to connect. Make it worthwhile for the other person to accept your invitation. Is it an author whose books influenced you years ago? Mention it. Is it someone who posted on a Group Page and caught your attention? Mention it. Do you think that connecting would be beneficial to the other person? In that case, why not mention it? People like to know that there is a common thread that ties you together. Not just an open networker playing a numbers game.

3. Following from the above point, when you send out your invitation to connect, don’t use the generic

“I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”

Instead, introduce yourself telling them how you found them and why you would like to connect.

4. Alternatively, if they are a Group Member, send them a mail asking to connect. Let them take the call. Some of my best and most meaningful connections to date have started that way.

5. If you are inviting someone to connect whom you have met at a networking event or at a seminar, mention it in your invitation. The same applies if you are connecting with someone after many years. Remind them of who you are. Not everyone uses LinkedIn like Outlook Express. Some log on once or twice a week. Unless they are able to remember you, they might just put you in Spam or report that they do not know you, which is embarrassing.

5 important tips once you’ve created the LinkedIn network connection 

6. Once your invitation is accepted, send an acknowledgement. If you have not already mentioned how you could benefit the new contact at the invitation stage, now is a good time to bring it up. (Refer to my blog post Do You Network or Netweave?)

7. By this point, you are ready to start creating a meaningful and mutually beneficial network connection. You need to nurture it and the best way is to pay attention to them. By this, I mean, look at your activity feed. Have they shared a post? Have they had a promotion? Communicate and connect. Hit the Like button or write a few words. Maybe send them a private message?

8. Keep your interactions professional and do not spam them. Refrain from getting personal in front of everyone. If they share a post make sure your comments lead to further professional interactions which enable others to join in and keeps the conversation flowing.

9. Don’t assume that if the other person has accepted your LinkedIn invitation, he will also accept your Facebook request. It can give the impression that you are trying to stalk them or worse.

10. Mind your manners at all times. If the new contact can accept your invitation to connect they can easily disconnect and even block you without your knowledge which I feel can be quite embarrassing.

There are so many other rules of engagement – don’t make these mistakes

What’s your experience of networking on LinkedIn? I’d love to read them. Share your LinkedIn experiences with me in the comments box below! 

.

Written By: Vatsala Shukla originally in February 2013 and updated for content.