STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

kenzie · Chanel

LinkedIn/job hunt

Suasoria · Chanel

Yes. Someone I know did that and it totally backfired on her.

kenzie · Chanel

Really? What about people at target companies? Isn't that part of the purpose of linkedin?

I've started including a line in my cover letter about connecting to me on linkedin with my url there. I've had a few people add me that way.

gingembre1 · Kate Spade

I would use LinkedIn to find the name, and then address that person directly in my cover letter, but I don't think I would actually link to them or contact them directly.

jrhampt · Kenneth Cole

I don't know, I've seen people give that as advice in networking articles - to seek out the name of someone from a company you're interested in on linkedin. Helps if they know one of the other people you're connected to, though, I guess.

Curious, how did it backfire on your friend, Suasoria?

I had a guy connect to me on linkedin after I scheduled an interview at his company and offer to answer any questions I had. I thought it was nice, although I realize that's the opposite of your situation.

XtinaStyles · Marc Jacobs

I think it would be stalkerish. I would use it to find an "in" - something you can emphasize in your coverletter that you may have in common with the hiring manager.

kenzie · Chanel

jrhampt wrote:

I don't know, I've seen people give that as advice in networking articles - to seek out the name of someone from a company you're interested in on linkedin. Helps if they know one of the other people you're connected to, though, I guess.

Curious, how did it backfire on your friend, Suasoria?

I had a guy connect to me on linkedin after I scheduled an interview at his company and offer to answer any questions I had. I thought it was nice, although I realize that's the opposite of your situation.

Yeah, that's why I was asking. I've read it as networking advice a lot as well. I mean, really that's the point of LinkedIn, right? I think the internet and social networking sites are changing the job networking process. I've had potential employers ask me for my LinkedIn profile as well.

Suasoria · Chanel

I don't think LinkedIn is for connecting to strangers, personally, but I have a few strangers in my network, but they're people whose work I know and vice-versa.

In this person's case she already had an interview with HR and didn't hear anything for a week or so. She sent LinkedIn invitations to other company employees introducing herself, and was up-front that she really wanted the open job. She wasn't asking them for anything, just trying to connect. It got back to the HR person, who emailed her to say that she (HR) was the proper contact for job openings and stop bugging the rest of the staff and blah blah blah. Apparently people complained about it.

(She didn't get the job.)

kenzie · Chanel

Suasoria wrote:

I don't think LinkedIn is for connecting to strangers, personally, but I have a few strangers in my network, but they're people whose work I know and vice-versa.

In this person's case she already had an interview with HR and didn't hear anything for a week or so. She sent LinkedIn invitations to other company employees introducing herself, and was up-front that she really wanted the open job. She wasn't asking them for anything, just trying to connect. It got back to the HR person, who emailed her to say that she (HR) was the proper contact for job openings and stop bugging the rest of the staff and blah blah blah. Apparently people complained about it.

(She didn't get the job.)

I think your example is a little extreme and the girl definitely seemed a little wacky.

But, I do think LinkedIn is great for connecting to strangers and networking. I actually have several people I don't know in person as part of my network, some of whom requested to connect to me and others I've sent requests to; most of them I share common groups with (like, e-marketing or my grad school group).

Of course, a large part of my and my colleagues attitudes toward LinkedIn may be due to the field we work in (e-marketing and social media). I think, by nature, people in my industry used LinkedIn like this. But for someone, in say, healthcare, it might not go over as well. So, this may be more of a field-specific thing. People in my field are expected to be using LinkedIn. I'm just trying to figure out the exact boundaries.

-- Edited by kenzie on Thursday 10th of September 2009 02:58:09 PM

Suasoria · Chanel

I'm in tech PR, but it's more traditional than what you're describing - my clients/contacts are probably more corporate than yours, so yeah, different rules, I'm sure. I just don't want to be linked to someone who I couldn't vouch for on some level. Sometimes a VP or CEO who's hiring will ask me what I think of someone on my list of contacts, and I wouldn't want to give a lame answer or say I don't really know them.

Karina · Chanel

Not stalkerish at all. That is how I found my last job. I emailed them and asked if they were hiring, sent my resume in, etc. They called me in for a few interviews, and 2 weeks later I was hired.