I was sitting at my desk the other day working on one of many papers that I have due in the coming weeks. I was interrupted by the buzzing of my Blackberry. I always welcome distractions so I stopped to take a look. I had gotten an “Invitation to Connect on LinkedIn”. I have quite the personal social network and I am constantly meeting new people. Despite my knack for making new friends, I was shocked to have received the invitation from this person. We had only met once and talked only briefly during the afternoon session of a conference. While I understand the benefits of the networking tool, is it really better to connect with everyone you meet? I’m just not on board with “It’s Not Just Who You Know”.
Despite my reservations the invitation sparked my curiosity. After a brief test drive I still don’t get the allure. Let me ask you; is LinkedIn really worthy of all the hype?
Post MBA - what's changed
15 years ago
Absolutely!It think its worth the hype!
ReplyDeleteThe opportunity of being able to search for target company contacts and view any possible connections with them makes it easy to establish some form of networking and contact into such organization.
For instance, you could ask a friend for contacts in a consulting firm and he/she might not be able to give any useful contact immediately. However, by being able to search for contacts in a target firm via LinkedIn and establish some degree of link with a friend, then there's hope of getting close to that job offer!
I don’t want to sound too repetitive, because I just responded to Butto’s Boot Up about my LinkedIn expertise… but I would have to agree with Peggie I think it is worth the hype. At first I wasn’t sold but now that I am learning more about it I really do think it is a tremendous tool that we have at our disposal, particularly at a time when finding a job can be quite a challenge. I also think that having a separate site like this solely devoted to the business side of networking, helps control some of people’s concerns regarding the sometimes messy amalgamation of people from various realms (social, professional, etc) coming together though one singular social networking medium.
ReplyDeleteIs it worth the hype is a reasonable question, but it is not the question that determines whether it is or it is not.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't leverage the network, it is not worth the hype. It is a dusty rolodex filled with business cards to companies you will never contact. If you leverage the network, then Yes absolutely. It is kind of like that Verizon commercial in a way. You can get "ins" just because you nailed the elevator speech in that encounter at the end of conference.
Also, you may not always be the one leveraging the network contact. If you know someone is looking for a job and you have a contact in that industry, you can help that person out. The return "I owe you" value could be anything down the road.
That's all very good advice from the comment-ers! Makes me want to rush home and begin taking advantage of my LinkedIn account. Nothing to lose, right?
ReplyDeleteAmeir