Leveraging Your New Connections on LinkedIn

Leveraging your new connections on LinkedIn
Many people have asked me about LinkedIn and the number of connections they should try to have. Should they be very selective or more of an open-networker? Does the absolute number really make a difference? Why do I have so many and continue to grow my network? And how being connected to me can help them specifically.

Just to establish definitions, an Open-Networker or LION (LinkedIn Open Networker) is a LinkedIn member who decides to accept all legitimate invitations received without regard as to how well they know the individual sending the invitation. They never click ' I don't know' as a response- at worst they just ignore it. LinkedIn corporate cautions members not to send invitations to members they do not know- the reason is that too many clicks of ' I don't know this member' can cause a suspension of invitation privileges and runs counter to their concept of forming a trusted, limited number of contacts who can then forward messages on your behalf.

Open-Networkers believe that having more connections is beneficial to all members. These can include: having a deeper, wider 2nd and 3rd level of connections that all connections can 'see' and reach out to; acting as a nodal point for less well connected LinkedIn members allowing them to be 'seen' by your own distant connections; connecting with people from other countries and cultures you might not otherwise be familiar with; creating a more connected and peaceful world through one-on-one interactions.

So how does connecting with someone with a large number of direct connections benefit you? Some are passive and require no effort on your part while others require activity.

Passive - You're now visible to all my 1st and 2nd level connections. That may be a million or more new individuals depending on your own number of connections. You may receive calls, inmails or requests regarding business development opportunities, consulting opportunities or new positions that you would otherwise not receive. To augment your 'passive' connectivity, I suggest you put your email prominently in your LinkedIn profile both in the summary at the beginning and in your Personal information at the end. I would also consider adding a phone number to make it easier to reach you. If you are an Open-Networker make that status obvious in your header.

Active- You can request I forward messages to other members to gather similar benefits. My list of contacts is 'open' so you can search for colleagues, networking opportunities or individuals with similar interests. You can find individuals who are a close match to your own skill set through a search and review their group memberships for ideas or ping them about collaborations. If you are seeking a new opportunity, you can find individuals who are potential hiring managers and politely request networking and introductions of them. If you are unable to move forward with interviews, you can find volunteer organizations where you can contribute and network. If you are not quite comfortable with Open-Networking, at least add a few highly connected members to your network to increase your visibility. Connect with those individuals who are in your industry or recruit in your field. After all, LinkedIn is foremost a business network.