Finding Connections on LinkedIn

If you're a member of any social network, you may bemoan the fact that you don't have many connections compared to, say, Guy Kawasaki. But, the number of connections aren't the point – the quality of connections you make on any social network – such as LinkedIn – are key. In this article, Linda provides a number of ways to find those LinkedIn connections and how to treat those connections once made.

The Recommendation Route

When you want to receive a recommendation, most likely you'll need to eat a bit of humble pie and ask for that recommendation. Why? Because most people hate to write recommendations, just like you. At the same time, most people don't mind writing them if asked, especially if they can presume that they'll receive a glowing recommendation in return.

To request a recommendation, go to your "Profile" in the left menu, where you'll see a link for "Recommendations." Once you click on that link, you can begin requesting recommendations through either the "Received Recommendations" or through the "Request Recommendations" link in the top tabs.

I've been busy building my LinkedIn page this week, simply to show you that I'm as slack as anyone when it comes to asking for and writing recommendations. So, don't feel you MUST get this recommendation thing done this week. However, I do suggest that you have at least five recommendations before you begin searching for new LinkedIn contacts. Why? Because those new contacts may look at your profile closely, in the same way I would suggest you do when a person asks to become a contact with you.

What LinkedIn Provides for You

Once you've finalized your resume, built a small contact list and/or you've joined a group, go back to the home page to view information that LinkedIn provides for you:

Once you've developed a few contacts, or if you've joined a group (such as high school or college group), you'll see a box outlined in green on your "Home" page that asks you to find current and past (work) colleagues as well as for former classmates. If you click on the "Find" link for current and past colleagues, you'll discover a page with more links to the name of the business (or businesses) you listed on your resume at LinkedIn.

When you click on those links, you may (or may not) see individuals who also maintain a LinkedIn page. At this point, LinkedIn requests that you only click on the names of those individuals you know. The reason behind this recommendation is that if you don't know these people, then why do you want to become connected? LinkedIn prefers that – if you don't know someone – you ask for an introduction first from someone you do know.

You can see now why LinkedIn is a business connectivity situation – it's formal, it's slightly rigid, and it wants everyone to be happy about their results.

With that said, you might notice the blurred out names in the blue box in the image above entitled, "People you may know." Frankly, I did not know those people listed, and I didn't have time to research their ability to help me OR my ability to help them at the moment. So, I'm ignoring that list. But, you might be surprised at who shows up there on occasion, so take note of those names on your LinkedIn page when you have time. In some cases, waiting for an introduction may be downright silly, so you can use that list to jump into some conversation just as you would at any Chamber of Commerce or business meeting.