LinkedIn Is Not A Social Networking Site
I know a number of people are going to disagree with me on this but read on and then tell me what you think.
LinkedIn is a professional networking site.
Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and the rest are social networking sites.
Sure LinkedIn has some of the features of other sites like:
- Events
- Groups
- Applications
- A photo
Here is why I say it is different:
- Do you post the same photo on LinkedIn as you do Facebook?
- Do you use the same language, style or tone?
- Do you leave the same updates?
Hopefully you do not.
Take this a step further with mistakes I see Recruiters make in treating social networking sites like LinkedIn:
- Posting jobs relentlessly (or least when the economy was better)
- Not participating in conversations
- Not establishing relationships with people
- Treating the sites like a searchable (for as much as they are) database
Job seekers are not immune to the mistakes in what they are doing on LinkedIn:
- Much too casual photos
- C U Later type of language
- Sending connection requests that are very informal
There are no "rules" to this but some folks are not using common sense when they go from one to the other.
For my Recruiter friends and I mean this with a lot of respect, we need to use the sites the way they are and not they way we wish they were. By that I mean these are social sites. So participate, engage, contribute and communicate with people in a social setting.
OK, I feel better now and feel free to tell me why I am wrong :)
Article by Paul DeBettignies and courtesy of MN Headhunter -- where they "play with their cards face up."
I think LinkedIn has established that kind of professional tone in the networking sites arena. It's your interactive and updated resume so to speak. So treat the site like you want to treat your profile which will be in front of recruiters, employers, and other professionals around the world.