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Networking Information |
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Why Bother With Social Networking Sites Like LinkedIn?
Q: I think I understand the value of networking as well as the next businessman, but for the life of me, I don't really see what sites like LinkedIn, Ryze and Ecademy can do for me. What's the point of these sites other than just as some sort of digital popularity contest? A: My good friend and colleague Liz Ryan, head of the women's power networking group WorldWIT, Women in Technology, has a great answer to this sort of question, an answer that I'm quoting here with permission: I ask people to join LinkedIn, and often they say "I don't want the spam." So I say "You won't get any spam." And they say "But I'm not job-hunting." And I say "You don't have to be job-hunting." Then we go back and forth for awhile. It's a bit of a challenge to get my own friends to see the forest for the trees, sometimes. When Monster.com was new, the big idea was to post jobs online. As an HR person, I can tell you, Monster is a pretty awful place to post jobs. You get KILLED with unwanted resumes from job seekers all over the world. I truly believe that Monster.com is the reason that HR people no longer respond to online job seekers - and sometimes offline job seekers - with any kind of response. Anyway, over time HR people and recruiters figured out that the real value to Monster is the ability to search the candidate database (for a fee). Maybe some of the same thing is happening with LinkedIn. What seems like the obvious benefit to membership may not be the key feature for a lot of users. See what you think about this LinkedIn primer that I share with my friends. If I'm doing something I shouldn't be doing on LinkedIn, I'd love to know that too! 1) Your profile itself is a great value to joining LinkedIn. I get great, useful contacts from my profile appearing on LI, and of course it's free. 2) Even if you're not job-hunting or doing business developing or searching for contacts yourself, it's a great thing to be able to be a conduit for your friends. They really appreciate that service that you can provide for them. Just the reconnect- with-an-old colleague bit is a godsend: where else can you do that online? 3) LinkedIn is the google for individuals who aren't high on Google rankings. That means anyone who's in a corporation but not senior enough to appear on the About Us/Management Bios page (although of course, those execs are often on LinkedIn too); anyone who is a partner in a consulting firm but perhaps not often in the news or otherwise mentioned online; and zillions of other people whom you'd have trouble finding if it weren't for LinkedIn. 4) Let's say you have a business meeting with the VP of Marketing at a major corporation next week. If it weren't for his profile on LinkedIn (say, if you were having this meeting three years ago), how would you learn where he went to school, where he worked before his current job, and other details about him? With the help of his LinkedIn profile, you're a zillion times better prepared for the meeting. 5) Now let's say that VP of Marketing is behind the curve and doesn't have a LinkedIn profile. No big; you find another connection of yours who works at the VP's current company, and ping her for some background. See? LinkedIn to the rescue again. 6) Want to know who's working in a particular industry space in a given city? LinkedIn search. Intelligence gathering, even if you never contact any of the people you find. My point is that there's lots more to LinkedIn than just reaching out to people for job leads and for business development leads - not that either of those are bad things. And I agree with other posters that you have to use the tool, rather than just join up and sit there like a lump. But I'd love to hear stories of some more creative uses for LinkedIn, from other users... Thanks for sharing your compelling story with everyone, Liz. When I think about your point with Monster.com causing recruiters to never list jobs online anymore, I not only know that it's true from personal experience, but also find it to be an interesting example of the law of unintended consequences, in the same way that a site like LinkedIn helps with market research or background checks. At the end of the day, in business you're ultimately constrained only by the skills you can bring to the table and the network of friends and acquaintances you can call on for help, advice and assistance. And if you don't help them when you can, of course, it doesn't take long to be ostracized from a group, however informal or far- flung. But if you are part of a circle of professionals, you will always grow your career faster, smarter, and more profitably. Dave Taylor is an internationally recognized expert on business and technical topics and is the author of 18 different books and thousands of magazine articles. His Q&A Web site is http://www.askdavetaylor.com/
MORE RESOURCES: July 29 – Holly Area Chamber Networking Breakfast Oakland County Times Networking on Slack Is a New Way to Find a Job, but It Takes Work The Wall Street Journal Networking key to successful job search Continuing Studies Top Enterprise Networking Companies 2022 EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet The Worldwide Time-Sensitive Networking Industry is Expected to Reach $1.8 Billion by 2027 - ResearchAndMarkets.com Business Wire What is an Enterprise Network? EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet 7 Enterprise Networking Challenges EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet What is Software Defined Networking? EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet Can SONiC be the Linux of Networking? The Register Outlook on the Time-Sensitive Networking Global Market to 2027 - 5G Time-Sensitive Networking Presents Opportunities Yahoo Finance Waskom Chamber of Commerce hosts networking event Marshall News Messenger First Responders Need Data. Can LTE Networks Come to the Rescue? US Department of Commerce RS Components partners with HMS Networks to expand its industrial equipment networking solutions offering Process & Control Today 5 Tactics for Attending Networking Events Advertising Specialty Institute Reconnecting at in-person networking conferences TheFabricator.com Take a Measured Approach to Software-Defined Networking FedTech Magazine Beyond basketball: Summer League is NBA’s networking summit Las Vegas Review-Journal LGBTQ+ networking group keeps Pride alive year round Delaware First Media Top 5 Simple Networking Tips for Students StudyinCanada.com! Microsoft finds Raspberry Robin worm in hundreds of Windows networks BleepingComputer The Home Depot Adopts HPE GreenLake for Aruba Networking and Aruba ESP to Drive Enhanced Customer and Associate Experiences Business Wire Key skills to overcome fear of networking The New Times Extreme Networks Makes Networking More Flexible, Intelligent and Secure with Suite of New Solutions Business Wire Farm Data Relay System: Combine LoRa And 2.4 Ghz Networks Without WiFi Routers And Cloud Dependence Hackaday Networking club explores new ways to engage others The Star Online Anonymous Social Networking Software Market is Going to Boom | Tencent, MOMO, Tantanapp Digital Journal IoT Use Cases in 2022 EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet Morgan Stanley rates the rivals scrabbling for campus networking share (NASDAQ:CSCO) - Seeking Alpha Networking scheme helps minority ethnic nurses to thrive Nursing Times Henderson Chamber of Commerce to Host Networking Breakfast: On a Roll – Local Gaming Update With M Resort Spa Casino Leadership Nevada Business Magazine Significant Trends in Communication and Networking ICs market with Top Key Vendors, Types, End-users and region – Designer Women Designer Women Future Prospects of Wireless Networking Market by 2029 | D-Link, Netgear, Netcore – Designer Women Designer Women Networking Products Market See Huge Growth for New Normal | Cisco, HP, Juniper – Designer Women Designer Women "It's not who you know, it's who knows you." Panel of CEOs emphasizes importance of networking madison365.com Northrop Grumman to build Space Force prototype for cyber protection of satellite networks Breaking Defense The future of social networking apps Times of India Palo Alto Networks stays MS's top security stock as survey highlights 'durable' demand Seeking Alpha Upload speeds lag in Phoenix during mobile networks tests Arizona's Family Hive Crypto Social Networking Platform Price Rallies 16%, Volume up 14,000% Business 2 Community EXCLUSIVE NETWORKS: Disclosure of the Total Number of Voting Rights and Shares Forming the Share Capital as at 30 June 2022 Business Wire New Strategic report on Social Networking Tools Market Growth, analysis and Forecast to 2026 – Designer Women Designer Women Ribbon Cutting for Space Development Agency's First Ground Operations and Integration Center in Grand Forks Kevin Cramer Lessons learned from the best run supply chain networks FOOD Magazine - Australia Advent One acquires Layer 8 Networks, complements hybrid cloud offering ChannelLife New Zealand Mexican networks ramp up help for US women seeking abortions The Associated Press - en Español S'pore, US launch networking programme for women in tech The Straits Times These Essential Networking Finds Boost Digital Equity, School Capacity and Speed EdTech Magazine: Focus on K-12 7 types of networks and their use cases TechTarget Why Networking Matters More Than Ever Chicago Booth Review 6 types of enterprise networking topologies TechTarget Networking online: how to make professional connections remotely and why it matters The Conversation 3 Industrial Networking Trends Automation World Essential networking tips to help you win new opportunities in 2022 The CEO Magazine 5 Top Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Trends Enterprise Storage Forum What's the status of AI in networking? TechTarget Top Computer Networking Jobs & Salaries 2022 | ENP EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet |
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