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5 Ways Get More out of LinkedIn

| June 23, 2016 4:55 pm

Were it not for LinkedIn, NSS RPO, the firm I founded in 2009, would not be where it is. We wouldn’t have made the Inc. 5000 two years running. It’s as simple as that. LinkedIn is the only professional networking site that is worth your time. Ignore the imitators. This is where you want to be. That said, similar to Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn can be a huge time suck if you don’t manage it correctly.

As our firm recruit’s recruiters, the site can be like shooting fish in a barrel. My gut tells me these tips will be helpful in other industries as well.

1. Stop looking at your LinkedIn feed: As each day passes, the LinkedIn feed is getting more and more like the Facebook feed. Folks post stupid pictures, stupid motivational quotes, useless math equations and political statements that have no place on a professional networking site. If someone I’m connected with posts any of the above listed items, I immediately unfollow them. I almost never look at my LinkedIn feed. There’s enough noise out there already.

2. Don’t accept every LinkedIn invitation: I’m a recruiter who lives in the DC Metro area. Why on earth do I need to be connected to a Welder in Alabama? If I can’t help them and they can’t help me, what’s the point of being connected?

3. Make your LinkedIn invites personal: If you want to connect with someone, use some manners and make it about them. Spend the extra 30 seconds and put some thought into it. After every initial phone call with a client or candidate, I thank them for their time and ask to connect. If I’m referred to someone, I mention the referrer’s name in the first sentence.

4. If someone burns you, block them: I have no interest in sharing my updates with someone I want nothing to do with.

5. Respond to people who message you: If my firm can’t help someone, I tell them as much and give them names of firms that might be able to.

We’re all in this together and if we look out for those who look out for us, the business world is a slightly better place.

Conor Nicholson is the Founder and CEO of NSS RPO, a consulting firm that provides on-site and virtual recruiting professionals. Contact NSS RPO to learn about how we can help your organization meet and exceed it’s hiring goals.