It is absolutely beyond me why people think they can act totally differently than they do in the real world. Absolutely ridiculous.
Have a look at some of these quick examples...
- I have no clue who the person is who sent this to me.
- I have never corresponded with them, spoken to them, heard of them, or even seen their name in one of the groups I participate in.
- They obviously think that I will accept this without question, as they just sent it to me unsolicited. In the early 21st century that means they think I am stupid or naive. And I am neither. (I hope) And let me assure you - I do not have the time to check this contact out to see if it is worthwhile connecting.
- And they couldn't even take the time to edit it and write something at least a little bit personal. And that's just plain insulting to be frank.
The LION's and TOPLINKED people out there really get to me. They take contact with me as a notch on their profile, rather than a valuable networking relationship that needs to be managed. Something that is not in the moment, or superficial, but an exploration of mutual interests and commercial center ground.
Why (on earth!!!) would I consider giving a person such as this access to the people in my network? Why (on earth!!!) would I expose them to somebody like that?
Have a look at this one...
I didn't know this person either. But that doesn't matter too much. She knew me, and she made a point of telling me that she knew me. She shared some of her present ambitions and goals with me, and thanked me for helping her through the writing I do.
- This is sincere. She is reaching out to me to connect to have me in her professional network as it may be of assistance to her, and she is letting me know that.
- She obviously cares what people think. She took the time to edit her message to make it personal after all.
- She made sure to quote other areas where we had worked together (a company that we had both shared over the years) to give me some additional context of the discussion.
I didn't need to think about this one. A respectful person, in a similar field that I am in, being forthright and transparent about her intentions. I am a big supporter of sincerity and of authenticity. Less than a second to decide...
And then theres this...
A request for a recommendation. Our connection? We work in a similar managerial discipline. The guy refers me to his profile to get information that I can use to write a recommendation - and his profile is two job titles!
Come one people... really!
What on earth would convince me to make a fraudulent recommendation about this persons abilities, skills, drives and motivations? Really...? What would motivate me to do that?
The fact that I would be a party to deceiving other people on his behalf? (And remembering I have no clue who this guy is) Or just the fact that I have nothing better to do than make stuff up about anonymous people...
I have half a mind to do this actually... I could write:
"Bob (not his real name) is excellent at spelling Coordinator! And he knows how to contact people he doesn't know through LinkedIn. Well done Bob!!"
Yeah, I'm gonna do it...
