On your profile page, under Contacts at top, click Add Connections. Go to the right box titled Enter E-mail Addresses. All you need to invite someone to join your network is his or her e-mail. That’s it. Type 1 or 100 at a time in the box. Then click Send Invitations.
Your Challenge: Where do you dig up these connections? Where do they hide? Do you need to contact Homeland Security or Dog the Bounty Hunter to track them down? Pretty much!
TRADITIONAL SOURCES
Start with what you know: your current resources. Where do you store the names of your professional colleagues, friends, associates, and livestock?
Back to ‘ole basic traditional sources:
1. Old faded business cards held together with broken rubber bands
2. Rolodex® cards
3. Print & online directories (your institution, association, conferences)
4. iPhone/PDA directories
5. Other
Tap all of these previous sources. That could be a fairly long list or a tiny one based on the season of your career and your interpersonal skills. Once you have sent out the invitations, be patient. If they’re academicians, expect a very low response rate. Don’t take it personally. Most are not familiar with LinkedIn. Just persevere.
What’s Next? Beyond your current lists of potential invitees, my next blog will suggest 13 other sources I have used to build my network. That could conceivably be my most useful blog of 2010. Just wait for the nominations to come out. You can start on those sources over the holidays and during your break. I hope you get a break.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
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