BillCan's Place : Social Networking

A suggestion for online social networkers

BillCan — Mon, 20 Dec 2004 17:45:00 GMT

I was contacted by someone who is a vendor to Microsoft about connecting on LinkedIn. I'm sure this guy is a good guy, and would be happy to link up with him. However, I think it dilutes the power of the network to link to just anyone, so I suggested that we get together for lunch, have a chat, and then connect up.

Some people on LinkedIn (or other social networking sites such as Ryze or Spoke) worry exclusively about the size of their networks. Now I will admit, network size is really important to the effectiveness of the network for its members. However, one should also look at one's social network as a web of trust. When someone asks me about someone in my network, I can give a real endorsement of that person. I think this is a dramatically stronger statement about someone than "They asked to connect to me on LinkedIn so I did...", and ultimately leads to better results.

So, I suggest that you be selective about who you link to on these sites. Avoid the temptation to grow your network just for the sake of growing it, because you may end up with a large network that is of little value to anyone.

Networking and headhunting

BillCan — Wed, 15 Dec 2004 06:55:00 GMT

I haven't posted on networking in a while, so I thought I'd get something up here on that topic. When I was job hunting about 2 years ago, I posted my resume on Hotjobs and Monster (as one would expect). When I was considering options outside of my previous employer, I spruced up my resumes and kept them visible on these two sites. I regularly was contact about opportunities from these two channels.

You are probably asking what this has to do with networking. Well, I'll tell you: Even when I am not actively looking for a job, I've always kept my resume active on these sites. By doing so, I can help out people in my network. I may not be interested in a new position, but I know a lot of people like me that may be interested in a move. When I get contacted by a recruiter, I

forward the request to an appropriate friend (if applicable),
reply to the recruiter that I am not interested but that I would like to help him/her make connections with my network, and
add the recruiter to my list of contacts.

This can definitely help you to develop a long list of recruiters that can help you when you need them to. In addition, it can help you help the people in your network (remember the first rule of networking: help yourself by helping others first). Finally, it can dramatically expand the size of your network, since recruiters are some of the most connected people out there.

Is it false advertising to leave your resume active on Monster when you aren't looking for a job? I don't think so, especially if you will actively assist those that contact you to find appropriate candidates for their opportunities.

How to get started in online social networking

BillCan — Sun, 14 Nov 2004 20:04:00 GMT

I've had some people get in touch with me about wanting to get started with social networking sites, and wanting to link to me. Some people will link to anyone that asks, and taht is certainly one way to work things. I would rather link only to people I know pretty well. This increases the trust that people have in my referrals, since I can say more about the person asking for a referral than "He emailed me about linking on LinkedIn".

So if you are interested in starting to use LinkedIn or another social networking site, I suggest the following steps:

Register for the site
Fill out all the biographical information you can
Import your Outlook or personal email address book
Find people that you have worked with that are also on the system (you will usually find at least a few)
Send invitations to these people and get linked
Encourage your associates to join by using your address book to send invitations
Sit back and admire your social network as it grows

LinkedIn provides all the tools you need to perform these steps, and is my site of choice. So get on LinkedIn and give it a try; the more people on the site, the better it is for all of us!

LinkedIn Changes

BillCan — Sun, 14 Nov 2004 19:53:00 GMT

Roberdan has a post about changes going on at LinkedIn. I've not personally witnessed success with LinkedIn, but I do have social networking to thank for my current position. I think that anything that can help you extend and work with your network has to be a good thing.

The Power of Networking (Social Networking, that is!)

BillCan — Tue, 09 Nov 2004 17:44:00 GMT

Originally Posted 04/23/2004 03:46:58 PM

If I ever do get hired by Microsoft, it will owe a great deal to the power of networking. I'm talking about personal networking here for all you tech people out there. Here's how things started in my full court press on MSFT: several weeks ago I saw a job posting that I thought was perfect for me at a site called LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com). LinkedIn is a site that used the "6 degrees of separation" concept to link people into social networks that allow you to get in contact with someone else through an introduction rather than a cold call. I strongly recommend checking the site out: it has proven pretty valuable to me and the people I network with.

Anyway, I decided that I wanted this job, and I would move heaven and earth to get it. That meant doing whatever it took to get to the right people. I started working my contacts in order to get an intro, and sure enough I found someone who knew someone who could help me out. It took approximately 10 different people to find one that proved fruitful. I worked former colleagues, contractors that I worked with, the crew on the boat I sail on, my bagpipe instructor (that's right: my bagpipe instructor!), and so on. No contact is too small to talk to, because even though they may not be able help, they may know someone. That is how I got my foot in the door in Redmond.

Note that the power of networking is in giving first. Those who give will get back in return. The folks who I have to thank for introducing me to MSFT I had previously arranged for them to meet with my company's Chief Information Security Officer. In addition, they know I will be grateful to them if (when?) I do go to work at Microsoft, and will be more likely to want to bring them in.

I'd be happy to help anyone who is interested in getting started in networking: just drop me a note. Don't think that you don't need to network: it is almost as important for programmers and DBAs as it is for salespeople and consultants.

Two sites stand out for networking in my mind: www.linkedin.com and www.ecademy.com. LinkedIn is bigger but Ecademy has more active users. I suggest you check both out (and who wouldn't listen to a recommendation from BillCan?!)