The Recruiting Blog | People First Recruiting

You’ve no doubt read, heard and been told over and over again to personalize any network invites you send to people on LinkedIn.  I know I am one of the choir members preaching this to anyone who is willing to listen.  When we train new employees this is one of the first things we say when it comes to LinkedIn; personalize your invites.

Why?

A couple reasons:

1. It’s nice and thoughtful.  And what did our parents teach us about being thoughtful?  That it makes the other person, the person on the receiving end, feel good.  And don’t we like to make others feel good?
2. You stand out from the crowd.   I receive invites on a daily basis, 90% of them are always the default invite.  Believe me when I say, those who personalize an invite have my attention. 

In fact, they have my attention so much so that the reason I am writing this blog post is because of a great invite I got this week.  This unique and thoughtful invite stood out from all the others and affected me like a morning cup of coffee – perked me right up.  This invite told me this person took the time to read about me and what I do.  It told me that this individual had attention for detail as he listed a couple things in my profile that were relevant to him and his background as well as a few things we had in common.  Yes, this person had my attention and I wanted to know more about him.  Immediately I went to his profile, forget those other invites for now.  What I saw on his profile was a thoughtful and experienced individual, someone that very clearly has put in a lot of time and care to his LinkedIn profile, to his career.  I noted, with excitement, his senior leadership experience.  As I am always connecting with Executives across Canada (due to my work in Executive Search) I knew that somewhere down the road this person could potentially be a candidate or a client or maybe a great help – who knows?  The bottom line is that I will remember his name and his background just from this simple personalized invite.  Already his first impression is one of care and thoughtfulness.  If he puts this much energy into an invite, how much energy does he put into his career?  His business?  His employees? 

So what do I mean when I say personalize?  I mean, don't use the default one LinkedIn gives you.  Would you just walk up to someone at a networking event and say "Hi there, I'd like to meet you and have you in my network." and then shake hands and leave?  No, probably not.

“I use their name in the invite, isn’t that enough?” 

No, a name alone doesn’t make the note personalized (though you should definitely be using their name in it, always use their name).  Let me ask you; what do you know about this individual other than their name?  Did you really read through their profile?  Get a sense of what this person does?  Who they are?  What they are passionate about?  Before I send out any invite, I make it a rule to read their profile first and then send my invite.  I comment on at least one thing that jumps out at me from their profile – why I was compelled to send them an invite in the first place.

“Okay, so what should I say?”

That’s up to you.  Why do you want to connect with them?  Is it because of their background?  Because they might be a thought leader in your area of business?  Are you following their blog because you enjoy their posts and saw they were on LinkedIn?  Be honest.  Take the time to tell that person WHY you want to connect.  If it is just to grow your network then say that too, but still give a reason why you want them as part of your network.  Something in their profile must have caught your eye – why else would you want to connect with them? 

So, to the candidates out there who are on the job search – when sending out your invites to recruiters or hiring managers, personalize your invite.  Make it about the person you are sending the invite to – I guarantee, they will take note and the chances of your invite being accepted are much higher.

To the Recruiters who are sending invites to candidates.  Make it about the candidate and not about what they can do for you.  In fact, try sending invites to potential candidates before you ever even need to recruit them.  Just connecting and learning about others in the business community should be enough of a reason to send out those invites.

Happy networking all, and feel free to send me a LinkedIn invite.  You know what to do.

~Annette Kohut, Executive Search Associate

Written by Linda Chammartin, Accounting & Finance Recruiter for People First Recruitment & Executive Search. 

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For this, my very first blog post, I thought it would be appropriate to touch on the Art of Networking.  I feel the topic is especially fitting as I (and approximately 450 others in Winnipeg) will be attending the upcoming Manitoba Business Summit 2013 on June 12th and 13th at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

As someone that relies heavily on networking to be successful in my career, I’ve learned from experience that it’s always a good idea to have a plan of action and to set goals prior to a networking event.  It can be a simple goal; maybe it is based on the number of contacts you want to make, or the number of business cards you want to collect.  Or maybe it is more detailed and in-depth such as connecting specifically with those that have captured a niche market in your industry.

I recently came across this article on 6 Secrets to Better Networking at Conference on LinkedIn and thought it was a great approach for getting the most out of networking at a business conference.  These “secrets” caught my eye because most are tried and true though I'm not sure I’ll be wearing orange runners to the event (though I will definitely be doing or wearing something that makes me, in a professional manner, stand out from the crowd).  I also think it is very solid advice to research the speakers and attendees ahead of time.  I have done this myself for the upcoming Business Summit conference that I will be attending and it is a very well received approach.

Taking the preparation a little further for a networking event or a conference is to prepare a list of questions you might ask based on the backgrounds or industry focus of the attendees.  You will also want to brush up on any recent news about the industry so you can prepare questions that are current and relevant.  Some basic questions to have prepared:

• What do you think about {insert topic based on your research}?  Will this effect your company and in what capacity?
• Tell me about a business plan that you are undergoing at the moment?
• What is a business goal that you have for the next year?
• What is the biggest challenge that you face in your business?
• What is the most exciting opportunity that you foresee within your business over the next year? 

Asking these types of open ended questions is a great way to articulate your interest in getting to know this person.  This will help you better identify whether or not you can be of service to them.  After all, the focus should be on how you can help them, not on you and your needs.  After your questions have been asked, think about and be ready to convey exactly how the product or service you have to offer them is relevant to their needs and how you can help them.

Finally, approach the event with an open mind and don’t put so much pressure on yourself to meet everyone in the room.  Set realistic goals and have a strategy in place to achieve those goals.  Most importantly, remember to have fun in the process! 

~Linda Chammartin