At the post office today, a woman with curlers in her hair asked me, “where’s the courthouse?”  I wasn’t sure but then she asked what I did for a living.  When I told her, she asked me for a business card and said she was in marketing.  I said, “send . . . → Read More: What’s LinkedIn?]]> A funny anecdote from Kendall Kunz:

At the post office today, a woman with curlers in her hair asked me, “where’s the courthouse?”  I wasn’t sure but then she asked what I did for a living.  When I told her, she asked me for a business card and said she was in marketing.  I said, “send me an invitation to LinkedIN,” and she asked, “what’s LinkedIN?” And this woman is in marketing?  I think I want my business card back.

Image credit: Editor B

Between 2002 and 2007, we have noticed a surge in the percentage of job titles that include the term “ninja”. Modern day ninjas are not experts in martial arts or stealth soldiers – today they are more likely to throw Java exceptions rather than steel stars. Other ninjas come from the social media, computing . . . → Read More: LinkedIn Observes the Rise of Professional Ninjas]]> From The LinkedIn Blog:

Between 2002 and 2007, we have noticed a surge in the percentage of job titles that include the term “ninja”. Modern day ninjas are not experts in martial arts or stealth soldiers – today they are more likely to throw Java exceptions rather than steel stars. Other ninjas come from the social media, computing and design sectors. Professionals in customer service, advertising and finance have their share of ninjas too; for example, check out real life Investing Ninja Assassin Ann Miura-Ko.

How much has the job title “ninja” grown? The attached global “ninja” chart shows the percentage of people starting “ninja” jobs relative to all LinkedIn members who started a job year. This allows us to make meaningful year- to-year comparisons and discover interesting labor market movements.

More at LinkedIn Observes The Rise of Professional Ninjas!

I have to wonder how many of those ninjas are self-employed, or founders of a company of one. Are companies actually seriously handing out “Ninja” as a title? Fad, not trend.

Just in case you should want to hire a ninja, here’s some advice on doing so:

Image credit: Seth W.

In this economic environment it’s tough to find a job. But LinkedIn can help. Today we’re excited to announce a major upgrade for job seekers on LinkedIn: the Job Seeker Premium Account.

We spoke with hundreds of job seekers to understand their needs and designed a package of features to help . . . → Read More: LinkedIn Offers Discounted Premium Account for Job Seekers]]> From The LinkedIn Blog:

In this economic environment it’s tough to find a job. But LinkedIn can help. Today we’re excited to announce a major upgrade for job seekers on LinkedIn: the Job Seeker Premium Account.

We spoke with hundreds of job seekers to understand their needs and designed a package of features to help them stand out from the crowd, reach out to hiring decision makers, and manage their job search more effectively. The new Job Seeker Premium Account enables job seekers to:

• Move to the top of the hiring manager’s list as Featured Applicant when you apply to jobs on LinkedIn
• Send personalized InMail messages directly to hiring managers, even those outside their network
• Save profiles, add notes and keep track of contacts from your job search with Profile Organizer

We’re also launching a new Job Seeker Webinar, hosted by career expert Lindsey Pollak, that provides guidance on how to use LinkedIn to find a job and take control of your career. The webinar includes a series of specific, tactical tips for how job seekers can make the most of LinkedIn’s free and premium features. The 60-minute session is held monthly and is free for all LinkedIn members, which you can sign up for here.

And don’t forget that LinkedIn has tens of thousands of high-quality job listings that you can search, view and apply to for free. So if you’re looking for a job, give LinkedIn Jobs a spin. We think you’ll agree with Fortune Magazine that “if you are serious about managing your career, the only site that matters is LinkedIn”.

More at Finding your dream job just got easier

Image credit: deanmeyersnet

I won’t quote you a zillion studies – let’s just accept it as fact that for most businesses, referrals are both the least expensive and most effective source of new business. Referrals are also the best source of leads for job seekers and employers. There are customers and jobs and employees out there – referrals dramatically . . . → Read More: Make a Referral Week 2010 Is March 8-12]]>

I won’t quote you a zillion studies – let’s just accept it as fact that for most businesses, referrals are both the least expensive and most effective source of new business. Referrals are also the best source of leads for job seekers and employers. There are customers and jobs and employees out there – referrals dramatically accelerate the matching process.

With that in mind, last year my friend John Jantsch created Make A Referral Week, a week-long event designed to educate people on making and encouraging effective referrals, and to drive people to action by making 1,000 referrals during the week.

There are several ways you can participate:

1. Free webinar Wednesday, 3/10, at 1pm EST with John Jantsch hosting a panel with Ivan Misner, founder of BNI and author Masters of Networking, Bob Burg, author ofEndless Referrals and the Go-Givers Sell More, Ben McConnell, author of Creating Customer Evangelists. Register here.
2. Make a referral (or two or three) and post it on the MARW Referral Counter.
3. Read guest posts from a long list of referral/networking/word-of-mouth experts all week at the Duct Tape Marketing Blog. Posts are already up by David Meerman Scott on The Referral Multiplier Effect and a podcast with Andy Sernovitz on Word-of-Mouth Marketing.
4. Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #marw.
5. Keep up with the goings-on at the MARW blog.

I contributed a guest post for later in the week on “selfish networking”.

Let’s make our own economic stimulus package!

I suppose you still have to have a way to give people your LinkedIn URL, but this is definitely a step in the right direction. Save . . . → Read More: Now That’s What I Call Progress]]>

I suppose you still have to have a way to give people your LinkedIn URL, but this is definitely a step in the right direction. Save the trees!

That’s one way to look at it. But consider this: every communication you have . . . → Read More: Writing Great LinkedIn Invitations]]> Great LinkedIn invitations? Are they really that big a deal? Sure, canned messages are lame, but inviting someone to connect via LinkedIn (or any other social networking site) is just a simple matter of record-keeping. What’s wrong with just, “Hey, let’s connect?”

That’s one way to look at it. But consider this: every communication you have with someone in your network is an opportunity to move that relationship forward, to make it stronger. It’s not that there’s anything “wrong” with treating a LinkedIn invitation as a simple mechanical action, but it’s a missed opportunity. A few extra seconds can transform it into a relationship-building activity.

There’s another reason your LinkedIn invitations matter: if too many (five or so, best guess – LinkedIn doesn’t publish the actual number) of your invitations are rejected (“I don’t know the sender”) by the recipient, your account may be temporarily suspended and you will lose the ability to invite people to connect without their email address.

One way to ensure having your LinkedIn invitations accepted is to email the person before sending them a LinkedIn invitation and ask them if they’d like to connect on LinkedIn. That’s not always possible, i.e., old friends/colleagues/classmates who you’ve lost touch with. I also don’t think I’d email somebody solely for that purpose. But if you’re having an email dialog with someone already, slipping it into one of your messages is a good way to grease the skids for an invitation.

Let’s look at the “stand-alone” invitation in three scenarios: 1) someone you know well, who you are confident will accept the invitation, 2) an acquaintance or colleague that may not immediately recognize your name, and 3) someone you don’t know personally, but are interested in connecting with.

The basic format is the same in all cases:

1. Establish context. This is the main thing that will vary between the different scenarios. More below.
2. Invite them to connect, in your own words.
3. Suggest a next action. Coffee. A phone call. Sending them a link. Making an introduction. If you’re particularly interested in developing this relationship, make a commitment and then keep it. Otherwise, you can put the ball in their court.

Scenario 1: Current active contact

In this case, the emphasis should be on strengthening the relationship and moving it forward. Start by recalling your most recent interaction with them, or what brought them to your mind. “It was great to see you the other day.” “Thanks for sending me a copy of your book.” “I was reading an article about widgets the other day and thought of you.” If you know them well, you may even express mild surprise at the fact that you’re not already connected.

Here are a few actual examples I’ve sent/received:

Hi Paul!

I have a friend in Seattle with a job opening — I’m hoping you might know someone it’s a fit for. It’s easiest to forward it to you via LinkedIn since that’s where the job listing is. And…we should be connected anyway!

- Scott

_______

Hi Jason – just going through and adding some of my Austin friends. Funny how you just assume you’ve connected, but never have, y’know?

Any word on those videos from the conference?

Thanks again for the Boat Show tickets — the whole family had a blast!

- Scott

_______

Hi Eileen — you came up in my "people you might know" list, and sure enough…

How are things with you these days? Any big plans for 2010?

- Scott

_______

Hello Scott,

I’ll bring the Willie book Thursday evening and I’d also like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. Cool with you?

All the best,

Sonny

_______

Hello Scott,

Good to meet you at SXSW, will have your interview up today. I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.

- Brian

As you can see, it doesn’t have to be long. Those three elements can be achieved in three sentences, or even two. The elements can even be implicit – for example, when Sonny promises to “bring the Willie book”, that recalls our past conversation in the process of making a future commitment.

Scenario 2: Acquaintance

The purpose here is two-fold: first, make sure they don’t think you’re an absolute stranger if they don’t recognize your name immediately; second, re-establish the relationship and open the door for follow-up. Start by reminding them where/how you know them. This is your best guarantee against the dreaded “I don’t know…” button.

Examples:

Hey Scott!!!

How’s it going????? Been a long time since we communicated. Looks like things are going very well for you in Austin… must have been the right move to make!!! How’s your mom doing??? Is she still playing piano somewhere?

All the best to you!!

-Susan

_______

Hi Scott!

We spoke last year when I was helping John Assaraf relaunch his book Having It All. Love your About.com Entrepreneur site, and what you and Jay are doing with the Relationship Economy.

Love to connect our networks and find out who a good connection for you is.

Create a great day,

- Michelle

_______

Hi Ginger — your name came up under "people you may know" — pleasant surprise!

Are you still working with Stephen? How are things going?

- Scott

_______

Hi Scott,

Our paths haven’t crossed recently, but I remember you from Ecademy and I’d like to add you to my network on LinkedIn.

- Gordon

Scenario 3: Someone you don’t know

Let me say once again that generally, the better approach with someone you don’t know is to contact them via email or request an introduction on LinkedIn. Not everyone uses LinkedIn in the same way, and sending connection invitations to total strangers isn’t a very effective use of your time and can get you in trouble with LinkedIn.

That said, there are some exceptions. One thing LinkedIn doesn’t handle very well is asymmetrical relationships. Typically, a vendor doesn’t necessarily know a whole lot about their customer, except maybe that they pay their bill on time. Let’s take it a step farther. Is someone who bought my book a “customer”? What about someone who reads my blog? Or heard me speak? I connect with these people. And most people will, if you establish that context.

Another exception is people who are interested in hiring me. Right. Like I’m going to say “no”.

Name-dropping works too. If you say that someone I know and trust said you should get in touch with me, I’m going to accept the invitation.

Here are some real-life examples:

From one Austin guy to another, I’m lovin’ your Tweets amigo!

Matt

_______

Hi Scott, loved your webinar on Linked Intelligence, I will start making some improvements! I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.

- Sue

_______

I’d like to add y
ou to my professional network on LinkedIn. We have never met but Steve Latham is a friend and since my company is looking for experts to outsource social media services to, I would like to get to know you better.

- Mimi

_______

Hi Scott, I loved, loved, loved the Linked In seminar this morning!! Thanks much! I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. Looking forward to the QuickStart Guide.

- Christa

Oh, and flattery works. Seriously – it’s not an ego thing – it’s just nice to be sincerely appreciated.

So it’s your choice. You can send a canned invite and make it just a mechanical record-keeping act, or you can take one minute to make it a meaningful communication with a valuable business contact.