July 6, 2011

Networking can be difficult when your connections don’t share

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Q: I’m facing a problem that is becoming more and more recurrent. A lot of recruiters who work for agencies will not share their LinkedIn connections, but they don’t hesitate to tap into mine. LinkedIn is truly a networking and relationship-building tool, and I believe that not sharing connections reflects negatively on these recruiters, especially when they tap into others’ networks to develop their own accounts. I am getting to the point where I’m considering not sharing my network with anybody or removing all the connections who don’t share theirs. How would you handle this?
--S.A., Seattle

Kristen says: You are correct about how LinkedIn is supposed to work in a professional manner. Social networking, as a rule, is about building mutually beneficial relationships. Before you decide to close up shop, I can make a few suggestions.

First, under “Contact Settings” and in the update section under your picture at the top of your profile, specify that you do not accept invitations from people who don’t share their networks. I recommend putting this in both places, as many people don’t read your contact settings and generally see your profile first.

When you receive an invitation, you can reply before declining or accepting it. Let the sender know that you accept them only from those who are intent on sharing their networks as well as seeking introductions.

Finally, if this has truly been a problem, don’t accept invitations from agency recruiters unless you know and trust them. I think that removing the connections who aren’t willing to reciprocate is prudent.

When I started building my network on LinkedIn, I connected with someone who I knew peripherally. When she declined more than once to forward a request for me, I broke the connection. I have no problem declining invitations or severing connections with those who I have found to be unprofessional outside of the site as well.

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