When you’re like me, the adults in your life taught you early on, “Don’t speak to strangers.” You could have even heard the phrase, “stranger hazard.” The concept is that strangers can hurt you not directly. Staying away from strangers stored you protected from kidnapping or one thing else unhealthy.
I entire heartedly agree with this concept for kids. As a toddler, avoiding strangers helped me to maintain myself protected in plenty of probably harmful conditions. Frankly, I nonetheless generally keep away from strangers in public locations for worry that “one thing” would possibly go fallacious. It’s like a residual response left over from childhood.
In actuality, as an expert, strangers are the very folks you need to speak to. I don’t imply the random folks you cross on the street. I’m speaking concerning the particular person you’re sitting subsequent to at an expert convention. Or, maybe there’s a brand new worker in one other division you haven’t met. It might even be the particular person sitting subsequent to you at a espresso store.
I like to think about networking as making new mates. And, new mates are throughout you. William Butler Yeats as soon as mentioned, “There aren’t any strangers right here; solely mates you haven’t but met.”
The identical applies for LinkedIn. I’m typically requested by job seekers whether or not or to not settle for connection requests from strangers on LinkedIn. Most individuals want to solely connect with others they’ve labored with earlier than. However, when you’re within the enterprise of on the lookout for a job, connections are every part. Increasing your community means there might be a higher probability that you just’ll know somebody on the subsequent job you apply for.
The truth is, LinkedIn prioritizes candidates who’ve connections at corporations the place they apply for jobs. Whenever you apply to a job on LinkedIn, LinkedIn sends your data (together with each different applicant) to the recruiter or hiring supervisor. LinkedIn has to determine who to rank first, and having connections with the corporate is without doubt one of the elements they take into account.
On prime of that, LinkedIn will allow you to contact strangers, if they’re second and third diploma connections. Because of this you might be able to attain out to a hiring supervisor you don’t know – if in case you have sufficient first diploma connections.
In actual life, it’s possible you’ll marvel what this appears like, particularly when you don’t usually work to construct your new connections. Take the time to introduce your self to new folks at occasions and events. Ask the opposite particular person about themselves. Pay attention fastidiously. Afterward, comply with up with the particular person on LinkedIn and set a time to attach once more in particular person.
With sufficient observe, these kinds of interactions will develop into a bit extra pure and fewer compelled. And, with sufficient comply with up, the strangers you meet gained’t be strangers anymore. They’ll be enterprise contacts. They’ll be mates. They’ll be individuals who you possibly can flip to when you find yourself on the lookout for a brand new job at a brand new firm.
Angela Copeland, a profession coach and founding father of Copeland Teaching, could be reached at copelandcoaching.com.
