I recently conducted a survey which asked 500 participants for the reasons why they added people on their Linkedin network and the results were not only surprising to me but also rather amusing. For me Linkedin is great for career based networking… to apply for jobs, promote your brand, network with potential colleagues and create business opportunities. It seems however that some of you think differently … are these the Worst Reasons For Adding People On Linkedin?
• 68% to look for a job or recruit talent
• 15% to network in work related discussions and groups
• 10% to gain contacts
• 5% to meet potential romantic partners
• 2% because you had mutual friends
TO LOOK FOR A JOB OR RECRUIT TALENT
With 300 million + users, Linkedin is a great professional network when it is used correctly. By maintaining a professional profile and networking with the relevant groups and individuals you can enhance your career, build your brand, recruit top talent and further your skills.
NETWORK IN WORK RELATED DISCUSSIONS AND GROUPS
Again another worthwhile activity within Linkedin and I was surprised that the percentage was not higher on this one. When we say networking we need to be clear that this is not about spamming every group with your message but about offering useful points of discussion, helpful comments and responses to genuine queries. Linkedin groups are also a great way to establish yourself as a professional in your field.
GAIN CONTACTS
This one is a bit obscure because it is of course great to gain new professional contacts however the aim of some Linkedin users seems to be simply to gain contacts in order to spam them with endless promotional messages. Have you ever added someone only to then receive a barrage of emails until you swiftly unfriend them again? Gain contacts but don’t spam them!
TO MEET POTENTIAL ROMANTIC PARTNERS
This is where it gets good… yes 5% of those surveyed admitted using Linkedin to meet potential partners. I can see how this could come about … you see that a person is in the same industry or area as you, you like their photo and you add them but does anyone really do this with the intention of making a romantic connection? Apparently so and I’m intrigued as to how this all panned out!
BECAUSE YOU HAD MUTUAL FRIENDS
Again a little dubious, Linkedin isn’t Facebook is it? Do you really add connections purely because you have mutual friends? Surely you add connections that you have either networked with or want to network with?
I would love to hear your thoughts on these results and why you add connections on Linkedin. Tweet me @charli_says and let me know!