Networking online may seem like a piece of cake — all you have to do is just befriend people on LinkedIn and send them messages asking for help, right? Well, LinkedIn isn’t just a Facebook for professionals, and there are specific techniques you can use to up your game and your chances of finding your dream job. Krista Canfield, the senior PR manager for LinkedIn, shares a couple of things you need to avoid when you’re trying to leverage your online network:
社交網路看起來非常簡單——你只需在LinkedIn上和別人成為好友，就可以傳送訊息向他們尋求幫助，對吧？實際上，LinkedIn不僅僅是Facebook的職業版，在它上面還可以使用特定的技巧，來提高你的人氣及找到夢想工作的機率。LinkedIn的高階公關經理克麗斯塔-坎菲爾德分享了一些使用社交網路時應避免的事情：
1.Don’t just network when you need something. A “gimmegimme” mentality is a surefire way to lose professionals contacts and get deleted from people’s networks. Instead, make sure you take the time to help others in your network, not because you’re expecting something in return, but because you truly want them to succeed. Opportunities often arise when you reconnect with people you’ve lost touch with and take time to listen to what they are thinking about and working on.
1.不要只在需要的時候才進行網路社交。“給我給我”的心態肯定會和專業人士失去聯絡，會被別人從網路中刪除掉。相反，確保自己拿出時間來幫助網路中的人員，這樣做不是因為你想要回報，而僅僅因為你真正想要他們成功。當你和以前失去聯絡的人重新聯絡上時，若拿出時間去傾聽他們在想什麼、做什麼工作，機遇往往會在這時出現。
2.Don’t just network online. Make sure you’re taking the time to connect with people in person. Take a look through your contact list and see who’s moved to that city or who you can reconnect with while you’re in town. Having coffee with a former boss or grabbing lunch with an awesome client you used to work with is a heck of a lot more fun than eating alone. Plus it gives you the opportunity to rekindle relationships that may have fallen to the wayside.
2.不要只是進行網路社交。確保拿出時間和人們進行面對面的交流。檢視一下你的聯絡人列表，看看誰搬到了哪所城市，或當你在城裡時能重新聯絡上誰。和前任老闆喝咖啡或和很棒的客戶吃午餐可比自己吃飯要有趣多了。此外，它提供了一個機遇，讓你可以重燃彼此間的關係，否則你們的關係可能和路人無異。
3.Don’t be a promiscuous networker. Your contacts are a reflection of you as a professional. Remember, when you look at a person’s profile on LinkedIn, you’ll see if you have any connections “in common.” If the mutual connection is someone you worked with for five years and was one of your favorite cube-mates of all time, then they’ll probably be happy to introduce you to the person they know that will help you reel in that huge new client. There is a “magic” number of connections on LinkedIn, and that number is 50 contacts. By connecting to at least 50 people that you know and trust (current co-workers, clients, friends, and family), you’ll increase your chances of getting in touch with people and companies that will help you get ahead in your career.
3.不要隨便在網上交友。你的聯絡人體現了你的職業性。記住，當你看某人在LinkedIn的簡介時，你要看看你們是否有“共同”的好友。如果你們共同的好友和你一起工作了五年，並且是你最喜歡的一個同事，那麼他們可能會很開心地把你介紹給他們認識的人，從而幫你找到大客戶。在LinkedIn上的好友數量有個“神奇”數字，這個數字是50。 通過和至少50個你認識並信任的人建立聯絡（當前的同事、客戶、朋友、家庭），你會增加結識他人和其他公司的機會，這樣會幫助你在事業上前行。
4.Don’t reach out to someone without reading their profile. Make sure that you’re reaching out to the right person in the right role. Once you’ve double-checked that you’ve got the right contact, scan their profile for clues. A lot of times, you can find interesting little snippets that will help you stand out during an interview with a hiring manager or a meeting with a client. The tone is immediately different if you know someone in common or if you ask them how they got into sales after a lengthy career in photography.
4.不要在沒讀別人的簡介前就和別人交流。確保你所聯絡的人正是你要尋找的。一旦你仔細核查過你確實聯絡了該聯絡的人，那再檢視他們的使用者簡介來尋找一些線索。很多時候，你會找到一些有趣的小片段，能幫助你在和招聘經理的面試中脫穎而出或在客戶的會面中表現優異。如果你和對方有共同認識的人或你問他們怎麼從漫長的攝影生涯轉到銷售時，基調會立刻發生變化。
5.Don’t send generic messages. Do you like getting emails that look like they were copied, pasted, and sent out to dozens of other people? If the answer is no, then don’t do the same thing to other professionals. Even if a message or a connection request is only a sentence or two in length, take the time to customize it. Remind the person why it’s beneficial for the two of you to connect. Generic recommendation requests usually result in, well, you getting a generic recommendation in return. If you want a recommendation that will make you stand out from the pack, hint at why you’re asking for the recommendation (to get more clients, to find a new job, etc.) and also at what types of things the recommender can comment on.
5.不要傳送常見的訊息。你喜歡收到看起來是複製、貼上併傳送給幾十個人的電子郵件嗎？如果答案是不，那麼也不要對其他職業人士做同樣的事情。即使是一條只是一兩句話長的訊息或連結請求，也要花時間去定製。提醒對方你們兩個人聯絡對彼此都有好處。通用的推薦請求通常也會帶來通用的推薦回覆。如果你想得到能讓你脫穎而出的推薦書，示意一下你為什麼要求推薦（為了得到更多的客戶，找到一份新的工作等等），並弄清推薦者能對哪種型別的事情發表評論。