Connecting with people on LinkedIn

A few days ago I attended a LinkedIn seminar at the School of Visual Concepts in Downtown Seattle and learned a few things that I thought I'd pass onto you. It definitely was 2 hours of insightful uses delivered by Cindy Pain, an esteemed career coach at Lee Hecht Harrison.

LinkedIn, now having approximately 50 millions user profiles, is a great marketing tool for you and your business. LinkedIn has made it a business of connecting people - yes, connecting you with people in your professional background or industry. Now if you're shy, you might want to start slowly and allow for invitations, but jump right on in and invite people into your network. Don't worry about looking good or looking bad. A general rule of thumb I use is if people are on LinkedIn, they are more than likely open to an invitation to connecting. Most of all, be courteous, generous and respectful. It goes along way in building your relationship once you connect. If you're looking for new connections, as Cindy puts it, "link in or be left out. "

Ready to start a profile? Here's how.

Step 1. Establish your profile
LinkedIn allows you to quickly establish your profile. Click on their join today link at https://www.linkedin.com/reg/join It couldn't be any easier. You will need a valid email address if you don't have one, you can get one at hotmail.com, yahoo.com or gmail.com. If you have a resume, you just copy and paste all of your information.

Step 2. Connect with people you know.
Once you've established your profile. You will want to start off by inviting everyone you know. These are your family, friends, clients, vendors, bosses, former bosses and organizational members to name just a few. As part of LinkedIn's free service, you are allowed 500 invitations. That's a lot when you think about it. When you make the invitation with people, offer them value in connecting with you. Is it your network? Is it your expertise? Can you recommend or introduce them to others? Tell them "what it is" in your invitation. Before long you will end up with lifelong friendships and business relationships. That is, if you nurture your network.

Step 3. Connect with people you don't know.
There are a few simple ways to connect with people you don't know on LinkedIn. These are people that are friends of your connections or friends of friends of your connections. Now to connect with people outside of your network with your connections, if it's appropriate and depending on your need, you can ask your friend if you can be introduced via Linkedin. Reciprocate with introducing other people, too.

People you don't know that are outside of your network could be the approximately 49.9 million other people on LinkedIn or those not already on LinkedIn. To get access to these people you're going to need to search for them either in person at a conference or at a meeting or through LinkedIn's search feature. Once you find the person(s) you want to connect to, make the invitation. They'll either say "yes" or "no". If it's yes, then start nurturing the relationship. If it's no, then don't beat yourself up. If you don't get a response, it's likely that person isn't using LinkedIn regularly or has a personal profile setting that prevents them from getting invitations.

This is just the beginning and I'll blog about networking in future posts. If you want or need more information, I've listed a few important links.

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President


Additional information:

• LinkedIn New User information: http://learn.linkedin.com/new-users/
• 10 Ways to Use LinkedIn: http://blog.linkedin.com/2007/07/25/ten-ways-to-use/ or by Guy Kawasaki http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/01/ten_ways_to_use.html
• School of Visual Concepts: http://www.svcseattle.com/

LinkedIn is the respected trademark for the LinkedIn Corporation.

In Your Time

Mahatma Ghandi in his time led his country India to freedom. Benjamin Franklin in his time invented the lighting rod and was a founding father of the United States. And Barack Obama in his time became the first African American to earn the spot of the 44th President of the United States . These great leaders had something in common: purpose. What purpose guides you? What is it that you'll be known for? Is it to be the best leader, parent, athlete or manager?

Having a purpose guides you. It opens up actions to take and pulls you forward to be great. For example, being the best musician (your purpose) takes a lot of practice (actions you'd take). You'd also hire a teacher, buy a piano and music, enter recitals, study music, and play everyday. Similarly, becoming a leader (your purpose) takes great practice (actions you'd take). You'd also need to build skills in communication, look for opportunities, network, understand issues, listen for other's commitments and to their greatness. Most of all, you need to stand for your purpose.

Now where do you begin after you define your purpose? If it's to be a leader, there are a variety of organizations you can take part in to support your purpose. Take part in the National Association of Asian American Professionals Seattle Chapter. Take part in the Executive Development Institute as well as Landmark Education. And commit time and be open to the experience. I promise you will be in your time a leader with purpose.

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

Additional Links:

• National Association of Asian American Professionals Seattle Chapter - http://seattle.naaap.org/Welcome.do
• Executive Development Institute - http://www.ediorg.org/
• Landmark Education - http://www.landmarkeducation.com/
• Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics - http://www.leap.org/
• Asian Pacific Leadership Community Foundation - http://aclfnorthwest.org/
• Ascend Pan-Asian Leaders - http://www.ascendleadership.org/display/router.aspx

Welcome to NAAAP Seattle

I want to thank all of you - past and present - who have joined the Seattle Chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals. As it stands, many have become leaders in our community while some are facing real challenges. The leadership team understands this and is excited to serve and make this a great community for all. We need your commitment though. We believe NAAAP is creating opportunities for the next generation of Asian Americans to live prosperous lives. Your participation and contributions are truly appreciated.

As the start of a new decade won't you create a new commitment for yourself and your family? The commitment of success. It's all right here within NAAAP Seattle. So I encourage you to come join our events and engage with other members.

As the leadership team enters the new year, this February we will be sending two representatives to the National Retreat in Connecticut. Here is where we get the opportunity to have an input to the national agenda. If you haven't already done so, it's not too late for you to provide feedback and continue to make this a valuable resource for the Asian community.

I started this blog so that you can see my perspective on leadership and get updates with the chapter. Please let me know how NAAAP can help you in meeting your needs as a member. See you all soon.

Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President