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Recently a recruiter from a big software company showed interest in hiring me on LinkedIn. He also sent me a connection request. It means if I don’t connect he might not move forward, and if I do, he might just get my contacts and move away!
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I just got back from the gym so excuse me if I appear sweaty. I am sweaty!
I received a message for someone I think is a really good question: Should I accept a LinkedIn connection request from a recruiter? Recently, a recruiter for a big software for show interest in hiring me on LinkedIn. He also said the connection request. It means if I don’t connect, he might not move for and, if I do, you might just get my contacts and move away!
The fear that so many people have is incredible to me.
Start by saying that LinkedIn is selling the entire database to recruiters for about $400 per month, $450, something like that. Big software company? These guys have all that data are available to them. Don’t sweat that aspect of it.
The real question is if you are concerned about the impact of not accepting, then accept. However, if you are concerned that this recruiter is going to take your contacts from you, let me let you in on a secret. If you go your privacy settings on LinkedIn (you’ll find it in the upper right-hand corner of your homepage, behind that pretty little picture of you, click on it and one of the choices offered to you involves privacy for your account).
Click on the privacy option and you’ll see that you can block individual people and you are able to not share data with others. If you have any concerns about this individual, block them it’s really that simple. They will be able to see your updates; do not to be able to see your connection requests; they will be able to see any of the people in the network. You just going to block them. So this is a non-issue.
For you as a job hunter, I want to remind you of something. Your network is your net worth. Unlike days of all, where people were afraid of everything, we’ve all opened ourselves up. We’re trying to do more things to become known and noticed.
This recruiter may be trying to get a sense of you over time, maybe not for this job search but with the next one in mind. I will tell you that if he doesn’t hire you or she doesn’t hire you because you didn’t accept the connection request from them, they are idiots!
First of all, as a recruiter, they don’t hire anyone; hiring manager makes that decision. Maybe you don’t get in the door, but it’s unlikely. They have metrics on them about filling jobs. If you are the right talent, the hiring managers interested in hiring you, don’t sweat the decision not to connect with the recruiter.
The real important thing is that you need to connect with more recruiters, not less. More people need to know more about you. You can’t hide in the corner of the closet until such time as you’re looking for something else.
After all, the data is already out there about you. Let me show you. If you go to this little search tool, www.li-usa.info, do a search and what you’ll find is a Google search tool that searches every US LinkedIn profile that is available publicly.
You’re there. People can find you easily. I don’t know if it will let you see the connected with but, thanks for that is a possibility. As I’ve said, all the data is out there already. LinkedIn is selling it in droves. Don’t sweat this.
If anything, you should be going in the opposite direction by connecting with more people. I’ll tell you why.
A person who gets ahead isn’t always the smartest or work the hardest, although those are great qualities to have. The person who gets ahead is the one who remains open to opportunities. Sometimes, those are internal to organization. Most of the time, they are external to it.
If you’re hired by this big software firm, and a year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now, you decide to change jobs again. Do you want to be operating from that corner of the closet again or do you want more people to know about you? If you are smart, the latter is the right answer.
So, can it with this person and, if you have any concerns about them, block them using privacy settings.
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Do you really think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.
The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.
JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.
Connect with me on LinkedIn http://bit.ly/thebiggamehunter