Interesting email discussions with Brett this week – should he connect to his company’s main HR manager…
My simple answer brought us to a side conversation, and it’s worth looking at.
Know and Trust
Long time readers will already know that my answer was simple – did he know and trust the HR manager.
Yes – then it’s probably a good connection to make.
No – probably not.
But it wasn’t that simple…
Company loyalty
Brett was worried that making this connection would reveal information to an individual that probably had more loyalty to the company than to him.
Ahhh… So if in the future Brett might make an update or change his profile in a certain way, this might be “noticed” by the HR manager and come back to bite Brett.
And that is true – authoring an update that you’re interviewing is always a sign that things are in trouble;-)
I suggested that perhaps he didn’t trust the HR manager as much as he thought he did.
Snubbing the boss
Another aspect is that turning down the invitation might also be badly received.
And that’s a definite possibility – and I reminded Brett that the invitation should not be turned down. Ignored – yes, but not refused;-)
That’s always a good way to deal with “I really don’t want to connect, but don’t want to offend the other person” situations – at least at first.
More importance
So let’s expand this – it isn’t the HR manager, but the big boss herself – the owner of the company.
My advice stands – if you trust her, connect; if not, don’t.
And because LinkedIn is less “social” than a Facebook, you don’t have to worry so much about putting up a comment after a corporate event like “Had to sit through three hours of boring corporate presentations at the annual snooze-a-thon” and worry that the boss will hear about it. (But really, if it is that bad, you should be doing something to help improve it – if only for your sanity next year;-)
After you make these significant connections, remember to stay professional in all that you do with LinkedIn. Even if you do happen to leave the company, keep the professional relationships – and know that the time you spent there was worthwhile for both of you.
How much do you trust them…
So breaking it down at the end of the day – take a pause if you still hesitate about connecting to company insiders even though you’re telling yourself that you trust them.
It might be that you’re lying to yourself about trusting them…
To your continued success,
steve
—
Steven Tylock
http://www.linkedinpersonaltrainer.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevetylock