LinkedIn Tip:  Adding Connections

Why:
LinkedIn has many uses – e.g., job search, people search, company information search, etc. – and to fully take advantage you need people connections. There is no magic number or quota, but a goal of 300 connections is a good start. 
I receive many invitations to connect, but I do not always accept them.  In addition I am always seeking to expand my network as well.  When I send an invitation to connect or accept others’ invitations, I have two primary criteria, plus one more possible consideration:

1. I know this person well enough to feel comfortable referring him/her to any of my other connections.
2. They respect me enough to refer me or my clients to any of their connections.
3. They are in an occupation or field that I think I might need in the future.

How:
There are several ways to add connections:

1. In the menu across the top of the LinkedIn homepage, find the word “Connections.”  Hover over that and select “Add Connections.”  You can download possible contacts from your email address book.
2. In the “Connections” drop-down list, you will also see “Find Alumni,” a way to find alumni from your college(s), with very useful data:  where they live, where they work, and in what field they are involved. 
   - Under the “Where they live” column, you can click “Greater Atlanta Area” for a list of local alumni to contact. 
   - When you click “Greater Atlanta Area,” the other two columns change to reflect local alumni’s companies and fields.  If you have more than one alma mater, you can change by clicking the box in the upper right of the page.
3. Go to the LinkedIn Home page by selecting Home from the top menu.  In the top right corner is “People You May Know,” with three names followed by “See more.”  Click “See more” and choose as many from this list as you wish – the list is literally endless!
4. Once you have started to add contacts, you will begin to receive invitations from others to connect too.  Refer back to the data above to determine which you will accept.