8 Reasons to Send LinkedIn “Link Requests” to Your Colleagues at Your New Job (or Current Job)

YAY! You landed the new job! Now it’s time to:

Celebrate!
Decorate your new office
Buy a new suit
Make Your 90 Day Plan
Get to know Your Team

These are things you’d do if you got a new job. So, what’s missing from the list?

Invite your new colleagues to Connect with you on LinkedIn!

Here’s why:

LinkedIn’s Personal Branding Power

1. Your LinkedIn Profile is a way to get your “resume” in front of your superiors and peers, so that they can see what you’re capable of, and what experience you have. This will positively impact your “Personal Brand” within your company.

2. When you post your LinkedIn Status Updates, your superiors and colleagues will see them. Your Posts of industry intelligence, insider professional information, or helpful articles and books will help people see the breadth of your knowledge. This will also positively impact your “Personal Brand.”

Example: We once had a client who got promoted because a VP saw her Status Updates and called her in for an interview.

Get Considered for Career-Making Assignments or a New Job

3. As you add a new Job or Projects you’ve completed to your LinkedIn Profile, your superiors and colleagues will be notified (consider it a “socially acceptable” way to brag). Your LinkedIn Profile updates will help you stay “top of mind” when your colleagues and/or superiors go to create a team for a high visibility project or when your superiors are looking to promote from within.

Example: We’ve had several clients who’ve been chosen for high-profile projects because a colleague saw a LinkedIn Status Update that showed they had special expertise.

Your LinkedIn Connections Are a Great Resource for a “Rainy Day”

4. The more people you’re linked to, the more visible you are on LinkedIn. More visibility = more opportunities. What if your next job came to you while you, rather than you having to look for it!?!!! Research shows that internal networking pays off, resulting in increased current salary, salary growth over time, and career satisfaction (see the research and more internal networking activities here).

5. The day will come when you have to look for your next job. People you’ve worked with are a valuable job search asset. They’re familiar with you and your work. You’re a known quantity to them, which makes it easier for them to hire you or recommend you.

6. You never know when your colleagues are going to leave the company and being linked to them on LinkedIn is a great way to maintain these important business relationships for the future.

7. If you ever decide to change careers, the people you know at your company, who are all in different jobs, fields, and careers, would be great resources for an Informational Interview during your Career Exploration.

A Current Colleague Could Become Your Next Boss

8. You never know who’s going to get promoted or leave the company for a higher position. Someone who’s your colleague today, might make a meteoric rise to the top. And knowing people at the top often translates into great opportunities.

Example: The story I like to tell is to illustrate this is that I worked for a Vice President at Boeing years ago, who became the CEO. I wish I had been linked to him on LinkedIn prior to his promotion! After his promotion he was too busy to get on LinkedIn.