I am currently making a secret experiment.
I am live-testing people’s Linkedin motivation for connection.
For the whole month of October, I have accepted all the requests sent to me. And then after having waited one day, I sent, to the ones who had not followed up on their invitation, a little message saying “I’m happy to be part of your network! Did you have a reason to connect with me? Is there something I can do for you?”

Some stats & facts:

– 8% made the effort to write their own sentences in the request, all others just sent the default message.
– 6% of the people who sent a request (not the same ones) followed up with their own message. All wanted my service as a recruitment consultant.
– 92% were people I had never heard of before.
– 66% were not in my direct network (were not a contact of my contacts)
– 72% were women… (Do I look that good on my picture? Mmh…)

– 100% of the Anglo-saxons have answered my message, only 70% of the French and 55% of the Poles.
My explanation for the differences is that the recruitment market is tougher in France and people with recruitment in mind make naturally more effort, if this can be called an effort. Regarding the Anglo-saxons, well, networking is more in their culture … so they do it more efficiently?

– 100% of the ones who answered my friendly message did not appear much at ease with the exercise. More than half explained they did it in case they would need me in the future, nothing specific.

(- 1 Englishman wanted me to help him retrieve some funds from some dead body with the same family name as me, by writing an official statement I was next of kin??? SPAM! and shame on you mister…)

So far, my analysis is:
1. Most people play at Linkedin like my son used to collect Pokemon (I wonder… how many points am I worth in your collection?) they collect contacts, probably with no specific reason.
2. I am linked to a recruitment consultancy, which makes me somewhat popular. You could be a candidate on one of my assignments ‘in the future’ and you think I would not be able to find you, so you are taking the lead by contacting me. But most of you are trusting my creative power and judgement, since none of you explain for which type of jobs I should contact you.

And so my conclusions are:
1. Do not be passive. Do not be shy. Do not be rude: talk to me! You request connection to me. I accept. Then I send you a nice little message and you don’t answer!… What kind of a caveman are you? Do you want me to tell your mother how you behave? Come on, she raised you better!
2. We all exist IN REAL LIFE: having a VIRTUAL link to me is worth almost nothing. Even if I accept we connect without a reason, we have to be willing to talk to each other.
3. Let’s all make the (professional) world a better place. Let us all network a little more smartly.