Talk About An Unprofessional LinkedIn Response • Hacker News Board

Re: Talk About An Unprofessional LinkedIn Response

#21

Post by corresation » Thu, Feb 27, 2014, 9:54 PM UTC

MrZongle2 wrote: post #6

Much ado about nothing. The individual who was on the receiving end of the LinkedIn request is right , even if her response to the 20-something went overboard. If she had stopped at "Your invite to connect is inappropriate, beneficial only to you, and tacky" we wouldn't have even known about it. While that would have been a brusque response, it was still correct. I hate cold calls, because every single one (for me) i…

If she had stopped at "Your invite to connect is inappropriate, beneficial only to you, and tacky" we wouldn't have even known about it.

Do you actually use LinkedIn? You seem to be assigning a connection with some sort of profound meaning that it simply doesn't have. Indeed, if you follow LinkedIn's standard user flow, it will generate connection invites for anyone who you've ever corresponded with and saved as a contact on your email platform. If you get invites that you don't want to reciprocate, you ignore them.

And isn't it glorious irony that someone in the business of networking complains about someone trying to network?

Add that LinkedIn allows you to restrict who can even send you invites (which this woman didn't use), and who can see your connections (which is apparently the grave concern here).

Sorry, this woman was obviously having a very bad day, with a strange hint that they may feel threatened by youth, and decided to explode on a stranger -- in a very inappropriate and tacky way. There is nothing "right" about their action.

Re: Talk About An Unprofessional LinkedIn Response

#22

Post by jnevill » Thu, Feb 27, 2014, 9:55 PM UTC

So... people actually use linkedin? I was under the assumption, after years and years of emails from linkedin, that it's really just a crowd-sourced spam generator. Is that not the case? mind.blown()

Re: Talk About An Unprofessional LinkedIn Response

#23

Post by exelius » Thu, Feb 27, 2014, 9:57 PM UTC

livejamie wrote: post #2

I feel bad for this lady: http://i.imgur.com/reEDRLx.png

Anyone who has an MBA and puts it in their title is asking for it. I mean really, who does that? Not anyone with an MBA from anywhere worthwhile...

Re: Talk About An Unprofessional LinkedIn Response

#24

Post by nperez » Thu, Feb 27, 2014, 10:00 PM UTC

MrZongle2 wrote: post #6

Much ado about nothing. The individual who was on the receiving end of the LinkedIn request is right , even if her response to the 20-something went overboard. If she had stopped at "Your invite to connect is inappropriate, beneficial only to you, and tacky" we wouldn't have even known about it. While that would have been a brusque response, it was still correct. I hate cold calls, because every single one (for me) i…

I don't see what the big deal is. Maybe it's a generation gap? I'm in my 20s as well and it's never a big deal to send a request to someone on a social networking site.

I understand how it would be inappropriate if I tried to connect with Larry Page or something, but he isn't running a job database intended to help me.

I'm really put off by the attitude that some people have toward professional networking. I hope that if I ever become highly respected for my work, young people aren't afraid to reach out to me. If don't have time to help them or respond, I wont, but I'll never tell anyone "Never e-mail me again! How dare you, inexperienced little peasant, attempt to further your career by reaching out to a massively successful senior professional like myself!".

Re: Talk About An Unprofessional LinkedIn Response

#25

Post by mindcrime » Thu, Feb 27, 2014, 10:00 PM UTC

jnevill wrote: post #22

So... people actually use linkedin? I was under the assumption, after years and years of emails from linkedin, that it's really just a crowd-sourced spam generator. Is that not the case? mind.blown( )

Um, yeah... LinkedIn is an amazingly useful tool in many ways. Yes, being on there can result in the occasional incoming spam message, but a lot of us find the value far outweighs that minor detriment.

Re: Talk About An Unprofessional LinkedIn Response

#26

Post by loteck » Thu, Feb 27, 2014, 10:01 PM UTC

MrZongle2 wrote: post #6

Much ado about nothing. The individual who was on the receiving end of the LinkedIn request is right , even if her response to the 20-something went overboard. If she had stopped at "Your invite to connect is inappropriate, beneficial only to you, and tacky" we wouldn't have even known about it. While that would have been a brusque response, it was still correct. I hate cold calls, because every single one (for me) i…

The 20-something got backhanded

Yep, and this should never happen in a professional setting when your job is dealing with the public.

Re: Talk About An Unprofessional LinkedIn Response

#27

Post by MrZongle2 » Thu, Feb 27, 2014, 10:03 PM UTC

shock-value wrote: post #13

MrZongle2 wrote: post #6

Much ado about nothing. The individual who was on the receiving end of the LinkedIn request is right , even if her response to the 20-something went overboard. If she had stopped at "Your invite to connect is inappropriate, beneficial only to you, and tacky" we wouldn't have even known about it. While that would have been a brusque response, it was still correct. I hate cold calls, because every single one (for me) i…

The requester was cordial, if persistent. The response was condescending, rude, insensitive... and the pejoratives are essentially unending. Even "Your invite to connect is inappropriate, beneficial only to you, and tacky", is egregiously presumptuous. I really hope that's not your attitude towards people doing what they can to find a job, MrZongle.

By default, I don't have a problem with anybody trying to find a job...especially in this economy. Networking can be a powerful tool, and I can respect that.

But let's not lose sight of what a LinkedIn connection also entails: it means that all of your other connections are now visible to each other, and to some people that may imply a degree of exclusivity. To some, LinkedIn is not a contact-free-for-all like Facebook, where one can be "friended" casually.

A LinkedIn connection isn't like walking into a business and cold-calling on an owner or manager. It's the equivalent of walking in and demanding to see their address book of contacts.

Others in this thread have indicated that the best response would have been to ignore the request. I agree. But some people don't work like that, which is why I referenced a truncated response perhaps would have been ok.

Yes, the response was rude and insensitive....and so is the entire world outside of the comfy confines of white-collar America. The requestor made certain assumptions she should not have, and her follow-up approach to the situation seems to imply a sense of entitlement.

Re: Talk About An Unprofessional LinkedIn Response

#28

Post by mjolk » Thu, Feb 27, 2014, 10:03 PM UTC

vbrendel wrote: post #16

She's clearly serious about this. From her blog: * 6. LinkedIn. Please do NOT shop through LinkedIn for all the important sounding senior practitioners in town, and ask them to connect. It comes across as bush league, it shows poor judgment, and you are ignoring the fundamental rule of connections – reciprocity. Networking is conducted between individuals who have met or worked with each other, and who can provide eq…

It's just linkedin, don't take it so seriously. It's just a website.

Re: Talk About An Unprofessional LinkedIn Response

#29

Post by MrZongle2 » Thu, Feb 27, 2014, 10:04 PM UTC

shock-value wrote: post #20

MrZongle2 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"And deserves everything she gets" Yes, let's ruin a woman's livelihood over a bloody LinkedIn exchange because somebody's feelings were hurt.

The only thing that happened to her was that her email (multiple similarly worded emails, in fact) was posted publicly. If that's all it takes to ruin her career than maybe she shouldn't have written the email the way she did.

And what was the purpose of posting the email?

To punish and embarrass. Careers have been ruined in such a manner.

Re: Talk About An Unprofessional LinkedIn Response

#30

Post by asdfologist » Thu, Feb 27, 2014, 10:06 PM UTC

As much as Blazek acted completely out of line, I applaud her for making a real apology:

"I sincerely apologize for the harsh words and unprofessional, unwarranted actions in my response to you... I should have lent a hand, as well as hope, and I failed at that. You and many others, both strangers and colleagues, have reminded me that my personal journey in humility and gentleness is far from complete. I wish you all the best in your job search. Respectfully, Kelly Blazek," [0]

It's not one of those lame "I'm sorry if you were offended" or "I used the wrong choice of words" non-apologies, which are all too common these days.

[0] http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2014/02/kelly_bl...