As someone who has had to block, and as someone who has been blocked on LinkedIn, I think you should consider a few things. When a former co-worker blocked me, I knew I didn't do anything to cause it. I hadn't been peeping his profile or checking for his content. But one day I did go looking to see what he was up to, and LinkedIn tells me the page does not exist. It felt weird, but also completely in character so I was non-plussed. On the flip side and when I needed to block someone, I started to get emails from LinkedIn saying someone in a very specific town was trying to access my account. So I had to block THEM so they would just see that my "page does not exist". So my advice is that if this person's behavior is making you feel weird or if you are getting notifications that someone is trying to access your account, block them! Otherwise, just unfollow them! Hope that helps!
Do you have any advice for how or when to approach a potential connection on LinkedIn? It feels like there's a fine line between creeping on somebody and trying to network.
Great question! First, don't add them as a connection yet--see how often they post on LinkedIn to get a sense of if the person even uses the site. Their profile will show if they've posted anything within the last three months. If you want to connect with someone via LinkedIn, it really helps if they use it. Ok, so you've established that they post and interact with some frequency. Now, follow their profile. This will make sure that any activity the person does on LinkedIn like when they make new posts, posts they like or interact with, or posts they comment on will now show up in your feed. Start low-key by liking their posts. This gets you on their radar. At some point you should feel compelled to comment on their posts; this will make sure they see you. The key in this stage is to make sure the person knows who you are, this way when you add them or send them a message it won't feel so much like a cold call. After a few likes and a comment or two, I say you're ready to go in for the add! Then once they confirm, make sure you aren't weird in your communication. Folks use LinkedIn messages like texts, quick and fast. And unless the person asks, messages are not the place to pitch. You want to use messages to schedule an IRL (or at least Zoom) convo, and that's where you sell. I can't wait to hear how it goes for you!
another Linkedin question for you: best practices on blocking somebody? like a nosy former coworker?
As someone who has had to block, and as someone who has been blocked on LinkedIn, I think you should consider a few things. When a former co-worker blocked me, I knew I didn't do anything to cause it. I hadn't been peeping his profile or checking for his content. But one day I did go looking to see what he was up to, and LinkedIn tells me the page does not exist. It felt weird, but also completely in character so I was non-plussed. On the flip side and when I needed to block someone, I started to get emails from LinkedIn saying someone in a very specific town was trying to access my account. So I had to block THEM so they would just see that my "page does not exist". So my advice is that if this person's behavior is making you feel weird or if you are getting notifications that someone is trying to access your account, block them! Otherwise, just unfollow them! Hope that helps!
I'm very interested to hear your advice on this one.
Do you have any advice for how or when to approach a potential connection on LinkedIn? It feels like there's a fine line between creeping on somebody and trying to network.
Great question! First, don't add them as a connection yet--see how often they post on LinkedIn to get a sense of if the person even uses the site. Their profile will show if they've posted anything within the last three months. If you want to connect with someone via LinkedIn, it really helps if they use it. Ok, so you've established that they post and interact with some frequency. Now, follow their profile. This will make sure that any activity the person does on LinkedIn like when they make new posts, posts they like or interact with, or posts they comment on will now show up in your feed. Start low-key by liking their posts. This gets you on their radar. At some point you should feel compelled to comment on their posts; this will make sure they see you. The key in this stage is to make sure the person knows who you are, this way when you add them or send them a message it won't feel so much like a cold call. After a few likes and a comment or two, I say you're ready to go in for the add! Then once they confirm, make sure you aren't weird in your communication. Folks use LinkedIn messages like texts, quick and fast. And unless the person asks, messages are not the place to pitch. You want to use messages to schedule an IRL (or at least Zoom) convo, and that's where you sell. I can't wait to hear how it goes for you!