By bbr

by Kelly Lucas, marketing and social media manager

Every so often, you receive an email from someone that makes you blink a few times and then ask yourself “Uh, whuh? Really?” Bonnie recently received one of these in the form of an endorsement request from LinkedIn with the subject line “Affirm My Talent.” While this is a somewhat odd and off-putting subject line, this is not what caught her off guard. It’s not uncommon to receive requests from former colleagues who are seeking recommendations and endorsements to help fill in their profiles. Oh no, this email was different. Before I get ahead of myself, why don’t I just show it to you:

“If you have worked with me…”? This person basically sent out a mass email to all of her contacts asking them to recommend her skills on her LinkedIn profile. She committed two very big social networking sins. The first was that it was a mass email to everyone. If you are asking people to do a rather large favor by putting their own reputation on the line to professionally endorse you, then that request should be made at an individual level. She should have taken the time to comb through her contacts and find those with whom she’s shared significant professional experiences, and asked each of them directly for assistance.

Her second sin was making a request to people with whom she’s never even worked. While Bonnie has networked with this person online and interacted with her via LinkedIn groups, she’s never worked with this person directly. She has no personal experience from which to make a recommendation one way or the other. Recommendations only hold water because they are personal. Granted, she qualifies the request by saying “if you have worked with me,” but it doesn’t excuse the fact that she’s still asking something from people she’s never met face to face.

The internet and social media platforms like LinkedIn have made it incredibly easy and efficient to network professionally from the comfort of your office chair or couch. However, that doesn’t mean that propriety and formality should go out the window. Don’t fall into the trap of being complacent and lazy when it comes to your networking. It’s okay to ask people for recommendations; just make sure you’ve actually worked with them and that you do so via a personal request. If you’re feeling awkward about asking, you could always make a recommendation for that person first, with the hope that the favor will be reciprocated. Most people have no problem helping each other out with these sorts of things because they understand the importance of personal recommendations in a business world that’s becoming more and more about who you know, not necessarily what you know.

What sorts of faux pas have you seen lately? Share and comment with your own stories.