Yesterday I arrived at the office to learn that one of my small business clients had suddenly shut down operations. Big message on the website home page and Facebook page: Doors closed, orders cancelled and refunds to be made to customers. It was a shock to me and my co-workers, and apparently to the staff I was working with on SEO and social media efforts to improve the company’s online reputation management (ORM).
Fortunately, I had made connections with my key contacts at this company on LinkedIn so I could message them there (the company emails would not get to them). I sent them each a personal message of sympathy and support and offered to help them in the transition to the next position.
I was reminded that the time to weave your parachute is before you’re ejected from the plane! Use LinkedIn now while you are an employed, successful expert in your field to make connections and provide assistance. Then, when you need a parachute, your LinkedIn network of connections will be there to keep you from free falling. Don’t forget about in-person networking and other online ways to create your parachute as well, such as Twitter, Facebook, business forums, and professional organizations.
Guy Kawasaki, author and entrepreneur, published an article “10 Ways to Use LinkedIn” with some interesting statistics and tips, including:
- People with more than twenty connections are thirty-four times more likely to be approached with a job opportunity than people with less than five.
- All 500 of the Fortune 500 are represented in LinkedIn. In fact, 499 of them are represented by director-level and above employees.
- The average number for Harvard Business School grads is fifty-eight, so you could skip the MBA, work at Google, and probably get most of the connections you need. Later, you can hire Harvard MBAs to prepare your income taxes.
