Questions & answers

Many people have asked me questions about LinkedIn, so I will try to answer them here.

1. Peter, you invited me to join your LinkedIn network, and I did. But we have a common friend who also invited me. Should I also join her network?
   
   Yes, because then you can see her connections. You can only see the connections of people who are DIRECTLY connected to you.
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2. What if my boss sees that I joined LinkedIn? Will he/she suspect that I'm looking for another job?
   
   I think the more active you are in the job market, the more it shows you are serious about your career. Your boss can't hold it against you. This being said, if you have few connections (say, less than 10), then you are sending to your boss a different message than if you had, say, 200 connections.
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3. I saw that my boss is a member of LinkedIn, but somehow, he/she did not invite me. What does it mean?
   
   This situation is very political. Maybe your boss doesn't want to involve anyone in the company, because if he invites you, then he would have to invite EVERYBODY in the company (otherwise, he might be accused of favoritism). But if he does invite everybody in the company, then he's opening a very dangerous door since LinkedIn is used mostly for finding better jobs! (His superiors would NOT appreciate the fact that he's creating opportunities for workers to find a better job elsewhere!)
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4. Should I provide details regarding my professional experience (past employers, dates, etc.)?
   
   I think so. What would be the point of just putting your name and title on your Profile page? Like Dr. Phil says: "People who have done nothing wrong, have nothing to hide."
   
   The more information you disclose, the more people will trust you. (Of course, if you are a consultant or an attorney, you might not be allowed to list certain clients or reveal certain types of work that you did, for obvious confidentiality reasons).
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5. I saw a friend at LinkedIn, but somehow, he/she is the only one from his company who joined LinkedIn. I'm curious as to why he/she did not invite co-workers?
   
   See answer to Question 3. It's more or less the same story.