If you are wondering if it’s useful to use LinkedIn as a networking or career development tool–or wonder how to use it that way–here’s a brief story that will hopefully encourage you to do so.

It’s one of many examples I’ve experienced of reaching out to people on LinkedIn who seemed like they would be fun to get to know without any agenda and the wonderful experiences that have come out of that.

So…here goes…

1. About 2 years ago, Dr. Susanne Evans commented on an article I shared about storytelling in business.

Lesson: When you post your own content or share other people’s content (my post was about a Harvard Business Review article), it’s a great way to attract people who have mutual interests. Also, scanning comments on LinkedIn posts you read is a great way to discover interesting people. Notice the most thought-provoking Comments and check out the authors. I remember a LinkedIn expert, I think it was Andrew Seaman, say that the Comments section in posts by thought leaders is the new LinkedIn Groups…e.g. people are more likely to post a Comment than frequent Groups, so it’s the way to go for connecting with interesting, like-minded people.

2. I reached out and checked her profile. She seemed really interesting (and it turned out she is). I suggested we do a Zoom meeting.

Lesson: #1 Don’t be shy about reaching out to people you find interesting. #2 When you reach out, share what about them made you want to reach out..e.g. give them a sincere compliment. Make it personal, not “all business”. #3 This is where having a great About section, being active on LinkedIn and providing value–e.g. sharing good content–makes a difference. When you reach out to people, you want them to look at your profile and think “This person would be interesting to connect with (or talk with).”

3. We got together via Zoom and had a great time. She asked if I wanted to be on her podcast Change Stories. I said “yes”. We did the podcast and had a great time.

Lesson: This wasn’t the reason why I reached out, but of course I was excited to be on her podcast. While I get it that part of networking needs to be strategic in terms of reaching out to people who can help you in your job hunt or help you advance your career, it’s way easier if you genuinely find the person interesting and would like to have a real conversation with them. As an introvert, I find it WAY easier to talk with a stranger if we have something meaty to talk about vs. chit chat.


4. I reached out a few months later to catch up. We decided to do a webcast together. We did.

Lesson: #1 Stay in touch with your favorites. #2 You never know what new possibility will come out of a conversation. My intent when I messaged Susanne was just to have another fun, interesting conversation, not to suggest some new collaborative endeavor.

5. I connected some peeps with Susanne for her podcast.

Lesson: Always be thinking about how you can be helpful to others–e.g. Always Be Providing Value. One of the best ways of doing that is to connect people with other people you think they would enjoy and/or with whom they could create a mutually beneficial relationship. While I’ve always loved connecting people, I found that Daniel Santos had a perspective on this that was a real “Ah hah” for me.

In an interview we did, he talked about how he very intentionally looks for people he can connect with each other when at networking events, and how he has become “the guy who knows a guy who…”

[Note: I met Daniel through LinkedIn because of a post of his and his tagline at the time speaking to his love of networking. I’ll be sharing an interview I did with him in the near future. It is awesome. Besides sharing his very fascinating career journey, he shares some powerful advice on how to make yourself super valuable to any employer as well as his generous approach to networking that takes all the potential weirdness out of it].

When Daniel shared his philosophy on networking and being a Super Connector of People, it hit me how I could use this premise when networking with someone who has a bigger platform or is more accomplished than me. In these situations, I sometimes feel a bit presumptuous saying near the end of the conversation “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

After digesting Daniel’s observation, I now will say “Are there any genres of people you most want to connect with, so I can scan my network and be on the lookout moving forward?” Everyone has some group, some demographic of person they are interested in meeting and, even if you’re a new grad, it’s possible you know someone who knows someone…

6. I reach out to Susanne a few months later to catch up. Out of yet another stimulating conversation comes the idea for a webinar together.

Lesson: #1 Don’t make your outreach “one and done”. Stay in touch. #2 You never know what new possibilities will come out of any single conversation you have.

6. Susanne connected me with Susan Ní Chríodáin after being on her podcast. We hit it off. She interviewed me for her podcast Life Beyond the Numbers. It was a blast.

Lesson: While I’m sure Susanne would have made this connection without me first connecting her with others, you can’t go wrong by putting out into the world what you would like to get back.

It reminds me of this great line I heard in a Tim Ferris podcast where he interviewed surfing legend Laird Hamilton and his wife Gabrielle Reece, former Olympic volley ball player and superstar in her own right. When he asked them what they would tell their 20 year old selves, Gabby said “Go first”. Be the one who makes the first move in a positive direction. Be a role model.

Since then:

  • Susan, Susanne, and I continue to stay in touch. We’ve had so much fun on our various podcast interviews that we decide to do a webcast on psychological which was turned into another podcast episode
  • Susanne, Susan, and I will be doing more of these in the future.
  • I have two really fun, smart, interesting friends from the UK now as well as two really interesting colleagues.

So, don’t be shy about reaching out to people in LinkedIn. That’s what it’s there for (in part). It’s understood that it’s a way to network so people aren’t shocked or surprised when you do.

To make it easier to do so if you’re concerned about asking for help through your LinkedIn outreach, think about–as I mentioned above–how you can be helpful to the people you reach out to.

And…get ready to meet some incredibly interesting people and surprise yourself with the doors you open even when that wasn’t your goal.