Knowing Who To Trust on LinkedIn

I have a friend that recently accepted a LinkedIn connection request from someone he was not familiar with and shortly after received a message from this stranger. It’s good people approach me about these messages because it affords the opportunity to look at so many different kinds of business verbiage and way too many attempts by Internet “entrepreneurs” looking to expand their craft. Let me provide you with this example. (I modified names where necessary).

“My name is Harrison Ford. I saw your profile and saw that we had some common connections. I reached out to you because we are growing our team and looking for more entrepreneurial individuals to work with us on a part-time basis. I am growing my own Internet-based marketing business in Chicago and nationwide. I attached my business mentor’s website for you to see.

Valtrimp.com”

I could go on for days with this one, but here are a few quick tips regarding these types of messages.

1. Personal unsolicited offers for employment should ALWAYS be met with skepticism. If they’re such a great company, why are they reaching out to you personally and not on their site? If you don’t recognize the company’s name or they are unwilling to provide it up front, move on.
2. If they’re emailing you out of the blue, the other party should validate themselves as an expert. Let’s say you don’t know about their company, and they’re actually running a respectable start-up; if the person emailing you has no valid credentials (like management in a Fortune 500 company or incredibly unique technical ability), they’re probably not someone you want to get behind.
3. Groaner words like “growing” “entrepreneurial” “part-time” “internet-based” “marketing” are generally red flags. I could spend a paragraph on why each one is not a good sign (and probably will in the future). The use of these words implies that the company is very soft, doesn’t have a strong product, and really isn’t seeking you out for your skills. It just needs cogs in their machine.
4. Do some detective work. valtrimp.com is run by Val Trimp (valtrimp@bww.com). Bww.com is a nice-looking site run by a subsidiary of Amway. I hope you know who they are, but, if you don’t, they have been constantly criticized for being a pyramid scheme. For those not sure what this is, it’s essentially a business model that makes money by encouraging more “independent business owners” to join the team as opposed to actually selling goods. I’m not going to criticize people who work there, but the reputation of the company precedes itself and should be avoided.
5. Finally, the message includes no details about the company, why they want you, and what you would do there. This is the business-world equivalent of a person offering you candy from the back of a windowless van. Avoid it like the plague.

Never accept a connection request from someone you don’t know. Unless they are a friend of a GOOD friend or a CEO of a fortune 500 company, just ignore those pesky requests, and always do your own research on any company before engaging in discussions like these.