Attention Generation Next Linkedin Is Not Facebook (And Other Tips)

Attention Generation Next: LinkedIn is Not Facebook (and other tips) Increasing your network is a common New Year’s resolution, so it’s not shocking that I’ve seen extra requests to attach on LinkedIn and Facebook recently. But I’ve also observed that while the amount of the connections is choosing up, the quality is taking a downward turn. It may be due partially to the rising variety of Millennials coming into the workforce. According to the Department of Labor, the technology born between 1976 and 2001 now numbers greater than eighty million. In 2014, 36 p.c of the U.S. workforce was made up of Millennials. By 2020, Millennials are projected to comprise almost half of the U.S. office. This generation embraced social media at a young age, and that accounts for some of their on-line quirks. Beware, for instance, of a 30-something who provides you an AOL email tackle. He won't ever respond to any email sent to that handle. He by no means checks it; actually, he most likely by no means checks e mail (you could have one thing to say? Text it.) Why hang on to it at all? Here’s the reply I obtained: “My generation got some of the first email addresses, so we could really get our name @ AOL. I’m not going to surrender my ‘Jack Jones’ email; I’d by no means get it back. I’d should be ‘JackJones20722’ or something like that.” Have you seen a growing variety of young Facebook contacts with names like “Julie Katie” or “davester”? Why the heck not use your full name on Facebook, so I can acknowledge who you are? Again, the answer is linked to their age. Many Millenials started their Facebook pages as youngsters, and their diligent parents wanted to make sure their id was protected. So they shortened their name to a cute, safer version, and they’ve in all probability been utilizing the identical web page ever since. Not too much of a problem, since Facebook is seldom used as a professional networking software. As an added benefit, personal pages that don’t reflect your full professional name probably received’t show up in a search, so younger candidates use nicknames as a method to maintain their profession and personal lives separate. LinkedIn should be held to a higher commonplace, since is it supposed as a severe, professional, career device. But the Millennials could not have gotten the memo. As a matter of reality, they may not know what a memo is. (Helpful historical reference link right here.) If you’re confused as to why your requests to attach aren't being accepted, here are some tips for youthful contacts who need to be taken seriously on LinkedIn. Just as you’d put on different garments to a pool get together and a state dinner (I hope), it’s helpful to know that completely different on-line sites have differ ent protocols. On the web, no one may know you’re a canine (helpful historical link right here) but they may suspect you’re not ready for prime time. Published by candacemoody Candace’s background contains Human Resources, recruiting, training and evaluation. She spent several years with a nationwide staffing firm, serving employers on each coasts. Her writing on enterprise, career and employment issues has appeared in the Florida Times Union, the Jacksonville Business Journal, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and 904 Magazine, as well as a number of national publications and websites. Candace is often quoted in the media on local labor market and employment issues.