Back in 2007 I wrote a column for ERE with a confession: I was one of the people who held out on LinkedIn. Here’s the short version, with a link to the full column below.

The Reluctant Member

I was very reluctant at first. But after getting about 10 of those “Join my network on LinkedIn” emails, I finally joined, and I’m glad I did. It quickly became one of my favorite business tools. For a headhunter, it is a way to find people at every level, searchable by title, industry and location.

Connect With the Hubs

My advice then still works now: join, and then connect with the hubs, the people with large networks. When I wrote the column I had 5,663 direct connections. Those people had 765,000 connections, and their connections had more than 5 million. That’s the power of a network. One good connection opens the door to thousands more.

HONK, HONK

My mentor in the speaking business, Les Brown, once described public speaking to me like this: imagine you see a friend, and he sees you, but he doesn’t see the bus coming up behind him. You have to speak in a way that reaches your friend with your words, or else.

So if you’re still not active on LinkedIn: HONK, HONK! Get out of the road, get on the bus and send me an invitation at linkedin.com/in/joepelayo. I look forward to connecting with you.

For more on how I used LinkedIn early on, see The Network, Volume 207.

This column first ran on ERE in August 2007. You can read the original on ERE here: https://www.ere.net/articles/i-was-sick-of-hearing-about-linkedin-so-i-joined.

I’m Joe Pelayo, an executive recruiter for 40 years and founder of Joseph Michaels International here in Dallas. We recruit for roles with base pay from 75K to 2 million, and one call to me reaches our network of 700 recruiters. Right now we have 1,633 open jobs.

Let’s Talk

Let’s connect, on LinkedIn or by phone. I’d like to hear from you.

Call me at 1-800-786-1099 or email info@josephmichaels.com.

Joseph Michaels International, 13355 Noel Road Suite 1360, Dallas, TX 75240