The arrival of social networks has revolutionized our approach to many aspects, whether in our personal or professional life.

In this very interesting article, published on the TIME, magazine website, the author provides a list of 24 dos and don'ts on LinkedIn.

Here is the summary:

1. Do: Don't wait to send your invitation

You hesitate to send your connection request? LinkedIn is not Facebook, waiting too long decreases the chances that this person will remember you!

2. Avoid: Connect with someone when you are not on their profile

Do not send invitations from the list of people you might know or from the “connect” button to the right of the contact, this way you will not be able to personalize your invitation anymore.

3. Do: Personalize each connection request

In order not to lose your chance to add someone to your login list, send them a unique, personalized, and appropriate message.

4. Avoid: Send more than 2 connection attempts

Have you sent one, or at most 2 connection requests and they still have not been accepted? Be patient, the more you insist, the more your chances will fly!

5. Do: Use LinkedIn for informational interviews

Obviously, being connected with influential contacts can help you get meetings for business purposes. Send an invitation message, and who knows, it might turn into a face-to-face meeting.

6. Avoid: Neglecting to look at contact policies

Before sending a message to someone, check their profile to see if there are specific contact policies to follow. Many are open, some prefer to be contacted by email and others not at all!

7. Do: Connect with recruiters

Are you looking for a new job? Connect with recruiters who work in your industry.

8. Don't: Ignore recruiters when you're on the job

You're not looking for a job, good. You never know what the future holds, take a moment to thank them for the opportunity and keep in touch!

9. Do: Connect with people from your ideal business

The best way to be hired by a company is to be referred by a company employee. Search and invite current employees to join your network.

10. Avoid: Connect with the hiring manager

Whatever the reason, don't send a query to the person you have, or whom you are going to interview.

11. Do: Deactivate Your Profile When You Make Changes

In order not to send a multitude of alerts to your contacts, when you update your profile, deactivate your activities in your privacy settings.

12. Avoid: Feeding too much or too little

It is good to feed your network two to three times a week, but not several times a day. Make sure you don't overwhelm your connections with your notifications.

13. Do: Congratulate your contacts when they update their positions

Has one of your contacts found a new job? Instead of writing a simple "Congratulations", make an effort and write her a message. This way you will strengthen your relationship with that person.

14. Avoid: Congratulating someone who updates long-standing information

Be careful when commenting on a status, the change may not turn out to be a change ...

15. Do: Endorse and recommend the skills of your colleagues

When you can, endorse the skills and accomplishments of your close colleagues. They will be more tempted to do the same for you in the future.

16. Avoid: Be reluctant to ask to be endorsed

Don't be afraid to solicit your connections to endorse your core competencies. Try your luck, by sending them a short invitation message.

17. Do: Be generous with recommendations

You may not always have time to write recommendations. However, it is not forbidden to ask the person to provide you with the tools to get there faster.

18. Avoid: Feeling obligated to recommend “bad” employees

Let's say you received a referral request from a former colleague who was often late or always lost on her records. Instead of ignoring the request, be honest and say that you are not the right person to make this request.

19. To do: Send a concrete recommendation request

It’s easy to send requests, but it’s a bit more to have answers! Include in your messages specific leads of what you want. You will have a much better chance of having a return!

20. Avoid: Forget the “Recall” and “Remove” buttons

Have your request been pending for several weeks? These two buttons can be useful to you, depending on your relationship with that person, and when appropriate, use the option "recall" or "withdraw".

21. Do: Remove or edit recommendations you don't like

If you're unhappy with a recommendation, you'll be glad to hear that you can turn it off so it doesn't show up. You can even return a recommendation to the author to keep it updated.

22. Avoid: Forgetting to thank the people who recommended you

No matter how long it took her to write your recommendation, take a moment to express your gratitude.

23. Do: Respond to a recommendation request from someone you know little about

Again, don't ignore the request! To prevent your professionalism from being at stake, politely tell her that you don't know her well enough to refer her application.

24. Avoid: Asking several people for recommendations at the same time

When reading your profile, many will see the date your recommendations were posted, and it is best if they are not all of the same date. It is advisable to stick to one benchmark per month.

For the full version of the publication, we invite you to read the full article by following this link.