Buzz on Twitter is that Recruiters are spamming on LinkedIn - Are they?

Buzz on Twitter is that Recruiters are spamming on LinkedIn - Are they?

II recently posted this to LinkedIn Q&A and it has ignited quite a debate, so I'm curious to see what the response is here at Recruiting Blogs?

I've noticed quite a bit of buzz on Twitter lately accusing recruiters of spamming on LinkedIn, I wanted to get your opinions and bring to your attention what the outside market is thinking of recruiters:

Here is a Tweet:
Recruiter on linkedin: "I know we've never met, but...connect?" Now is it just me, or is that the same as spam?

Clarification
You can go a lot of ways with this topic. In the interest of fine tuning the conversation thread lets NOT TALK about LinkedInvGROUP SPAM right now which is a whole different can of worms lol. Lets try to discuss the appropriateness or not of contacting members you do not know with a generic message like:

" Are you open to considering a job opportunity that would be stronger then your current one? If so lets connect and I'll follow up with you."

IF this is going to be considered Spam as the Twitter people are saying, HOW CAN WE BETTER APPROACH CANDIDATES? What would be a better message to open the conversation?

You can't tell a recruiter not try to source for passive candidates but how can we do it in the least offensive (spam like) communication.

OR are these Tweets just part of the industry noise and an e-mail message like this one made famous by Lou Adler is considered to be appropriate?

I personally don't view that first message as spam but as proactive networking but IMHO it is important to realize that others may view this as spam and adjust our message accordingly.

These tweets both are giving LinkedIn a bad wrap IMO which is not good for any of us so lets put our heads together and suggest some better approaches

Make it a Great Day!
Greig

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Comment by pam claughton on January 17, 2009 at 9:07am: Hi Greig,

I think that message is spam. I would never send a message like that to someone I don't know. I don't think it gives enough information about me or that I know anything about you. I also think another reason this is perceived as spam as I suspect it is a recruiter trying to 'work around' the LinkedIn system, by putting this 'message' in the form of an invite to connect. Kind of sneaky, rather than paying for an inmail where they can give some substance to the message.

Also, think about it, a spammish message like this disguised as an invite to connect, offers nothing to the candidate except an interest in connecting and further expanding that recruiter's network...which is great for the recruiter, but how does it benefit the candidate who maybe prefers to connect with people he/she knows.

I think an inmail or regular email if you have that person's info or even a call, all show more respect for the potential candidate than a one line 'invitation to connect'.

~Pam

Comment by Melanie Lloyd on January 19, 2009 at 4:47pm: So is "cold calling" spam for the telephone? Aren't we doing the same thing just with different technology?
People who have a Linkedin.com profile want to be networked with...or why else have a profile?
~Melanie

Comment by Gino Conti on January 21, 2009 at 1:50pm: Greig,

I hate to say this is a gray area but in a way it is. Those of us who use LinkedIn for recruiting are on there constantly and can start to operate under the assumption that everybody is on there to find a new job or get a bigger network. The reality is that not everybody is on there for those reasons. In fact, many people don't want to add connections and their profiles tell you so. I have several friends and colleagues who have created profiles to get back in touch with friends and co-workers past and nothing more. Keeping all of this in mind, I think a short, impersonal message like that is SPAM no matter who you send it to.

On the other hand, there are plenty of people on LinkedIn looking to make the connection that will find them a better job, better pay, better career path, etc. They are more likely to connect with anyone and everyone, and may even accept a SPAM invite like the one above. Regardless, I agree with Pam that the message needs to provide some real information. If I were trying to connect with a candidate who looked perfect for a job I have, or matches the profile for a recurring need at my company I want to ensure a connection. In order to do this I would take the time to include specific information about why I'm contacting them, why I want to connect, and how they can benefit. If they elect not to, no hard feelings - at least you know it was for the right reasons.

Gino