By default, I don't have a problem with anybody trying to find a job...especially in this economy. Networking can be a powerful tool, and I can respect that.
But let's not lose sight of what a LinkedIn connection also entails: it means that all of your other connections are now visible to each other, and to some people that may imply a degree of exclusivity. To some, LinkedIn is not a contact-free-for-all like Facebook, where one can be "friended" casually.
A LinkedIn connection isn't like walking into a business and cold-calling on an owner or manager. It's the equivalent of walking in and demanding to see their address book of contacts.
Others in this thread have indicated that the best response would have been to ignore the request. I agree. But some people don't work like that, which is why I referenced a truncated response perhaps would have been ok.
Yes, the response was rude and insensitive....and so is the entire world outside of the comfy confines of white-collar America. The requestor made certain assumptions she should not have, and her follow-up approach to the situation seems to imply a sense of entitlement.
Whether you are aware of what a LinkedIn connection supposedly entails or not doesn't change the fact that her email (described as "venomous" in another article, and I don't disagree) was extremely unprofessional and just frankly out of place.
But why should we assume that everyone is aware of how supposedly "exclusive" a LinkedIn connection is? I for one was not. (I stopped using LinkedIn shortly after their security mishaps a few years back.) If the requester only had a few contacts it's reasonable to assume she was new to the site and did not realize this either. That's no reason to have such an acerbic response shot back at her.
> Yes, the response was rude and insensitive....and so is the entire world
I for one don't tolerate rudeness or insensitivity in either my personal or business life (on either my part or that of others). I guess that's just me.
I for one don't tolerate rudeness or insensitivity in either my personal or business life (on either my part or that of others). I guess that's just me.
Despite our sparring in this thread, I don't think we're miles apart on this issue. As I've gotten older (I'm in my early 40s), I've become less and less tolerant of rudeness, drama, and insensitivity.
But what spurred me to post was not the original rude reply, but the witch hunt that has arisen around it. This macks of a temper tantrum by a hypersensitive person who has whipped the online mob (who simply want to see a good fight) into a frenzy.
If I would have received that kind of response, I likely would have responded with a few choice words of my own. Then again, I wouldn't have made the request in the first place without at least engaging the person in some other, more social manner.
I see the response as just as offensive as the original rejection. What could have been an interesting anecdote and useful starting point for a discussion on civility was quickly turned into a vendetta when anonymity was thrown out the window.
The better solution is that you can change the settings about who can send you connection requests since this "senior professional" feels that they're such an affront when received from strangers
But let's not lose sight of what a LinkedIn connection also entails: it means that all of your other connections are now visible to each other, and to some people that may imply a degree of exclusivity. To some, LinkedIn is not a contact-free-for-all like Facebook, where one can be "friended" casually.
A LinkedIn connection isn't like walking into a business and cold-calling on an owner or manager. It's the equivalent of walking in and demanding to see their address book of contacts.
Others in this thread have indicated that the best response would have been to ignore the request. I agree. But some people don't work like that, which is why I referenced a truncated response perhaps would have been ok.
Yes, the response was rude and insensitive....and so is the entire world outside of the comfy confines of white-collar America. The requestor made certain assumptions she should not have, and her follow-up approach to the situation seems to imply a sense of entitlement.