How do you handle Friend Requests from people you don’t know on Facebook or LinkedIn, barely know, or are people you don’t like (perhaps from high school)? I seem to get more LinkedIn requests from people I don’t know on LinkedIn, but what are your thoughts?
[poll id = 494]
[poll id = 495]
Wheat & Tares 
So I’m just confused about how it is possible to get LinkedIn requests when I don’t have a LinkedIn account. I regularly get reminders by email that I haven’t responded to various LinkedIn requests yet.
My husband puzzles over LinkedIn endorsements. He does have an account, but wonders how some of those he is linked with feel able to “endorse” him, given they have professional interaction with him. On what are they basing their judgement?
*NO professional interaction..
Hedgehog, I don’t have a LinkedIn account (find it vastly overrated) but have been told from a couple professors you can have it set up to sync with your contacts. Every time you add a new address LinkedIn has their email address and you “request” them.
Facebook can do the same thing, as can Twitter. Seems pretty standard for social media accounts.
What is the difference between ignoring requests from people you don’t know and denying them? On LinkedIn isn’t the deny button actually an ignore button? Or is that facebook?
I actually use LinkedIn to maintain professional contacts that one day I could help them or they could help me. I don’t allow anyone on my list who I wouldn’t be willing to help. My pet peeve out of the whole thing is that people who have never seen me work in person endorse me; so even though as an accountant I most recently did financial and asset management analysis, my endorsements list QuickBooks and Accounts Payable as my strengths. I joked about this at length that someone actually went and endorsed me for candy, dinosaurs, and medical marijuana. I kept the endorsements, made me laugh.
I’ve received some really weird LinkedIn requests from people in Thailand that I absolutely have no connection to. I haven’t confirmed or denied them yet–still not sure what to do. I guess that counts as an ignore.
On my MH account, I accept everyone regardless. I did get a muslim who asked to be my friend, then I realized he was a troll, so I unfriended him.
On my personal account, sometimes I’ll get requests from people I don’t know, so I’ll let them sit for a while, trying to figure out who they are. Sometimes it is a person from high school that got married and I don’t know her married name. Sometimes I get requests from people I didn’t like in high school. Sometimes I friend, sometimes I don’t. If I really don’t know who they are, I usually either let it sit, or I deny.
I know that LDS Employment really pumps LinkedIn, but I just don’t get it. I think it’s overrated too, but maybe I just don’t know how to use it. I don’t login very often.
It ticks me off but LinkedIn sends out automated link requests without the persons knowledge.
Ignore them.
I don’t ever accept requests on FB from people I don’t know and like. On LinkedIn, it depends on who they are, what they do, what industry they are in, and who else I knwo that they are connected to. In other words, I am much more likely to accept a connection request on LinkedIn from a “friend of a friend” if there’s a good reason. But that’s because I use LinkedIn professionally and Facebook purely socially.
LinkedIn is great for recruiters. I’ve had lots of contacts from people looking to fill specific jobs. I’ve also gotten a lot of requests I ignore.
I generally deny both, particularly the church stuff. Although this tends to put me outside the loop, at least I don’t have to read through self-pitying blurb all day from every young stay at home mum in the ward on facebook.
However, more seriously i have had seriously tech savvy clients whose behaviour has been pretty stalk-y and so consider it better that friends, family and those who might innocently know me not get embroiled in any possible scenarios, among which could be trashing my professional reputation. This can swing both ways remember.
Newly Housewife, that seems a good explanation, thank you.
While it is somewhat of a hijack of the topic, I hasten to opine that LinkedIn, for all it peevish techniques (unsolicited endorsement requests, unsolicited connect requests) is highly useful if you need to find someone with specific skills or employment background. Also, to find people that work at a company you are interested in–so you can attempt to find a contact person that can refer you to them, and they can refer you to the hiring manager, or just identify the hiring manager, etc. Very useful indeed for a more productive job search/application. No other “social media” site has nearly the depth and breadth, and ease of use for such purposes.