Don't Get Sent to LinkedIn Jail--and How to Get Out
A while back, LinkedIn restricted my account. In this post, I'll discuss several things:
1) What happens when your account is restricted?
2) How did this happen and why?
3) What do you do if LinkedIn decides to restrict your account?
--What happens when your account is Restricted?
LinkedIn is disciplining you. They Don't want people annoying others by sending invitations to everybody on the planet. When the account is restricted, you can't send someone an invitation unless you have their email address. Obviously, this is a huge impediment to reaching out to connect with others.
How did this happen?
While growing my network, I was in the Add Connections area of LinkedIn and accidentally clicked the button for AOL. While I Don't use it much any more, I've had an AOL account for many years, and have a huge address book. It sent invitations to everyone in my address book. I looked over the list of people who had gotten invitations, and I was horrified. LOTS of people got invitations from me: people I hadn't talked to in YEARS, people I Don't remember, people who were automatically added to my address book because we once corresponded, and even a couple people that.....let's just say, I would not choose to be in touch with. I even got a snarky note from my sister asking me why in the world I had sent a LinkedIn invitation to my 92-year-old mother. Some of those who received these invites flagged me as a spammer. My account got restricted.
While LinkedIn SAYS they only want you to connect with people you know, what LinkedIn DOES is provide many incentives to grow our networks with total strangers. One man in my network has over 26,000 connections on several continents--I'm quite sure he doesn't know all those people.
Just one example of how LinkedIn rewards those with large networks is the advanced Search. If, for example, I do a search for an accountant, LinkedIn will (generally speaking) present people to me in this order: First degree connections first, then the second degree connections, and so on. When I do this search within ten miles of my house, no one who is not a first or second degree contact shows up in the first 100. So, the more first degree connections you have, the more likely it is that you will show up prominently in a search.
(By the way, I invite you to attend our FREE WEBINARS on LinkedIn and other topics) where I explain ways to tap into the power of LinkedIn).
If your account has been restricted, what do you do now??
Go to the LinkedIn Help Center, and search for restricted accounts. There are instructions for how to lift a restriction.
But you only get to do this once. After that, you MAY bepermanently restricted. So be careful when sending out invitations. The full text from the LinkedIn Help section appears below.
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BTW, if your job search is going nowhere or you're not sure what's next for you, call us today, Our CAREER ACTION PLAN MEETING gets to the root of the problem. 847-673-0339
END OF MY POST;
BEGINNING OF TEXT FROM LINKEDIN's HELP SECTION
The LinkedIn User Agreement states that we have the right to restrict, suspend or close your account if warranted. Customer Service can often lift a restriction after you acknowledge you've read some educational information on proper site use.
The most common reason for a restriction is sending too many invitations to people you Don't know.
A restriction is automatically triggered if too many invitations are:
If your account has been restricted and you Don't understand why, contact us for an explanation.
1) What happens when your account is restricted?
2) How did this happen and why?
3) What do you do if LinkedIn decides to restrict your account?
--What happens when your account is Restricted?
LinkedIn is disciplining you. They Don't want people annoying others by sending invitations to everybody on the planet. When the account is restricted, you can't send someone an invitation unless you have their email address. Obviously, this is a huge impediment to reaching out to connect with others.
How did this happen?
While growing my network, I was in the Add Connections area of LinkedIn and accidentally clicked the button for AOL. While I Don't use it much any more, I've had an AOL account for many years, and have a huge address book. It sent invitations to everyone in my address book. I looked over the list of people who had gotten invitations, and I was horrified. LOTS of people got invitations from me: people I hadn't talked to in YEARS, people I Don't remember, people who were automatically added to my address book because we once corresponded, and even a couple people that.....let's just say, I would not choose to be in touch with. I even got a snarky note from my sister asking me why in the world I had sent a LinkedIn invitation to my 92-year-old mother. Some of those who received these invites flagged me as a spammer. My account got restricted.
While LinkedIn SAYS they only want you to connect with people you know, what LinkedIn DOES is provide many incentives to grow our networks with total strangers. One man in my network has over 26,000 connections on several continents--I'm quite sure he doesn't know all those people.
Just one example of how LinkedIn rewards those with large networks is the advanced Search. If, for example, I do a search for an accountant, LinkedIn will (generally speaking) present people to me in this order: First degree connections first, then the second degree connections, and so on. When I do this search within ten miles of my house, no one who is not a first or second degree contact shows up in the first 100. So, the more first degree connections you have, the more likely it is that you will show up prominently in a search.
(By the way, I invite you to attend our FREE WEBINARS on LinkedIn and other topics) where I explain ways to tap into the power of LinkedIn).
If your account has been restricted, what do you do now??
Go to the LinkedIn Help Center, and search for restricted accounts. There are instructions for how to lift a restriction.
But you only get to do this once. After that, you MAY bepermanently restricted. So be careful when sending out invitations. The full text from the LinkedIn Help section appears below.
###
BTW, if your job search is going nowhere or you're not sure what's next for you, call us today, Our CAREER ACTION PLAN MEETING gets to the root of the problem. 847-673-0339
END OF MY POST;
BEGINNING OF TEXT FROM LINKEDIN's HELP SECTION
The LinkedIn User Agreement states that we have the right to restrict, suspend or close your account if warranted. Customer Service can often lift a restriction after you acknowledge you've read some educational information on proper site use.
The most common reason for a restriction is sending too many invitations to people you Don't know.
A restriction is automatically triggered if too many invitations are:
- Declined with the I Don't know response.
- Flagged as Spam.
- Invite only people that you personally know (MY NOTE: this does not apply when you are inviting LIONs (LinkedIn Open Networkers), who will gladly accept invitations from anyone.
- Invite only those you'd recommend to others.
- Personalize your invitation message. Explain how you know them or why you want to connect.
- Add a current head-shot photo to your profile so people recognize you.
- Use an InMail or Introduction if you Don't know someone's email address.
- Use the Ignore button for invitations from someone you know but choose not to connect with.
- Only use the I Don't Know option when you truly Don't know the member.
If your account has been restricted and you Don't understand why, contact us for an explanation.
Jun 11, 2014 by
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