Nate Riggs: Social Business Strategies; communication, social web strategies, & passion in Columbus, Ohio.

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I get asked for my references a lot.  You probably do too.  It’s happens in the interview process and when you’re selling services, and even when you trying to get capital to get your start up off the ground.  It happens all the time.  The traditional delivery method is usually  an email  containing the names, email addresses and phone numbers of the people you know will give you glowing recommendations.

Here’s the thing – this is an ‘old school’ way of doing things.  Historically, it’s worked worked out and people are used to a standard of doing it this way.  But now we have LinkedIn.  Profile-based networks are powerful because over-time, you can build and display an organized history of your personal brand.  And because most profile-based networks are served on a templated system, users learn very quickly how the information is organized and where to find what they need.

The basic pain point with the old school method is this:  In email, your references are simply contact info on a screen.  Whereas, on a profile-based social network like LinkedIn, your references exist as their own personal brands, backed up by the volume and quality of who they are connected with.

Applying LinkedIn References to the Job Interview 
I love LinkedIn and how vast it’s become in recent years.  In 2005, when I used to send out-of-network contacts a email invite, a good portion would reply, asking if I was aware that I was spamming people.  Things have changed.  Today, chances are that the people  you need to back up your  great interview, as well as the interviewer who needs to meet them are on LinkedIn.   The amount of time they spend working the network is a crap shoot, but it’s likely that at very least they’ve stated a profile.

How to Send Your Best References
First, find your interviewer on LinkedIn and connect.  You’ll have the email address you need but you can always look to see if you share any groups.  Then speak with your references.  Make sure they have LinkedIn profiles and if they don’t, coach them on how and why to start one (LinkedWorking by Lewis Howes is a great resource for that).  Then ask them to go into your connections, find the  interviewer and request an introduction through you.  Your references now have the opportunity to write a brief message to the interviewer and you do as well.

4 Ideas on Being a Great Reference

1. Get the background. LinkedIn is also a robust search engine, so use the feature and look up the interviewer.  Remember, LinkedIn profiels can be rich with personal career information so to do the best for your talented candidate, do a little research and arm yourself with as much information as you can.
    
2. Ask about Facebook and Twitter. Most people I’ve come across on LinkedIn also have Facebook profiles.  That makes sense to me.  The interfaces and feature sets are similar resulting in less of a learning curve for the end user. Twitter is a smaller population for the time being, but growing fast.   Search for them on both and if you find them, request to add them as a friend or follow them.  The more places you can connect will increase the amount of information you are delivered on that individual.
    
3. Build a relationship.  Don’t do it just because your candidate needs your help.  Do it because you have the opportunity to meet someone new.  Every connection is valuable and every relationship can lead to opportunity so when you send your request, think of what you can offer the interviewer.  A great place to look for this is in their status updates or questions and answers.  You might find that they need to connect with someone in your network.  When the time is right, you make thge suggestion by sending them that contact by using the forward profile function.
    
4. Locals Can Get Coffee. Yes, this only works if the interviewer is within easy driving distance, but if they are it never hurts to ask.  A good amount of people are looking for an excuse to break away from the office for an hour.  Some may have read Keith Ferrazzi.  And some people will do anything for more coffee so just ask.  If they decline it’s not a big deal.  Just be cordial and play on their terms.  But if the interviewer accepts, now your talented candidate has rewarded your efforts by providing you with an opportunity for a new relationship.

With the economy down and unemployment rates up, job seekers need to find creative ways to stand out from the crowed.  Those of you who innovate and use the new set of communication tools will have an advantage against the sea of applicants out there.

There’s so many other applications of this approach.  Do you have ideas and stories you can comment on?