Have You Aged Out of LinkedIn?

Last night, I attended a lovely event at The Jefferson School to celebrate, roast, honor, and say goodbye to my dear friend Alex Gulotta, who is moving to greener pastures (California), to work (until retirement) and be nearer his grown children. I spent part of the evening talking with a fellow advisory council member’s husband who was telling me that he was thinking of scaling back his LinkedIn presence since he was nearing retirement, and was thinking about doing different small jobs going forward.

But wait! I said, rather excitedly. (These parties get me a little jazzed, and the opportunity to talk about what I do with a stranger is even better!) What about all the younger people in your network? You’ve reached a point in your career when YOU are the facilitator of future relationships, YOU are the connector, YOU are the recommend-er and endorser of others. It’s your time to give back. AND, since you’re looking for new, and different opportunities, it’s a great place to make that known and to find those new projects.

I convinced him! Right there, over a cocktail at a nice little party. And guess who’s my new connection on LinkedIn this morning?