How to ask correct questions to correct people

Social networks grow in popularity every day. Many companies and individuals have their pages there. SAP Expert is not an exception. You can follow SAP Expert on Facebook and Twitter.

Of course, I have my personal profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn too.

These networks allow you to grow your own network of people and companies you know and like, and follow their news. They also give you an opportunity to communicate directly with the person, ask questions directly.

The outcome of the question may differ though. It largely depends on whom and what you ask.

Technical questions

If you are talking to a technical person like me, technical questions are the most interesting. I try to answer them if I can. These are the challenges I like.

Do you have technical questions I may help you with? Ask them, and let’s see if I can be useful.

But it would make little sense to ask technical question to a person who deals with recruitment, wouldn’t it?

Hire me!

These are the questions that you may ask to a recruiter. Those people who may help you usually have job titles “Recruiter”, “Talent Acquisition”, “Human Resources” and alike. But technical people like me rarely deal with recruitment.

If you send me a message “I am a highly-qualified specialist in {list your modules here}, please help me to find a job”, I am thoroughly happy about you. But it proves that you cannot read, or at least you are too lazy to read my profile and check what I actually do. It is not the quality the SAP Consultant must have.

Refer me!

A question you may ask to either a recruiter or a technical specialist is to refer you to some position. This may be suitable for the recruiter, and this is their job – to place you in a company they deal with.

But would it make much sense to ask a reference of a technical specialist through the social network? To start with, technical people usually do not get a full list of positions on the market. You would be better off asking specialist recruiters here, and also employ Internet sites like Monster, Jobserve, Totaljobs and so on.

But even if a technical specialist had a position in mind you would be suitable for, it is not very likely he would refer you just after a social network contact. Reputation is a very valuable asset of each consultant. You earn it with years. Referring somebody means sharing your reputation with that person.

It would be appropriate to seek a referral from a person you previously worked with. It means that the person knows your business and consultancy skills. He could see the results of your work.

But why would anybody be interested in sharing his reputation with a person whom he only knows via a social network with a generic CV?

Think carefully about the right type of question suitable for the particular person you are sending the question to. Better spend your time in a more productive way and don’t waste the time of your new contact. Everyone will win from that.

What type of questions do you usually ask?