Professional?

For years now I have been the founder of the group JNJ(re)connected. A group for people who have worked at Johnson & Johnson, and want to stay connected with their (former) colleagues. At the time, it was not clear to me whether there were other alumni groups for JNJ, so I founded my own.
At the time, linkedin groups were a new phenomenon, and as an HR professional I wanted to see whether a linkedin group would thrive and add something to the lives of (former) JNJ colleagues.

One of the things that amazes me is the lack of reading skills among Linkedin 'professionals'. The grouprules state that in order to be eligible for membership, one has to  be or have been an employee of JNJ. Not a subcontractor or a supplier - you have to have been on the payroll of JNJ.

About 40% of the requests to join our group come from people who do not read or understand these rules, or the purpose of the group. I get requests of companies, people with no JNJ experiences, requests in Russian or Portuguese (the group rules state all posts must be in English).

I do wonder what the people outside our target group think when they request a group membership. A job at JNJ? Go to the JNJ website. A potential customer? Do a search for "JNJ" and find the candidates you are looking for. The people who want to join us without any JNJ history are in my opinion not professional.
My colleague Paula Rutledge and myself spend hours to weed out the fake requests from the real ones, so that we can provide a 'safe' environment for JNJ alumni where we can discuss, share and learn.

My advice to jobseekers or clientseekers would be not to apply to our alumni group, but to put in a bit more elbow grease and to research on linkedin and the company website for the information you are looking for. That way you will have a faster and more accurate response, and it is more respectful for other people's time.Your image becomes that of a professional.