5 Things To Know While Approaching People On LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one of the largest social network platforms which allows professional networking and career enhancement. On LinkedIn, one can upload their professional information, apply for jobs, get connected to other professionals from the area of interest, share updates of professional achievements, and interact with others to develop their career. However, in this course, certain social media etiquettes are often ignored while connecting with professionals through invites. It can come across as spam invite to the person one intends to connect with. Below mentioned pointers would help avoid such mistakes and guide you to build an effective network on LinkedIn.

1. Profile Picture – It is important to have a clear professional image set as your profile picture. The invite receiver would want to know who the person is getting connected to. No image, casual or funky image, images of a company or brand, etc., can give a negative or bad impression. Your profile might look suspicious and unprofessional which may lead to your network invite to be ignored or rejected. 

2. Profile Details – Invite with inadequate professional details of the sender may lead the request receiver to ignore it. Make sure you provide enough details about your career journey, and credentials. Also, do not forget to update it whenever there is any change so that your profile is updated on a real-time basis.

3. Personalized Message – It is recommended to send the connection invite with a personalized message. Include the details such as who you are, your intention to connect, and provide the reference to posts, comments, or suggestions through which you found their profile. This can help the other person get the reason for connection and choose to accept your request, especially if you are from a different field and a stranger to the invite receiver.

4. Spamming Inbox – Once the request is accepted, do not rush to sell your product, ask for help, push marketing content, etc. It is a good idea to thank them for adding you to their connections, asking them about their well being and then formally proceeding with the matter. 

Avoid sending informal messages asking “How are you doing?”, “What do you do?”, “Where do you stay?”, etc., even after going through the profile before sending the request. Try and keep it more professional and not personal. If you are looking to get connected to professionals from your field without any specific agenda, then just thank and wish them. Time is important for everyone, hence avoid unnecessary chat.

5. Networking For Numbers – Avoid sending request if you just want to increase the number of connections or simply want to converse with someone without any professional motto. LinkedIn is not about the numbers, it is about building a meaningful professional network that would help you with professional growth. This will also enable you to have the right set of connections for your news feed. Else, you may end up seeing posts irrelevant to your field of work or interest.

When the person clicks “Ignore” on your request, your request gets wiped out from the receiver’s list of connection invite. And, if you get too many “I don’t know this person” responses, then it may restrict you from sending connection requests to others in future. To avoid such instances, be aware and cautious while sending out requests.

No matter how genuinely you are trying to connect with someone, if you are not approaching them by focusing on these prerequisites, you will lose on making your first impression. A good approach not only increases the possibility of getting a response from people but also speaks about your professionalism and sincerity. So, make sure you network in the right way to get the best out of LinkedIn.