Growing Your Professional Network: Adding LinkedIn Connections

By Brenda L. Peterson, The Layoff Lady

Your Professional Network

When I think about building my professional network, adding new LinkedIn connections is one of my markers of success. I use LinkedIn as a tool to create, build, track, and maintain my professional relationships. 

Turning People You've Met Into Connections

When I first started using LinkedIn, I connected with people I had met in person. At that time, my network mainly included the following people: 
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• Family and friends
• Current and former coworkers
• Current and former business associates (vendor contacts, customers, contractors)
• Colleagues from professional development groups
• People I met in person or via phone/webinar in a business setting
• People I met through introductions from my current professional connections

Creating New Professional Connections

When the pandemic hit, I realized I needed to shift my approach, or I would not meet anyone new--and I've continued to add to my professional network. I also realized that since more companies were open to hiring remote people, I needed to broaden my network beyond the people I would encounter in person. In addition to the people I used to connect with, I now also started proactively sending connection requests to the following types of people:
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• Other members of my LinkedIn groups
• People in my geographical area
• People in the fields of talent development, change management, instructional design, and organizational design
• People who work for companies that interest me
• Recruiters
• People with common interests or experiences
• People with mutual connections
• People who presented at sessions I attended
• People who attended online sessions that I also attended

Again, the more people I meet, and the more people I connect with who know about my professional value, the better I will be able to find a new role that meets my requirements more quickly.

Opportune Times To Connect

I often connect with people when there are specific reasons to connect that are noteworthy, including the following:
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• People recently laid off:  I empathize with their job loss, mention job search-related resources, and invite them to connect.
• People recently hired: I congratulate them on their new role, mention our commonality, and invite them to connect.
• People who just completed a degree, certification, or other educational program: I congratulate them on their accomplishments, mention any commonality we have, and invite them to connect. 

Personalizing Connection Requests

Since LinkedIn now limits the basic account to only 5 personalized connection requests per month, I adopt multiple strategies to build rapport with people. In some cases, I still send a personalized connection request. This can be especially helpful when I send a connection request to someone I have not met before. 

I include the following components when personalizing a connection request:
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• Greeting: Hi, [person’s first name spelled correctly].
• Personal Note: Include details on how you met, compliment them on a previous post, share a helpful tip, comment on their situation, or point out something we have in common.
• Invitation to Connect: I’d like to add you to my professional network. and/or Let’s connect!
• Signature: [Your Name] 

Interacting Before Connecting

Personalizing a connection request isn't the only way to help you gain that new connection. Here are a few tips you can use without a paid LinkedIn subscription: 
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• Make sure your profile headline is descriptive. When people see your connection request, and look at your headline, seeing "Looking for my next opportunity" tells them far less about you. Instead, starting with your area of focus, industry, desired job title, or other specifics will give them more reason to connect with you.
• Interact with one of their recent posts. This helps boost how many people see their post and they will see your name, profile picture, and start of your headline. This name recognition make them more likley to accept your connection request. 

Learn More

• The Layoff Lady: Using 1:1 Networking Meetings for Job Searching
• The Layoff Lady: Growing Your Professional Network: Attending Webinars
• The Layoff Lady's Ultimate Guide To Answering The Question, "I Just Got Laid Off--Now What Do I Do?"​
• The Layoff Lady Book: Seven Lessons From Seven Layoffs: A Guide​