4 Types of People You Should Connect With on LinkedIn and How To Do It
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2025 4:36 am
In a recent LinkedIn Official Blog post, the author suggests you should connect "with people you know and trust." This seems like sound advice on the surface, but it shouldn't be followed literally. My suggestion is to take it a step further and connect "with like-minded people."
By connecting with like-minded people, you get outside your comfort zone and create more possibilities for employment. Should you connect with the maximum limit of 30,000? I advise against this, as you never know with whom you're connecting.
To its credit, the official blog suggest you first follow people to develop a relationship before estonia phone number resource you invite them to your network (make the ask). When following your desired connections, you should react to their posts and share them. Better yet, comment on their posts as well as share them. But in order to communicate with LinkedIn members directly (without purchasing Inmails), you'll have to connect with them.
Who to connect with
Confused? To follow someone on LinkedIn simply means you'll see in your timeline what they post. Whereas to connect with someone means you're in their network and can communicate with them directly. Now the question is with whom should you connect.
1. People you worked with
Your colleagues and former bosses are the first tier of your network. Treat them well, as they might be the result of you getting referred to a position—employers accept referrals from people they know and trust. By treating them well, I mean don't ask them for a favor in your initial invite. (More about the initial invite later in the article.)
Consider the way employers prefer to hire. First, they want to fill a position with their employees, who they know; second, they take referrals from their employees, trusting their employees won't steer them wrong; third, they ask for referrals from those outside the company; and fourth, they hire recruiters and staffing agencies.
By connecting with like-minded people, you get outside your comfort zone and create more possibilities for employment. Should you connect with the maximum limit of 30,000? I advise against this, as you never know with whom you're connecting.
To its credit, the official blog suggest you first follow people to develop a relationship before estonia phone number resource you invite them to your network (make the ask). When following your desired connections, you should react to their posts and share them. Better yet, comment on their posts as well as share them. But in order to communicate with LinkedIn members directly (without purchasing Inmails), you'll have to connect with them.
Who to connect with
Confused? To follow someone on LinkedIn simply means you'll see in your timeline what they post. Whereas to connect with someone means you're in their network and can communicate with them directly. Now the question is with whom should you connect.
1. People you worked with
Your colleagues and former bosses are the first tier of your network. Treat them well, as they might be the result of you getting referred to a position—employers accept referrals from people they know and trust. By treating them well, I mean don't ask them for a favor in your initial invite. (More about the initial invite later in the article.)
Consider the way employers prefer to hire. First, they want to fill a position with their employees, who they know; second, they take referrals from their employees, trusting their employees won't steer them wrong; third, they ask for referrals from those outside the company; and fourth, they hire recruiters and staffing agencies.