LinkedIn is a popular social media platform used primarily for professional networking and career development. One of the key features of LinkedIn is the ability to connect with other professionals in your industry or location. When you connect with someone on LinkedIn, you are added to each other’s network of connections.
Viewing your LinkedIn connections can be helpful for a variety of reasons. You may want to see who you are already connected to at a company you are interested in, or you may want to evaluate the overall makeup of your network. Fortunately, LinkedIn makes it easy to see who you are connected to.
Viewing Your LinkedIn Connections
There are a few different ways to view your LinkedIn connections:
- On your LinkedIn homepage, scroll down to the “People Also Viewed” section. This will show you some of the people in your network.
- Go to your profile page and click on the number next to “Connections” below your profile photo. This will take you to your connections page.
- In the LinkedIn mobile app, tap on “My Network” at the bottom of the screen. Your connections will be listed here.
Your connections page shows all of the people you are connected to on LinkedIn in alphabetical order. You can scroll through the list to view all of your connections. This page will also indicate how you are connected to each person (for example, if you are a 1st degree, 2nd degree, or 3rd degree connection).
Searching for Specific Connections
If you have a large LinkedIn network, scrolling through your entire connections list may be time consuming. Luckily, LinkedIn provides a search bar at the top of your connections page to quickly find specific connections.
Here are some tips for searching for connections on LinkedIn:
- Search by name – Enter the full or partial name of the person you want to find.
- Search by company – Enter the name of a company to find your connections who work there.
- Search by location – Enter a city, state, or country to find your connections in specific locations.
- Search by industry – Enter keywords for an industry, job function, or skill to find relevant connections.
The search tool will automatically suggest connections as you type to help you quickly find the right person. You can also filter your search results by 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree connections.
Analyzing Your LinkedIn Connections
In addition to viewing and searching for individual connections, you may want to analyze the overall makeup of your LinkedIn network. This can provide useful insights into how well your connections align with your professional goals and interests.
Here are some ways to analyze your LinkedIn connections:
- Review connection statistics – LinkedIn provides stats on the total number of connections, percentage who work at companies you follow, and percentage who have mutual connections.
- Identify common companies – Look for patterns among the companies your connections work for. This shows industries and employers you may want to target.
- Check for shared schools – Look through your connections’ education history to find overlaps that could create rapport.
- Review locations – Identify where your connections are based. You may want to grow connections in certain geographic areas.
- Look for skills and interests – Scan connections’ profiles for common skills, interests, volunteering, and groups that provide shared ground.
Analyzing these facets of your connections can reveal gaps that you may want to fill by connecting with more people in certain areas. It can also highlight opportunities to further engage your existing connections by following up based on commonalities.
Viewing Your Contacts’ Connections
In addition to viewing your own connections, you can also see who your 1st degree LinkedIn connections are connected to. This can help expand your network by connecting with your contacts’ connections.
To view your contact’s connections, go to their profile and click on the number under the “Connections” section in their profile summary. This will show a list of their connections.
Here are some tips for leveraging your contacts’ connections:
- Look for contacts at target companies – Your existing connections may be connected with employees at companies you want to work for or do business with.
- Identify key contacts – Review connections’ profiles to find executives, hiring managers, or experts you may want to connect with.
- Ask for introductions – If you see a strategic connection, consider asking your contact for an introduction.
- Expand to 2nd degree – Connect directly with 2nd degree connections to expand your own network.
Connecting with your contacts’ connections can significantly broaden your professional network on LinkedIn. Always be thoughtful and strategic when reaching out to new connections. Focus on making meaningful connections, not just expanding your contact list.
Managing Your LinkedIn Connections
As your LinkedIn network grows over time, it can become difficult to manage your long list of connections. LinkedIn provides some options to organize your connections and improve the experience.
Here are some tips for managing LinkedIn connections:
- Organize with tags – Use tags to categorize connections by company, industry, or other attributes.
- Hide contacts – You can hide contacts so they don’t appear as connections on your profile.
- Group connections – Use LinkedIn’s grouping feature to create custom lists like “Clients” or “Recruiters”.
- Remove dormant contacts – Consider removing connections you no longer interact with if your list gets too crowded.
- Turn off notifications – Adjust notifications in Settings so you are only notified about relevant activity.
- Give endorsements – Endorse skills for your top connections to strengthen those relationships.
Actively managing your LinkedIn connections ensures you get the most value out of your network. Focus on cultivating deeper relationships with your top connections while pruning any outdated contacts.
LinkedIn Connection Limits
LinkedIn does limit the number of connections members can have to maintain the quality of interactions on the platform:
LinkedIn Account Type | Maximum Connections |
---|---|
Standard free account | 30,000 connections |
LinkedIn Sales Navigator Account | 30,000 connections |
Premium Business Account | 30,000 connections |
Basic Business Account | 30,000 connections |
Career Account | 500 connections |
As you can see, LinkedIn provides substantial connection limits for standard, sales, and premium accounts. Business accounts also get access to more advanced analytics and management tools.
The lower limit for Career accounts is because they are intended for students just starting out. Overall, LinkedIn aims to strike a balance between enabling professional networking while maintaining a high signal-to-noise ratio. The connection limits encourage meaningful interactions over collecting contacts.
Etiquette for LinkedIn Connection Requests
When expanding your LinkedIn network, be mindful of proper etiquette. Thoughtless connection requests can damage your reputation.
Here are some best practices for sending LinkedIn connection requests:
- Only connect with people you know – Avoid connecting with strangers just to expand your network.
- Personalize requests – Mention how you know the person or why you want to connect.
- Send individualized requests – Mass connection requests come across as spammy.
- Follow up after connecting – Don’t let new connections languish, continue the relationship.
- Avoid unwanted solicitations – Don’t use connections as sales leads without permission.
- Watch your frequency – Space out connection requests instead of bombarding contacts.
Making thoughtful, personalized connection requests demonstrates respect for the other person’s time. This encourages positive responses and acceptance of your invites.
Conclusion
Viewing your LinkedIn connections, analyzing your network, and expanding thoughtfully are key to getting the most out of LinkedIn. Focus on quality over quantity in your connections. Nurture and engage with your contacts, don’t just collect names. Maintaining an active, strategic network provides significant value in advancing your career and business interests.