LinkedIn has become an invaluable tool for students and recent graduates to network and make professional connections. With over 740 million members worldwide, LinkedIn provides access to a massive global community of professionals across all industries and career levels. As a student, connecting with professors on LinkedIn can be tremendously beneficial in expanding your network and opportunities. However, appropriately navigating those connections requires understanding the purpose and etiquette of LinkedIn, as well as respecting professional boundaries with professors.
The benefits of connecting with professors on LinkedIn
Here are some of the key benefits of connecting with your professors on LinkedIn:
- Gain a strong recommendation and reference: A LinkedIn recommendation from a professor you’ve built a solid connection with can serve as a powerful endorsement when applying to jobs or higher education programs. LinkedIn recommendations hold significant weight with employers and admissions officers.
- Access their network: Your professors likely have large networks full of professionals in their field of expertise. By connecting, you gain exposure to industry connections you normally wouldn’t be able to reach out to directly.
- Keep in touch post-graduation: LinkedIn provides an easy way to stay connected with professors long after you’ve graduated and moved on from the university. Maintaining those relationships can lead to valuable career advice, mentorship opportunities, and more down the road.
- Show interest in their field: Connecting demonstrates your engagement with the academic field and subject matter the professor specializes in. That interest can lead to research, job/internship, or other opportunities in the future.
- Learn more about their work: Following professors allows you to stay up-to-date on their current projects, research, publications, and professional activities beyond the classroom. This provides context and insights you wouldn’t get just from coursework.
In summary, connecting on LinkedIn allows you to transform professors from just an academic source to a valuable professional resource as well.
Best practices for connecting with professors
While there are many potential benefits, it’s important to follow proper LinkedIn etiquette when connecting with your professors:
- Only connect after completing a course: Avoid sending requests while you are currently in a professor’s class. Wait until the course and grading are fully completed.
- Personalize connection requests: Send individualized requests mentioning the specific course(s) you took with them and key takeaways from their instruction. Generic invites are often ignored.
- Provide context: Briefly share your motivation for connecting, whether it’s staying in touch post-graduation, learning more about their field, networking with their connections, or seeking career advice.
- Use a professional tone: Use proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. Maintain a formal tone as you would with any other professional contact.
- Don’t overconnect: Be selective and strategic in who you connect with. Mass connecting with every professor dilutes the value for both sides.
- Don’t ask for jobs: Avoid using the connection request itself to directly ask for internships, jobs, favors, etc. Keep the initial request focused just on connecting.
- Follow up: If a professor doesn’t accept your initial request after 1-2 weeks, consider sending a polite follow-up expressing your interest in connecting.
Following these best practices helps ensure you make positive, professional connections that provide long-term value.
What to include in your profile and activity
To maximize the benefits of connecting with professors, be sure your LinkedIn presence is optimized:
- Complete profile: Fill out all sections, including education, experience, skills, accomplishments, interests, and recommendations.
- Professional photo: Use a clear, high-quality headshot of yourself dressed professionally.
- Customized URL: Claim a unique LinkedIn URL that includes your name (www.linkedin.com/in/yourname).
- Keywords: Include relevant skills, interests, coursework, projects, and keywords that relate to each professor’s field of study.
- Engagement: Actively like, comment on, and share professors’ updates to demonstrate your interest and participation.
- Groups: Join relevant professional and student groups related to your university and areas of study.
- Career interests: Share your short and long term career goals and interests tailored to each professor.
An optimized, engaging profile establishes your professionalism and makes you stand out from other students vying for professors’ attention and opportunities.
Appropriate vs. inappropriate communications
While building connections on LinkedIn is encouraged, it’s vital to avoid crossing any lines into inappropriate communication territory:
Appropriate communications:
- Accepting and sending invitations to connect
- Professional messages thanking professors and briefly introducing yourself
- Asking thoughtful questions about their work and industry
- Sharing interesting articles related to their field
- Congratulating professors on awards, publications, or other achievements
- Requesting informational interviews about their career path
- Asking for general career advice and insights
Inappropriate communications:
- Making personal remarks about a professor’s appearance, interests, personal life, etc.
- Asking about confidential student records like grades
- Sending frequent, excessive messages
- Requesting an impromptu meeting in-person or online
- Asking for exceptions from classroom policies or assignments
- Using an informal, unprofessional tone
- Directly asking for employment, internships, or other opportunities
As with any professional connection, keep the focus on career-oriented small talk and networking, not personal comments or requests.
Handling rejected connection requests
If a professor declines your connection request, how you handle it matters:
- Don’t take it personally. There are many valid reasons professors may avoid student connections, like preferring to connect post-graduation or keeping strict professional boundaries.
- Don’t resent them or complain. Being bitter or talking negatively about a professor for rejecting you is highly unprofessional and can damage your reputation.
- Respect their decision. Never pressure or confront a professor about rejecting your request. Ultimately it is their prerogative.
- Reflect on your profile and request. Was anything unclear, overly casual, or otherwise off-putting? Learn from the experience.
- Ask for feedback if appropriate. Politely email the professor asking if they have any advice on connecting more effectively on LinkedIn.
- Try again later if warranted. Wait until you’ve graduated, gained work experience, or have a specific purpose for reconnecting.
- Move forward constructively. Focus your energy on other productive connections and don’t dwell on rejections.
Handling rejections maturely and professionally preserves your reputation and keeps future opportunities open.
Maintaining appropriate boundaries
To avoid potential miscommunications or uncomfortable situations, keep these boundaries in mind when connecting with professors:
- Keep communications public or professional. Avoid private messages when possible.
- Restrict conversations to career-related topics, not personal matters.
- Use proper titles (Dr., Professor, etc.) and a formal tone in all communications.
- Do not send connections requests from a personal social media account.
- Respect their time by keeping messages concise and considerate of their schedule.
- Do not show up to their office unannounced or uninvited.
- Focus any in-person meetings on professional, academic matters in appropriate settings.
- Refrain from communicating with professors on LinkedIn late at night or for non-essential reasons.
- Promptly notify the professor if any communications make you uncomfortable.
You ultimately want to come across as a serious, thoughtful professional student – not like a casual friend or acquaintance.
Conclusion
Connecting with professors on LinkedIn as a student is highly strategic and valuable for your long-term career development – but only if done properly. Approach your professors thoughtfully, avoid crossing professional boundaries, and focus on building your brand as an engaged, professional student. With the right etiquette, connecting on LinkedIn can lead to amazing career-boosting relationships and opportunities with your professors.