LinkedIn has become one of the most popular professional networking platforms, with over 800 million users worldwide. With its vast reach, LinkedIn offers valuable opportunities to connect with professionals in your industry, even those you haven’t met before. However, some people question if sending an unsolicited connection request to someone you don’t know is rude or inappropriate.
The Potential Benefits of Connecting
There are a few potential benefits to connecting with new professional contacts on LinkedIn:
- Expanding your network – Connecting with more professionals can significantly expand your overall network, increasing your visibility and access to new career opportunities.
- Building relationships – While you don’t know the person, connecting on LinkedIn can be the start of developing a valuable professional relationship through ongoing interactions.
- Gaining insights – Viewing someone’s profile and activity on LinkedIn can provide useful insights and learning opportunities regarding their expertise, company, industry, etc.
- Increasing discoverability – Being connected makes you more discoverable in search results and “People Also Viewed” sections.
Given the power of connection, there are clear advantages to sending requests to new contacts rather than waiting for an introduction.
Potential Drawbacks of Connecting
However, some argue that there are also drawbacks to connecting with someone you don’t know:
- Can seem invasive – Some people see unsolicited connection requests as invasive or an unwanted cold call.
- Spam risk – There is the potential for getting more spam messages if you connect with someone less reputable.
- Appearance of desperation – Requesting to connect with too many unknown people may appear desperate or lacking in real relationships.
- Limited context – Without any context or introduction, the recipient has little ability to vet or filter requests.
These factors suggest that restraint may be prudent when connecting with new contacts online.
Best Practices for Connection Requests
If you do choose to connect with someone you don’t know, here are some tips to avoid seeming rude and increase your chances of a successful connection:
- Personalize the request – Take the time to write a customized message explaining who you are, why you’d like to connect, and how you could mutually support each other.
- Reference common ground – Mention any shared connections, groups, education, experience, or interests that create common ground between you.
- Make it about them – Express what value you can offer them specifically versus only what you want to get from them.
- Follow up after connecting – Don’t just connect and move on, engage with them and continue to build the relationship.
- Limit frequency – Be selective and strategic in who you request rather than trying to connect with everyone.
- Accept rejection gracefully – Not everyone will want to connect, and that’s ok. Don’t take it personally and move on.
Taking these steps shows respect for the recipient’s time and boundaries while also giving the request its best chance of being accepted.
When Is It Appropriate to Connect?
Context matters when determining if it’s appropriate to request a connection with someone you don’t know. Here are some examples where requests may be suitable:
- After meeting at an event – It’s very common to send connection requests to new people you meet at conferences, networking events, seminars, and trade shows.
- After interacting in a group – If you’ve actively participated together in a LinkedIn group, commented on the same posts, or been part of the same discussion, it can warrant a connection request.
- After mentions or referrals – If a mutual connection mentions someone’s expertise or recommends connecting with them, it provides a natural context for a request.
- After business interactions – Interacting with someone professionally such as the purchase of services for your company gives a clear basis for connecting.
- Following up on applications – Requesting to connect after applying for a job opening where they work is generally acceptable.
In these situations where you have established some type of previous communication or context, most LinkedIn users will likely be receptive to connection requests.
When Is It Best to Hold Off?
Alternatively, here are some examples where it may be best to refrain from requesting a connection:
- Strangers who share no context – Randomly requesting people outside your network and industry is usually not well received.
- Celebrities or public figures – Unless you have a direct relationship, it can seem insincere or gratuitous to request well-known individuals.
- Potentially inappropriate motives – Be thoughtful of how requests to those in significantly different career levels/stages may be perceived.
- Repetitive requests – If someone ignores your initial request, it’s best not to keep sending more invites.
- Planning to immediately pitch services – Don’t request just to turn around and proposition someone without any relationship
These types of circumstances frequently cause recipients to view requests as inconsiderate and self-serving, leading to rejections.
Tips If You’re Unsure or It’s a Gray Area
In some cases where it’s unclear if a request would be welcome, you can take additional steps:
- Ask for an email introduction from any shared connections
- Politely send an introductory email first to establish context
- Only connect with higher level executives and leaders if truly relevant
- Monitor their activity for natural ways to engage
- Consider if you’d accept a similar request if roles were reversed
While LinkedIn provides great networking potential, use your best judgment in requesting new connections. With the right approach, you can expand your reach while still building authentic relationships.
Conclusion
In summary, sending unsolicited connection requests on LinkedIn can be appropriate and beneficial in many cases, but also risky or detrimental if done poorly. The key is considering context, exercising restraint and discretion, personalizing requests, and maintaining follow-through after connecting. Rather than taking a black-and-white view, approach connecting with unfamiliar contacts as an opportunity to build relationships – but only when there is a genuine, mutual interest to do so.