Whether or not to add your boss on LinkedIn is a common dilemma for many professionals. On the one hand, connecting with your boss can be beneficial for your career development and networking opportunities. On the other hand, it also blurs the boundaries between your professional and personal online presence. There are pros and cons to adding your boss that need careful consideration.
The Pros of Adding Your Boss on LinkedIn
Here are some potential benefits to sending a LinkedIn connection request to your manager:
Gain a Career Advocate
Having your boss in your network gives them visibility into your full professional profile. This extra context can enable them to better advocate for your advancement and fully understand your skills, interests, and career goals.
Open Up Networking Opportunities
Once connected, you gain access to your boss’s extensive network. You can explore their connections for mentorship, job openings, industry groups, and more. Your boss can also provide introductions.
Show You’re a Team Player
Sending a connection request demonstrates you want to further collaborate, communicate, and strengthen your working relationship outside of day-to-day interactions. It signals you value maintaining ties.
Share Company and Industry News
Staying connected on LinkedIn makes it easier to share relevant articles, Group discussions, and content with your boss. This helps keep each other in the loop on trends and news pertaining to your work.
Receive Endorsements and Recommendations
With your boss added, they can endorse you for skills and write you recommendations that are displayed on your profile. This validates and showcases your abilities to the wider network.
The Cons of Adding Your Boss on LinkedIn
However, there are also some potential drawbacks to consider before connecting:
Maintaining Separate Professional vs. Personal Spheres
While sites like Facebook are primarily personal in nature, many prefer to keep LinkedIn strictly professional. Adding bosses can blur the lines between these spheres.
Oversharing Outside of Work
With constant updates and activity, it can be easy to accidentally overshare personal matters, political opinions, or other non-work items with your boss through LinkedIn feed updates.
Revealing Too Much About Job Search
If you are discreetly exploring new job options, your boss will be able to see this LinkedIn activity indicating you have applied for or looked at new roles.
Awkward Rejection
While unlikely, there is a chance your boss may decline your connection request. This can cause unnecessary awkwardness in real-world interactions.
Appearing Too Forward
Some bosses may think unsolicited connection requests come across as presumptuous or sycophantic early in the working relationship, depending on their management style.
Tips for Adding Your Boss on LinkedIn
If you decide the benefits outweigh the risks, here are some best practices for sending a connection request:
Customize the Request Message
Take the time to write a personalized note expressing why you want to connect on LinkedIn specifically, such as gaining career insights or introducing collaboration opportunities.
Wait for the Right Timing
It’s often best to wait at least a few months into working together before making the request to allow rapport to build first. Pay attention to cues on whether they seem open to connecting.
Keep Your Profile Professional
Thoroughly review your profile and settings to remove anything too personal. Make sure the overall tone aligns with your workplace brand.
Limit Non-Work Posts
Be highly selective in what you share and comment on once connected. Avoid politics, religion, and other controversial subjects.
Don’t Take Rejection Personally
If your boss declines the request, don’t make things uncomfortable at work. Everyone has different boundaries and preferences when mixing work and social media.
Initiate Ongoing Conversations
To make the connection worthwhile, regularly engage your boss through commenting, liking, sharing content, and messaging. Don’t let it become just another inactive connection.
Key Considerations by Job Function
The decision can also vary depending on your specific job function and industry. Here is an overview:
| Job Type | Considerations |
|---|---|
| Sales | Connecting can be very advantageous to collaborate on deals and accounts, share prospecting tips, and tap into their network. |
| Engineering | Can open up mentorship opportunities, but be cautious about privacy settings if job searching. |
| Marketing | Bosses can amplify your work through shares and recommendations, but oversharing is a greater risk. |
| Consulting | Valuable for gaining visibility at the partner level, but maintaining clients’ confidentialities is critical. |
| Finance | Opens up access to boss’s industry contacts, but avoid controversial money topics. |
| Healthcare | Boss can recommend conferences and share industry news, but patient privacy absolutely must be protected. |
As shown, each field has its own unique considerations, benefits, and risks to weigh. Do your homework on typical practices within your profession.
Questions to Ask Yourself
Before sending a LinkedIn connection request to your superior, reflect on these key questions:
What are my motivations for connecting?
If it is mainly for selfish or sycophantic reasons like trying to flatter your boss or demonstrate you are a “good employee”, it may not be warranted. Focus on mutual benefits.
What is my boss’s typical communication style?
If they tend to be private, reserved, and strict about workplace boundaries, they may not appreciate unsolicited connection requests. Tailor your approach accordingly.
How could adding my boss enhance my daily work?
If you cannot identify tangible ways connecting would help you collaborate, learn, or achieve results together, it may make sense to wait. Don’t connect just for the sake of it.
Am I comfortable with my boss seeing my full profile?
Make sure your profile content and settings align with how you want to present yourself professionally before making the request.
Could it wait until one of us leaves the company?
If you think connecting carries high risks now, you can always reconnect down the road after someone departs. The circumstance may be better suited for networking then.
Would I accept an invite from a direct report?
Think about your own boundaries and standards if you were the boss. Show the same discretion and respect you would want others to demonstrate.
Conclusion
Ultimately, deciding whether to connect with your boss on LinkedIn comes down to your specific situation, comfort level with blending work and social circles, and the nature of your relationship. If done strategically, thoughtfully, and mutually, it can unlock great opportunities. But if rushed or mishandled, it risks generating tension or awkwardness. Weigh the pros and cons carefully before extending an invite. With wisdom and care, you can make the best decision for fostering an impactful long-term professional relationship.
