So I was asked too many times by my friends and clients how to connect on LinkedIn without knowing the person. Well, all of us try our best to expand our connections because it is known that networking is the best strategy when you are targeting a company while you are job hunting. You can always contact those connections who you neglected during your busiest professional times, and you can choose to connect with some new people. The more people in your network, the more potential opportunities you might have.
LinkedIn didn’t really support contact with people the members didn’t know. In fact, the warning that said: “Don’t invite people you do not know to join your network.” Was in their term of use until 2018. But then Plus One Pledge launched, and they decided to encourage the users to contact people out of their safe zone.
This is what LinkedIn says about this plus one pledge plan: “At LinkedIn, we believe that two people with equal talent should have equal access to opportunity.
But some people don’t have the right connections or community to help them land the job they want. That’s why we’re inviting our members to take the Plus One Pledge.
If we reach outside of our networks, we can level the playing field and help close the network gap.”
Connecting with people you know is fine but is that enough? Not at all. There is such a huge opportunity pool out of your connection network that it is stupid to ignore.
So we will give you some directions on how to connect on LinkedIn without knowing the person.
This worked for hundreds of people and you might become one of them, but we are not guaranteeing a 100% success rate, maybe 40% to 60%? Which is still so good and worth testing, right?
How to connect on LinkedIn without knowing the person?
Alright, so LinkedIn is a perfect way to contact friends, colleagues, like-minded people, and potential employers (that you don’t know). Now, there is no magic formula in the box; there are just points you need to bear in mind while writing a personal note for a connection request.
- You must prove yourself worthy enough to compel that person to contact you. things like having valuable connections (who they might want to work with), if you have a job vacancy in your company that they might be suitable to occupy, or any other details that might encourage them to accept your invitation.
- Keep it short and to the point. Every request has a limitation of 300 characters, so please keep your message short and to the point. Aim for the correct point.
- Tell them who you are and highlight your everyday things. Tell them how you found them (try to make them feel that you personally chose them) like you’ve met them at a conference, an event, a LinkedIn group, or if you are working in the same industry or having the same job. The latter acts like a great catalyst.
- Spend some time on the invitation. I mean, I personally never respond to the requests that the writer didn’t even bother to write a customized sentence in. you know, like when they just write “I’d like to connect with you on LinkedIn ”, these sentences never really work!
- Please tell them your reasons that made you want to contact them. What is the purpose? Are they in your dream industry? Did you two study at the same school🏫? Do you need an informational interview?
Remember these points to have successful contact with strangers on LinkedIn. Some people may also say: “hey, LinkedIn is a very huge social platform; how are we to choose who to contact, considering the 30,000 first connections limitation?” Well, let’s answer that as well, shall we?
The people who you must contact on LinkedIn?
We live in a virtual world now. Where somehow, everything we do depends on the internet and the connections we have.
We order food online, consult online, find jobs online, and even find new friends online.
Who can tell that their real friends outnumber their online friends? Having a lot of connections can get you some perfect opportunities on a platform like LinkedIn.
But LinkedIn has a limitation of 30,000 first connections in its terms, so it’s better to choose the more beneficial people to contact. Now there are some people who you must connect with on LinkedIn to build a professional network:
Experts who you know. They can be your colleagues, your friends, your neighbor, someone you met at an event, etc., which somehow link your real-life contacts to the virtual ones. These people know you and your work, and they will probably accept your invitation.
The other category is the professional who is not in the people you know circle, but you still like to know them. You might get triggered by their strong💪 profile or their speech at a conference; you may have a lot in common with them or just got inspired by them. Well, they are the perfect connections; what are you waiting for?
The third group is the people who have a vast amount of connections. This might sound nonsense, but these people can act as an intermediary between you and other people you might want to communicate with but don’t know them.
Don’t forget the people who just started a small startup; no one can be sure of what the future brings.
I mean, even Microsoft and Google were small businesses at first, and look what they became some years later.
So if you think someone who started a small business has potential, why not add them to your connections?
What about the recruiters? Of course, you should connect with them. These are people who will get you a decent job.
They just have to be in your industry or your desired one, and you need to mind their reputation.
Ask your connections to see if they know the recruiter in your mind, and you can also view their profile.
Conclusion
So this article told you how to connect on LinkedIn without knowing the person and who are the most beneficial people who we must connect on LinkedIn. As we said at the beginning, the success rate is less than 60%.
But it is still much better to remember the points we told you when you are sending a connection request. So find those people who you want to connect with and send that request.
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