LinkedIn is a great platform to connect with your colleagues, people who work in your industry, future employers and recruiters. You can keep up to date with industry news and information and developments within your company and your industry. If you’re adding people on LinkedIn but are not getting the connection you’re hoping for. Here’s why…
Incomplete LinkedIn Profile
If you got a LinkedIn request from someone with just a name would you accept? One reason why invitations get ignored or declined is that of an incomplete profile. Make sure if you have a full size, professional profile photo. Your work history should have useful details. You could also ask colleagues to leave recommendations and endorsements on your profile.
Personalise your message
When you send out a connection request on LinkedIn it’s always good to send out a personalised message with the invitation. If you are adding someone you don’t know personally write an introduction to who you are, you could mention mutual connections if you have any, and let them know why you are connecting. Some people don’t like the cold approach without an introduction so they’ll just dismiss the connection request.
You’re too impatient
You do not want to be too pushy or too impatient. Let’s say you’re looking for a job and you have just seen a recruiter or a hiring manager advertising your dream job and you are eager to connect with them and let them know you’re interested. So you send an invitation on LinkedIn, follow them on Twitter, write them an email and a connection request on Skype. Stop. Don’t ruin your personal brand by being too impatient. If you have to send an email.
You’re not putting in the effort
If you send someone a connection request and you have never visited their profile it will appear as if you are just adding anyone on LinkedIn to get a lot of connections. Make sure you are putting in effort when you sending out your invitations. Check that you are using proper grammar. No one wants to see a message with terrible spelling and punctuation. And if you are adding someone who you don’t know use formal language. You’re more likely to get rejected if you are sending informal messages like this for example:
“Wassup Tom. I wanna add you to my network. Can you plz accept?“
It’s not you, it’s them
Most people don’t use LinkedIn daily like they do other social media platforms. 53% of active users spend 0-2 hours per week on LinkedIn. So a reason why your invitation wasn’t accepted might because of bad timing. You may have sent out your invitation at the beginning of the week and they may have checked their LinkedIn profile until the end of the week which means your invitation could have been overlooked.
If you are trying to connect with a recruiter they may not accept your invitation if your skills do not match the job they’re recruiting for.
You’ve taken it too far
Asking someone for a coffee or a business meeting when you are trying to connect with them is not the way to go. For example
“Hi Harry, I have a business proposal for you. Would you like to grab lunch? Regards Tim“
Asking people to commit to anything in your LinkedIn request is taking it a little too far. Wait until they accept your request and you have established a relationship with them before you start asking them to a business meeting.
Bottom Line
If you’re not careful about how you approach people on LinkedIn it could end up costing you valuable relationships. ALWAYS personalise your message. Keep it short and sweet. And remember not everyone checks their profile constantly so try not to take it personally if you do not get a response.
