Random LinkedIn connections - yay or nay?

25 Comments

1. AnonymousJuly 26,2022 at 7:05PM UTC

   I read every profile before I accept and will decline mostly if the person comes across clingy or markety. So to each its own. If you reached an aha moment where you think it is a bit much, go ahead and go through a linkedin detox.

2. Dena B.July 26,2022 at 8:05PM UTC

   I'm not accepting those that I don't know. I used to be a little less discerning and now I have several connections that I have no idea who they are. I axe them as they pop up. I just don't see the point. I'm not going to contact them for anything.

3. AnonymousJuly 26,2022 at 8:20PM UTC

   I dropped LinkedIn about a year ago, never yo return. My network was abandoning it so I wasn't nearly as engaged.

4. AnonymousJuly 26,2022 at 8:28PM UTC

   I accept almost all. I get other messages trying to sell products and services, like courses for certifications I already have.

   LinkedIn used to have a place where you could put private notes to yourself about who the person was and how you met them. So I'd make a note that it was an unsolicited request to connect. And for other people, I'd put notes about when I worked with them, what we worked together on, and notes about what they did well. Unfortunately LinkedIn got rid of those notes. I miss them.

5. AnonymousJuly 26,2022 at 9:02PM UTC

   I think if it's with a firm you want to work for or in a exclusive career.

   Other than that, I'd be somewhat leary

   I think some people are figuring out that Facebook is full of scammers so the scammers are moving elsewhere: FB

6. Georgene HuangJuly 26,2022 at 9:05PM UTC

   I'm quite restrictive to who I've actually met before (or want to meet if I'm the one trying to network and sending the invitation connection). One of the reasons is that my feed gets otherwise cluttered with updates from people I don't actually know. Another reason is that I have also noticed a huge tickup in bots on LinkedIn who may not be real people.

7. Julie HumbirdJuly 26,2022 at 9:44PM UTC

   I only add people I know or who are in my field. I've gotten all sorts of garbage messages offering crypto advise or help cheating on certifications. Mostly its just recruiters trying to fill a position. I once had a man message me on LI to join his church... that was new.

8. AnonymousJuly 26,2022 at 10:06PM UTC

   I have certainly accepted requests from people I do not know and definitely had to unlink myself a few times. Though I haven’t done it lately, I think it’s important to review your connections on any social media to edit out people, especially people you don’t know. I’m suspicious by nature and had my identity stolen during the pandemic, so I worry that people I don’t know or aren’t in my industry are perhaps connecting for data collection.

   I use LinkedIn to stay in touch with colleagues and former colleagues, to get updates from companies in my industry and to find jobs. Good luck!

9. Susan RoblesJuly 26,2022 at 10:09PM UTC

   I try to avoid vendors. It's hard because today's vendor may be tomorrow's great connection. Idk! Tired of the automatic "let me sell you something" emails that come.

10. Becca A.July 26,2022 at 10:22PM UTC

    I soley use Linkedin to apply for jobs so when I get the random connection I do add them. Since I have yet to see fruition in leaning into the connections made on Linkedin to help me a job.

    It has always been through the hard way which is simply sprucing up my resume to meet and exceed the ATS system standards and do my best to advocate for myself during the interview process. Im not saying it as some, " holier-than-thou" stance though. I commend those who have been able to though as it must definitely be easier going the nepotism route.

    I do, however, remove and ignore connections that are bots, ex-colleagues that are toxic, etc.

    I guess, I just dont take Linkedin that seriously in that regard and probably to my own detriment.

11. JJJuly 26,2022 at 11:01PM UTC

    Yay. That’s like going to a party and saying I am only going to chat with people I already know. What’s the point?

12. Sarah BaugherJuly 27,2022 at 12:53AM UTC

    I think it depends on the line of work you are in because there may be some security risks with some positions. I would consider removing those who don't add value to your growth.

13. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJuly 27,2022 at 1:44AM UTC

    I don't have a "sole use" of LinkedIn. I use it to network. I use to to follow business news developments. I use it to interact with fellow recruiters. I use it to stay in touch with previous co-workers and candidates. I have a LinkedIn Recruiter license so I use it to find candidates for my open requisitions.

    Depends on who they are and what they want. I never accept invites from anyone I think is trying to sell me anything. Random folks, it depends - are they people who are showing up consistently as commenters on posts that I comment on? Are we connected to the same people? People I know? People I respect?

14. Gretchen KlinglerJuly 27,2022 at 1:53AM UTC

    I accept people in my sphere of work and influence, colleagues, local community members whose pages appear to be sharing professional content. I invite people based on my respect for them and their work, if their work is in my spheres of interest, and local community leaders. I am polite when people reach out to me offering their product or services, and let them know if I have a need I will consider them, but beyond that do not engage.

15. Crystal HowellJuly 27,2022 at 11:35AM UTC

    True, they are getting numbers. then ghost you when you reach out. I'm in sales, and decided to call, seems to work for now. Weed out your line,

16. Caitlin KemmettJuly 27,2022 at 12:49PM UTC

    I don't mind random connections, but I will almost always immediately accept if people send a message with the connection request. If they just send me a request with no context, I don't accept or don't accept until my once-a-month review.

17. Stephanie IngleJuly 27,2022 at 1:06PM UTC

    If it is totally random and they say nothing about why they want to connect, then it's a nay. Generally I accept anyone in a related field and all students. But when I get obviously marketing ones - their title is something like "helping professionals diversity their portfolios through franchising", then it's a pass...

18. Joshua CorderoJuly 27,2022 at 1:22PM UTC

    As someone in sales I recognize that we as a profession need to do a better job of doing research and reaching out to relevant people and not bother those who aren't.

19. Jackie GhedineJuly 27,2022 at 1:38PM UTC

    It drives me crazy! Look, I'm a coach, and I do have to 'sell' but I never ever drop into someone's DM with a pitch. I spent my entire career in sales and I believe 100% in relationship building

20. AnonymousJuly 27,2022 at 3:32PM UTC

    When I was getting my MBA, there was a seminar and they literally told everyone to connect with as many people as possible so that we could get our numbers up above a certain threshold. I can't remember the number now but I feel like the target was 400 or something insane like that. I'm not sure if there is an algorithm that LinkedIn uses that makes having more connections beneficial, but if there isn't I'm not sure what the point is.

    I used to accept everyone, but now I'm much more careful. I'm at the same point you are, I definitely want to weed out people, but of the different socials that I use, LinkedIn has the least amount of private info on it. If I'm going to unfriend/unfollow people it's a better use of my time to start with Facebook or Instagram.

    For LinkedIn I just leave the connection requests unanswered for people that I don't know/recognize. They used to expire after a certain amount of time. I'm not sure if they do anymore, but until it does, those people usually cannot pester you anymore.

21. AnonymousJuly 28,2022 at 4:49AM UTC

    I try not to accept unless it is peer at another similar company and true networking request. I agree with comments that LinkedIn went downhill and has become just another social media site.

22. Caryl MulderJuly 28,2022 at 12:45PM UTC

    My position was recently eliminated so I am using LinkedIn to connect to people that work at companies I am researching or in roles I am interested in. I send them a note of why I want to connect so it isn’t just a random request. Most people accept and engage.

    If anyone has opportunities within brand management, category planning and/or strategic marketing, I would love to connect.

23. Kristie WhiteJuly 28,2022 at 10:27PM UTC

    I have to do sales and marketing for my company, so in 2020 I worked with a sales coach. She told me about Octopus, a LinkedIn add-on that allows you to set up automated LI mail campaigns that ask for a connection. What she advised me was to get the connection first, then market to your targets through repeated postings and in mails. Now, you can also add to that LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator which allows you to pull a list based on specific criteria. It imports into Octopus, an Voilà! You’ve got a list of several thousand people to try to connect to. Since I learned about Octopus, I have seen the marketing/sales emails skyrocket. I tried for a while, but I believe most people react similar to the posts here - not sure who you are, annoyed, accept without knowing you, etc. I got very little bus dev from it and felt like I was just an irritant. But sales is a volume game, so you have to get the numbers up and in this economy - people are trying everything.

24. QJuly 30,2022 at 12:53PM UTC

    This is a huge pet peeve for me. I even have a paragraph in my LinkedIn intro that specifically states I am not looking for vendors or offers and to please not connect request with the goal of sales. I will not respond favorably.

    Guess what? Nobody reads it. Most of the time I can weed out by looking at the person's page and figure they will try to sell. Recently I made a mistake, however. The person proceeded to hound me daily, insisting I respond. It was awkward level.

    I ended up sending them a screen capture of my request ON my page, highlighted, letting them know I was not interested and they need to be more observant.

    I get a lot of these requests due to my role and that I also own a small business on the side.

    Like many have said, though, I prefer to leverage LinkedIn to keep up with past coworkers and bosses, as well as growing a network of people around me who have similar skills and strengths. I enjoy reading what they share and view it as a way to grow myself and potentially make actual relational professional contacts. You may hear about cool industry events or opportunities through posts! And engaging in conversation on relevant posts is valuable to me.

    The sales and numbers people irk me to no end.

25. AnonymousAugust 2,2022 at 5:03PM UTC

    This happens to me on an almost daily and/or weekly basis. I use LinkedIn a lot for the nature of my work within talent acquisition for the last 15 years. If I get a connection request and there is no purpose or objective to the invite and I don't know them, I decline. I am on LinkedIn to build my company's brand, my own brand and to share related content to my network. When I look to connect with someone I may not know directly, I am intentional with my purpose in my messaging. Feel free to decline people you don't know. I have unfortunately had to block a few LinkedIn users due to their persistent messages.