How to Write Personalized Connection Requests

I get 400+ connection requests every week. 99% make the same mistakes. Only 1% get it right. Here’s how you can be that 1%. Before I preach: I’ve also made all these mistakes. I’m no exception. But, by now I’ve learned from it. I hope this post helps you avoid them. ❌ SENDING REQUESTS WITHOUT A NOTE. 99% of connection requests I get have no note. By adding no note, you’re asking the other person to spend at least 30 seconds looking at your profile title, understanding what you do, & decoding whether that’s relevant. Sure, they can do it for 10 people. But not 100+. You’re wasting an opportunity EVERY time you send a request without a note. ✅ SEND A NOTE, EVEN IF IT'S 2 SENTENCES. Forget writing detailed & specific notes. Just write 2 sentences. “Hi Pooja! I enjoyed reading your recent post on how to send connection requests. Now, I’d love to follow along your journey and hopefully contribute in a meaningful way.” That’s it. BOOM. You just 5x-ed your acceptance rate. ❌ ASKING FOR A "20-MIN CALL" No, most people don’t have time for a “20-min call.” I don’t have time for a “20-min call.” Because you haven’t convinced me what’s in it for me. Instead, here’s an idea: ✅ ASK, "HOW CAN I HELP?" That’s it. So simple. “Hi Pooja! I enjoyed reading your recent post on how to send connection requests. I also see you publish regularly. I’d love to follow along your journey. Also, if I can help in anyway, just let me know.” I will 1000% accept a request with such a note. Most people would. Build a relationship before asking for more. ❌ SENDING AN ESSAY FOR A REQUEST By sending long essay messages, you’ve made 3 mistakes: - You wasted your time - The other person probably didn’t read it - Your request got lost in the abyss ✅ SENDING A SHORT, SPECIFIC REQUEST WITH A COMPELLING WHY Make it easy for the other person to help you. Keep your message short, specific, and give them a REASON to help you. “Hi Pooja! I’ve read most of your posts on LinkedIn. There’s so much value in them. Thank you. I aspire to publish my book next year. Can you point me to any resources/tools that was helpful for you? If you already have it written down somewhere, let me know. P.S. I can help you compile a post on this if you’d like!” Now, you’ve given me 3 reasons to help you: - You’ve done your homework in reading my posts - You have a clear goal in mind - You already offered value in your “P.S.” I get it. All this is extra work. It takes time. But, these few minutes will make or break your chance to find your co-founder, next job, or even a best friend. If this helped you, please re-share the post and help your network! 👉 And, follow me if you'd like more of this. I publish a resource every day. P.S. Wanna send me a connection request? Now you know how to do it 😉 #writing #freeresources #unshackled #advice #linkedin

👋🏼 I'm back with #LinkedInTips number 2 - and similar to my first tip (check out my previous post 😉 ) this one is all about breaking the barrier between computer and human connection. The job market is full of amazingly talented individuals. Some applying to as many jobs as they can, some utilizing their networks and reaching out to people on multiple platforms, and most are doing both to get their foot in the door. As a recruiter, we can receive up to 10 connections requests and messages in a given day. During internship recruitment, I can receive sometimes up to 50, depending on if I had just attended a career fair. Here's my tip on making yourself STAND OUT from those 50 requests: ✨ Add a note in your connection request or send a message ✨ Adding a note to your connection request can do multiple things: 1. At the very least, this will make your connection request take up more space than the others. This can very easily make the eyes gravitate towards your connection. 2. It can provide context to the person you are connecting with, especially if you had met them at a previous event, like a career fair! 3. It shows you have intention, and that you took the extra effort to write something. 4. When they accept, your note automatically opens as a message, giving that person the opportunity, right then, to respond and follow up! BONUS TIP: Don't only add a note asking for time to chat, provide the role you applied for, why you're interested, and add in something you may have in common! Identifying a commonality will help you 🤜🏼 break down the barrier, allowing that person to connect with you emotionally. People are more likely to help someone they feel a connection to 💖 Here's a quick example: "Hi! I see you are also an alum from the UO, go ducks! I’m interested in your company, and applied for this open position. I’m passionate about what you’re doing, and believe my skills in these areas would be valuable to your goals. I would love to connect with you further. Best - Claire" Of course you'll want to specify the company and other details, but all of this fits within the 300 character limit with room to add more! It comes down to intentionally connecting, and that will help you stand out. Happy connecting! #NetworkingTips #UniversityRecruiting

💫 Accelerate your Job Search & Leverage your Network using LinkedIn 🌟 Tip of the day: personalize your invites! People on LinkedIn are more likely to accept your connection request if you attach a message, why? ✅ They know why you want to connect with them. ✅ They know that you've expressed interest in their background and the work they do. With a connection request, it's hard for the other party to know why you want to connect. ❓ Are you just doing it for the numbers? ❓ Did you just randomly want to connect with people? Let's run through a hypothetical example. ⬇️ Matt, an alumni from my university (UMD), just announced on LinkedIn that he'll be joining X company this upcoming fall as a software engineer. That company is one of the top of the list of companies I want to apply for when it comes to new grad roles. Here's how I would personalize my message. ⬇️ Hello Matt! I'm Kevin, an undergrad studying CS at UMD. I just saw your post that you'll be joining X company this fall as a software engineer - HUGE congratulations! I'm very interested in the opportunities X company offers and believe that we can support ourselves throughout our tech journeys. Thus, I would love to connect! Thanks, Kevin Let's break down this message ✅ I state who I am and our relationship in that we go to the same university. ✅ I express an interest in Matt's background in that he's going to be joining X company, the opportunities of which I'm very interested in. ✅ I mention WHY I would like to connect with him. ✅ I thank Matt for taking the time to read my message. This is the kind of personalized invitation I hope to see when going through my connection requests each morning. Make sense? ~Kevin