Career Experts Share Their 24 Best LinkedIn Premium Networking Tips, From Finding Contacts To Writing A Captivating First Message
Written by Mara Leighton
Networking is a crucial skill, exponentially expanding our professional knowledge, connections, and opportunities. And thanks to platforms like LinkedIn, it's easier than ever to get in front of the people you admire and the hiring managers filling the jobs you want.
Great! But, how do you do it? Who should you network with? What mistakes should you avoid? And when, if ever, should you follow up?
To find out, I asked four experts — Lauren Cohen, an executive and career coach; J. Kelly Hoey, author of "Build Your Dream Network"; Caitlin Proctor, a career expert at ZipJob; and Ben Lamarche, the General Manager of Lock Search Group who has 25+ years in recruiting, HR, and career coaching. The consistent message was: be direct, conscientious, and patient.
They also recommend using LinkedIn, especially if you're looking for people outside of your immediate network. A good starting point is to set up job searches on LinkedIn so that you receive notifications when new postings are published to apply early. (Just make sure your resume and cover letter are ready, too.)
To optimize your outreach, we suggest looking into LinkedIn Premium. A LinkedIn Premium membership costs $20 or $30 per month (depending on your plan), but the trial is good for one free month.
With it, you can send InMail messages — private messages to any LinkedIn user — including 2nd and 3rd-degree connections who may be inaccessible otherwise. Plus, thanks to a word limit, it's also more casual and concise than an email, so you may find it's more effective — especially as professionals check their phone notifications more often.
Lastly, you can also take LinkedIn Learning courses, which provide certificates of completion to add to your profile and can help you build up new skills while you job hunt.
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Four experts weigh in on how to network using LinkedIn, particularly if you're new:
How do you find the right people to network with?
Follow the companies and people you're interested in working for on LinkedIn. "Beyond revealing who works there, you'll get notifications of updates — news, insights — as well as any new job listings those companies post," J. Kelly Hoey says. From there, you can find the right contacts.
Join alumni groups and professional interests groups, Cohen and LaMarche recommend. Do any of those members have jobs you want now or in the future? To find out, go to a group's page. On the top right-hand corner of the screen, you should see the number of members. Click "see all" and search the members by name — or scroll until you see an intriguing title. Unfortunately, most group search functions aren't sophisticated; you may be limited to search results based on name, rather than title or university.
Consider common ground beyond your alma mater, and use the search field effectively. Beyond searching for alumni or your ideal company or some intersection of the two, Cohen recommends searching for other possible common interests that can be segues — like the company name (ex: "Facebook" + "surfing" or "squash") or skills related to your field, (ex: "commercial real estate" + your alma mater, college club, sorority, or hometown).
For example, "Hi XYZ, I'm a recent accounting grad of Northwestern, and I see you run the accounting department at XYZ. I'm wondering if you may be open to a conversation about your career path and your experience at the company. I also noticed you grew up in XYZ town/played varsity squash at TK, too — I still crave XYZ food from there/try to play often. Thanks for your time, and I can be reached at XYZ email/phone number if that's more convenient."
Help people find you. Say that you're open to new opportunities and getting recruited by enabling the "Open to Work" feature. You'll be prompted to add job titles, locations, and more that match your goal position.
If you're currently employed and searching for new opportunities, LinkedIn takes steps to hide your "Open to Work" setting from recruiters at your company — but they can't guarantee total privacy.
What titles or positions should you look for when searching for someone to connect with?
Start by combining your ideal job title with the company name in the search bar. "Try searching for 'UX engineer at Google' or 'communications manager at Tesla,'" Lamarche says. "You might not always get exact matches, but you can whittle down your options. When you find someone you might want to approach, check to see if you have connections in common — this could be a good intro point/segue for you."
Look for alumni at a few of the companies you're interested in. Their job title isn't necessarily important. "Some CEOs are happy to connect with recent graduates from their alma mater, while some department heads are too busy to check their LinkedIn messages," Proctor says. "As long as you're polite and don't ask for too much, there is little risk to reaching out on LinkedIn."
Look at recent job openings posted by the employer for hints at who receives resumes, screens applicants, or conducts interviews. "Try to uncover who the 'right' person is to connect with [through job postings], even with past job openings," Hoey says. "Those are the titles you should aim to connect with within the organization."
You've found the person you want to reach out to. Now what?
Make sure your LinkedIn is up to date. "When you send a message, the recipient will quickly see your name, picture headlines, and the number of mutual connections," Proctor explains. "You should have a high-quality photo of yourself. Make sure your name is the name you want to use in the professional world."
Do your research. Follow the companies you're interested in on LinkedIn for updates, and set up Google Alerts for companies, industries, and individuals. If you're about to reach out to someone at a specific company, read the content the organization creates (blogs, press releases, etc.) and any news about the company to prepare.
If you want to, browse in private mode so they don't see you looked at their profile. With LinkedIn Premium, you can use private mode and still see the list of people who viewed your profile within the last 90 days.
How do you write a strong first message?
Keep it short. People tend to check a lot of messages on their smartphones, so Lamarche recommends limiting yourself to the length of one to one-and-a-half screenshots. Include a greeting, quick introduction, and your reason for reaching out.
If someone recommended you message this person, include your mutual contact's first and last name. If you have a school or interest in common, say so. Otherwise, don't waste time trying to conjure a commonality out of thin air.
Apply your research. Rather than relying on a template, do yourself a favor and display your critical thinking and problem-solving skills here — it's better than working those words into your cover letter.
For instance, did the company recently land a big client? Is that a hiring trigger in this industry? Hoey recommends using this information: Say something like "Congratulations on landing the XYC account," acknowledge that this may mean they're staffing up, and relay why you're uniquely positioned to help them.
"Quality over quantity 100% of the time," Cohen says. "One of these people could become your mentor, so you really need to be deliberate. Personalize your note and communicate why you're reaching out to them specifically."
Be casual but professional. Skip Mr. or Ms., but don't be too casual. Avoid gimmicks and cutesy language.
Approach someone like you would at an actual networking event," Lamarche recommends. "Instead of a casual handshake, you can start off with a 'Nice to meet you virtually.'" This is especially true if you're reaching out to someone with a similar role or age as yourself. And don't waste time stating your name; they can automatically see it on LinkedIn.
Avoid avoidable mistakes. "The biggest mistake I've seen is not proofreading. You can guarantee you will not get a response if you write, "Hell" instead of "Hello," Lamarche says.
Include a concrete ask in your message. "Be direct in as polite a way as possible: make a request and try to include a reward to make the request appealing," Lamarche recommends. "For example: 'I'd appreciate the opportunity to talk about the open position of Marketing Assistant in your department. As the Marketing Prize winner of my graduating class, I have a proven track record of using a data-driven approach to marketing plans.'"
Don't be too direct or presumptuous. For instance, Cohen says you shouldn't ask for a job from someone you don't know; "It can be a turnoff and too much of a hard sell."
Offer them actionable options, but remember to prioritize their schedule and convenience. You're asking for someone else's time; they're doing you a favor. Offer your email in case they prefer that mode of communication, say you can do a short phone or video call, and give them a loose timeline of when you're free within the next week. Doing so gives them minimal work to schedule a call on their end, but also provides flexibility from your end.
Should you send a follow-up?
Yes, you should follow up. It shows you're persistent and seriously interested, rather than just playing a numbers game. If you haven't heard from them in a week, Lamarche recommends following up on LinkedIn. If another week goes by and you haven't heard anything, you can give it one final check-in. After that, you should move on to other leads.
If you need a template as a jumping-off point, Cohen recommends the following: "I am not sure if you saw my original message. I'd truly appreciate the opportunity to connect and learn more about XYZ. I can be reached at XYZ. Please advise and thank you."
If you're looking for more enticing reasons to keep in touch than simply "circling back," use your Google Alerts for topics. Hoey suggests saying something like "I recently read XYZ company blog post on TK/saw that XYZ company did XYZ exciting thing," and including succinct thoughts that show you understand industry trends or tie-ins to your own skills (if the connection feels natural).
Can you connect with someone just to learn more about their role?
It's okay to ask someone questions about their role — but only after you've done your research. Hoey recommends checking out any interviews or media (podcasts, blogs) they've already created. Then, you can reach out with a more specific career question than "could you tell me about your career?" It's a better strategy for a reply, and more cognizant of their time.
Avoid open-ended cliches. Point out exactly what you'd like to discuss. According to Lamarche, phrases such as "I'd love to pick your brain" make you sound unprepared and the conversation unappealing and vague.
Where possible, find opportunities to form a relationship. Whatever approach you take, try not to let it all be about taking and transaction, Cohen says. This can be easier when you're connecting about a common interest, or if you reach out to people who have made comments you respect and agree with to let them know, Lamarche suggests.
What if you've reached out for a month and no real bites so far?
Don't get discouraged. If you're able to swing $30, and you're seeing the usefulness of the Premium features, you may want to continue for another month to maintain the volume of InMails you're sending. You may also want to take pertinent LinkedIn Learning courses while you have access to them — such as how to interview and how to network.
You can also try emailing. If you can't find your contact's email address, try finding other emails from employees at the company and use the same format (For example, firstinitial.lastname@company.com or fullname@company.com).
Should you send a "thank you" note after speaking?
Yes, always. Don't send it immediately after you talk — you're already top of mind. Send a personalized note in a few hours or the following morning. "In addition to saying thank you, share a few details and leave the door open so you can reach out again," Cohen suggests.
It's a common courtesy, and yet many people fail to do it — so you may stand out by remembering to thank them. As Lamarche puts it, "appreciation is unfortunately so overlooked in the job market. Always show your gratitude."