I’m being ignored on LinkedIn! What am I doing wrong? Please help

Hi guys,

I would appreciate your advice about how to approach people on LinkedIn so that they accept a connection request.

 

Currently, I’m in the process of searching for a job. I know about the Informational Interview technique. But I can’t begin to use it because barely anyone add me on LinkedIn (from the companies I’m interested in).

 

These are connection notes that I’ve used so far:

 

1.

To a potential colleague, alumni of my university.

 

Dear _name_, _university greeting that only graduates of that university know_) Could you please tell me what the ideal profile for _position_ is? I think I can bring much value to _company_ on this position because I have skills in all 3 areas: _areas_. I’ll appreciate your reply. PS Congrats with new chapter!

 

Result: ignored. Visited my profile, liked my comment on their wall, but still didn’t add me.

 

2.

To a potential colleague, from the same country as I am.

 

Dear _name_, are you from _my home country_?) It's not common to meet a fellow from _home country_ in Canada. I will be glad to connect with you especially because I plan to apply for the _position_ in _company_ too. Best regards, _my name_

 

Result: ignored. Visited my profile, but still didn’t add me.

 

3.

To a potential colleague, alumni of my university.

 

Dear _name_,

I'm graduating from _university_ in April and applying for a _position_ in _company_. Maybe you could help me with some recommendations as a _alumni of the university_ :)

 

I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

Best regards,

_my name_

 

Result: ignored. Visited my profile, but still didn’t add me.

 

What did I do wrong? Why do even alumni ignore me? WTF?

 

Could you recommend to me connection notes that lead to adding to the 1st circle? Or maybe should I use a different approach?

 

Thank you very much in advance!

 

P.S. I have LinkedIn Premium, so I can see who visited my profile.

P.S. I don’t take into account those people who didn’t even visit my profile. Because there could be many reasons why they ignored me. 

🤝 Networking
👨‍💻 LinkedIn
🧠 Advice
15
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
10
☕️
You’re not being specific enough. I frankly don’t care if someone is from my home state or if we went from the same school. So did millions of others.

What do you want, how can they help you, what is a clear next step?

Maybe stop sending requests and start sending in mails.
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
🤔 Thank you! Could you please give me an example of a good specific connection note? 
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
6
☕️
Hey Canadian Sales. You have an open role for a Ketchup Salesperson and I’m the best fit you’ll find. When can we connect for a few minutes to chat about the role?

Thanks,
Ruffles Loaded Potato Lover
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
Noted. Thank you very much! I will try it.
funcoupons
WR Officer
10
👑
You're being way too vague and chatty. Nobody really cares that you went to the same school or are from the same country. You need a direct CTA.


Hey Person,

I noticed you work for x company. I'm currently interviewing with them, and am wondering if you'd have time for a quick (off the record) chat about your experience working there?

Cheers,

Your name


This is what I used when getting in touch with current employees of the company I work for. Cut to the chase, especially with salespeople. You won't get replies from everyone, some people are busy with other shit.
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
2
MBA graduate
Thank you very much for this template and your feedback! 🤝 I will try it out. 
bandabanda
Tycoon
0
Senior AE Mid Market
+1 up the hell out of this. I'm sending almost this exact message today and it's working very well. LI making you keep it under 300 characters when sending it WITH a connection is blessing. Use it to your advantage to be succint. 

Also, I've noticed more than half the people I reached out to accepted without any connection message. Try that too. 
E_Money
Big Shot
5
💰
There is a lot you can do, but I would start with following this guy- linkedin.com/in/brian-maucere/

Kind of a goofy dude, but he is a LinkedIn wiz and will give you free advice if you message him.
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
1
MBA graduate
Hmmm, it's interesting. Thank you!
CuriousFox
WR Officer
3
🦊
It's too general. Help them help you. 😉
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
🤔 Noted. Thank you!  Could you please give me an example of a good specific connection note? 
playerone
Politicker
2
Regional Account Executive
A lot of people on LinkedIn curate their connections carefully. I wish I had in the beginning — I accepted everyone and now it’s full of goofballs. Just be specific — hey, I see that you work at X and I am currently in their candidate process. How do you like working there?
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
🤔 Thank you! Do you think people will have time to chit chat about "how they like working there"? 
playerone
Politicker
1
Regional Account Executive
None of us have time, but we choose to do things anyways. The important thing is to treat anything you’re doing as prospecting/selling
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
It absolutely makes sense. Thanks!
Sunbunny31
Politicker
3
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
That's totally how a new SE at my company connected with me - "we both worked for X company, and a recruiter reached out to me regarding y current company.   May I ask how you like working at y?"   
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
Understood, @Sunbunny31 . Noted. Thank you!
SunTzu
Opinionated
2
Legendary Historical Figure
Nobody cares about schools in sales eh
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
Sorry for the late response!
It's weird. The school guarantees some level of candidate's quality and, most importantly, common ground (values, memories, etc).
SunTzu
Opinionated
0
Legendary Historical Figure
Haven’t made many cold calls yet, have you?
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
Yes, never. Why?
SunTzu
Opinionated
0
Legendary Historical Figure
It’s a skill no college can teach you. You could have a Harvard MBA and be garbage at cold calling/sales. That’s why nobody cares about where you went to school in this industry, by and large.
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
1. always read this out loud. Do you really say things like " I think I can bring much value to X company on this position...." 

NO 

you would probably say 
"Hey mike, I think I would be a great fit for X because I have accomplished alot in XY and Z and from what I have gathered, X comapny would really value that. Would you agree? Or is there a different skill set they look for? Thanks from a fellow X grad" 


2. be super specific. 
for #3 you did a little of this. But then you said "maybe you could help me with some recommendations as a X alumni" 

you are making it TOO hard for them. 

give them specifics on why you arnt a waste of time. 

"I'm graduating from _university_ in April and applying for a _position_ in _company_.  I see you are in that role right now. I think I would be a great fit as well because of XYZ skills or past experience with XYZ. Could I ask you a couple questions about your role? id love to work there. 

(that is a little less work for them IMO, and can start a conversation.) 
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
1
MBA graduate
Wow, yes, now I understand. Minimizing their work and efforts is what I must do. Thank you very much @TennisandSales !
TennisandSales
Politicker
0
Head Of Sales
no problem! give it a try and report back. good luck!
Charito
Fire Starter
1
Senior Account Exec
For informational interviews...

Say, I'm considering applying for X role and wanted to chat with you to get your perspective on the company/culture. Would you be open to a 15-20 minute call in the next week or so? 

Go to listennotes.com and listen to podcast episodes about the company. You'll have plenty of specific talking points and questions.
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
Thank you @Charito ! Noted. Btw I didn't know about this resource. I will be using it too.
Charito
Fire Starter
0
Senior Account Exec
If you land a job, ship me a 24 pack of Molson's! :)
SADNESSLieutenant
Politicker
1
Officer of ♥️
Hey thanks for asking. not to be rude but, noone gives a shit about what country or college you went too. What they want to know is that you know wtf you're doing. if you cant sell yourself how can you sell a product?

I have great feedback with: 

Hey {{first.name}}, I'm reaching out about availabilities on your team! I would be the best addition to your team because I'm an SDR(or sales) Savage, I go after what I want relentlessly without stopping, I'm creative as they come, and NO is not in my vocabulary. I guarantee I will be the best decision for your team! Let's connect.

I just booked a meeting with Salesforce to a hiring director with this in less than 24 hours

he said : A SDR savage? Let's connect. Free at 4pm for a call? 

more info and details here: https://bravado.co/war-room/posts/how-to-go-from-jobless-to-offer-in-4-days-update-on-job-hunt-1-offer-2-next-stage-3-in-1st-stage-lfg
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
1
MBA graduate
Thank you @SADNESSLieutenant ! One of my messages was inspired by yours btw) But now I realize how I should improve it. Thank you!
SADNESSLieutenant
Politicker
1
Officer of ♥️
np hope it goes well
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
1
Professional Day Ruiner
personally I haven't found LinkedIn to be a successful method of outreach. Think about how many LI messages you get a day from recruiters and sales people. I open the app about 3 times a day. Mark them all as read, then move on unless it's someone with a job title who may be a prospect of mine

CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
Sorry for the late response! 
Thank you! It's an interesting perspective. I will keep it in mind.
bendandsnack
Politicker
1
Account Exec
Sounds too Bridgerton.

K.I.S.S.

It’s shocking how many meetings I’ve gotten with a connect message “hey xxx, open to a virtual coffee/casual chat about what’s new with xxxx?

Speak to prospects how you speak to your friends
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
Sorry for the late response!
Hm, thank you! University taught me to be as polite as possible. I should try your approach. Thank you!
Kirby
Politicker
1
Sales Representative
Drop ALL of the university shit. Nobody cares that you’re in college, even if it’s their alma mater. And saying “I’m about to graduate” is a massive red flag. My response: “Since you’re *almost* graduated how about I *almost* reply since you *almost* are ready to work?”

And the fact you sent like 2 messages and are freaking out about this is a sign that you’re new to sales. You gotta calm tf down. This is sales, and people’s response or lack of response don’t mean shit. Get as cold and objective about all of this as humanly possible.
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
Sorry for the late response! Very very fair comment. Thank you!
average
Executive
1
telemarketer with a salary
I'd recommend no note. Just send them the connection request.
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
Sorry for the late response! Wow, it's unusual. I'm not sure, to be honest
Isliceonpurpose
Valued Contributor
1
Senior Sales
Looks to complicated to me.

How about this -

Hi “first name”

I’d love to connect, you have had a really successful career at “company”!

How did you do it?

Cheers, - name
CanadianSales
Valued Contributor
0
MBA graduate
Sorry for the late response! Thank you! I will try it too