Q&A: The Etiquette of Connecting on LinkedIn

I often get questions from people regarding LinkedIn. When I feel the question is shared by others, I post it here on my blog for all to read.

Question:

Hi Donna,

Thank you again for all of your great content and advice.

After taking your advice, I got a job offer on a pretty cool gig.

That’s the reason I’m emailing you. The person hiring (a VP) and I couldn’t come to terms financially. They flew me to their location where I interviewed with him and 2 of his managers – who would have been my peers if I accepted – and I connected pretty well with all of them.

One individual I connected with better and recently invited him to connect on LinkedIn and he accepted. I sent a thank you note afterward and wished him the best.

My question:
Is it rude not to offer to connect with the other manager &/or VP?

Trying to understand some of the etiquette for this type of situation.

Thank you again Donna for the amazing content!

–SM

My Answer:

Hi SM,

That’s awesome that you found a great opportunity– unfortunate that the financial terms didn’t quite work out but as my mom always says, “there’s other fish in the sea.”

In terms of connecting, it depends on your personal LinkedIn connection philosophy. I am very lavish when it comes to connecting– I connect to people that I meet and like, I connect with people I meet and don’t like… I just connect.

My thought is that it doesn’t matter whether I liked them or not. At some point along the way, that person may need me or someone they know may need me. Being connected will make it that much easier for them to find me.

And so for me, it’s less about etiquette and more about future possibilities. Perhaps another position will open at that company when they have a bigger budget. Wouldn’t it be great to be connected to all of them rather than just the one you clicked with more?

So my personal recommendation is to connect. And don’t just connect… I want you to INTERACT! Be gracious, kind, helpful, add value, educate, and inspire!

Remember, you aren’t just connecting to the person, you are connecting to their network of connections. By expanding your network, you are expanding your potential for opportunities.

Thanks for your question! I hope my input helped you.

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