How to decide which LinkedIn invitations to accept
Updated 2024-10-24. Originally published 2015-09-22 on VocationVillage.com
Like many people, I usually have a huge number of pending LinkedIn invitations. LinkedIn advises, “We strongly recommend that you only accept invitations to connect from people you know,” but since many people who use the platform have 500+ connections, clearly, a lot of LinkedIn users are ignoring LinkedIn's instructions and are using other criteria to decide whether to accept. I asked LinkedIn power users how they decide when to accept or decline a LinkedIn invitation to connect.
Based on their responses, I created this checklist to decide when to accept or decline an invitation to connect:
Reasons to accept a LinkedIn invitation
You are in a job search
You are in an industry such as recruiting or sales
Your business needs new customers or clients
You create content and are seeking a large audience to view it
The invitation is from someone in the same career field as you, an alumnus of the same university, or you have something else in common
The invitation includes a personalized and persuasive rationale for why they want to connect
If you accept invitations from people you don't know well, decide in advance how you will handle their requests to introduce you to someone else you know. If you can't honestly vouch for the quality of their work, be prepared to say, "I know this person only via LinkedIn."
Reasons to decline a LinkedIn invitation
Your policy is to follow LinkedIn’s advice to only accept invitations from people you have met
You do business in the U.S. only, and the invitation is from someone in a different country
The profile is from an industry you don’t want to be associated with
The profile looks questionable so you fear a potential scam
The profile lacks a photo
If you connect with a profile and they immediately send you unwanted spam, it is fine to disconnect.
If you are curious about why someone connected with you, send them a private message saying something like, “It’s nice to meet you. What motivated you to connect with me here?" If they don’t respond, consider disconnecting.
Thank you to the LinkedIn experts who contributed to this checklist:
Andrea Berkman Donlon, Founder, The Constant Professional
Becky Robinson, Founder & CEO, Weaving Influence
Bill Corbett, Jr., President, Corbett Public Relations
Bill Fish, Founder and President, ReputationManagement.com
Bruce Hurwitz, Executive Recruiter, CEO, Hurwitz Strategic Staffing, Ltd.
Carol J. Kaemmerer, Executive LinkedIn Coach
Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst Coach
Dorie Clark, Author, Professor, Consultant
Dylan Kissane, Content Manager, DOZ
Jason Parks, Owner, The Media Captain
Kelly Donovan, Principal, Kelly Donovan & Associates
Kelly Keating, Co-Owner, Red Letter Resumes LLC
Monique R. Mansour, Professor, Writer
Will Blesch, CEO, Breakthrough Business Branding
Do you have questions about using LinkedIn? Send me the question, and I may choose it for a future article.
