Ten opportunities to reach out to your LinkedIn network

Did you know that many recruiters use LinkedIn as a large candidate database? In fact, a lot of new openings are not even posted on the LinkedIn Jobs page. Instead, recruiters search for the kind of candidate they want on the platform and contact them directly about the new openings. Some recruiters even post about open positions on their status updates.

This is why you must make it a priority to spend at least a few minutes on LinkedIn each day if you are on a job hunt. When you start engaging with your contacts on LinkedIn, you start learning about amazing opportunities. Here are ten things you can do to stay in touch with your LinkedIn network.

1. Send connection requests

How else would you add new people to your professional network? When you are on LinkedIn, the occasional notification will pop up telling you that someone viewed your profile. Send connection requests to those people. You will also get to see which connections of yours are mutual.

2. Congratulate connections on job changes

When someone from your LinkedIn network posts about a job change, congratulate them on their new career. Remember to check on them again after a couple of weeks to see how their new job is going. You can even ask them for information about their successful career move.

3. Wish connections on their birthdays

When you log in to your LinkedIn account every morning, you will see a list of the people from your network who have birthdays that day. Take a moment to wish them a happy birthday. If it is someone you know very well, you can even send a personalized message.

4. Create conversations with connections

When you notice one of your LinkedIn connections updating something on their profile, send them a message about it. It can be something as simple as saying “I like your new profile picture,” to a contact you know, or saying “I just noticed that you went to UNT in the same year as I did.”

5. Thank when your requests get accepted

When one of your connection requests get accepted by someone, send them a personalized message thanking them. Introduce yourself to the new connection.

6. Congratulate contacts on promotions

If you see someone post a status update saying that they got promoted, congratulate them. Send them a message with personalized text and wish them the very best in their new role. You can also add a comment under their status to congratulate them.

7. Wish connections on work anniversaries

You can open the notifications tab on LinkedIn every day to see who has work anniversaries that day. When you see someone completing another year at their workplace, congratulate them.

8. Thank for connection requests

Don’t simply accept connection requests from LinkedIn members and forget about them. When someone sends you a connection request, thank them for it. Add a personalized message and introduce yourself to the person.

9. Message a contact when you see their work somewhere

Let’s say you were reading a scientific journal when you spotted an article written by one of your LinkedIn contacts. Drop them a message on the platform and let them know that you are interested in their work and that you just read their article. If you see content written by one of your LinkedIn connections somewhere, message them and let them know that you follow their work.

10. Thank connections for their support

If you create and share content on the platform, remember to thank the connections who take the time to look at your material. If someone likes one of your articles on LinkedIn, say “Thank you!” to them. Thank when someone comments something positive under your content.