If you’re trying to figure out how to get more connections on LinkedIn, you’re not alone.
Who to connect with on LinkedIn in order to build a network is a question I often get asked. Every time someone sends me a connection request, I always send out a reply thanking them and also asking them to contact me should they ever need any help with LinkedIn. Well, not everyone asks me a question, but by far the question that I get the most is:
How to get more connections on LinkedIn?
As I have seen my network grow over time to themaximum 30.000connections that LinkedIn allows you to have, I believe I have the experience to be able to help youeffectively grow your networkto meet whatever objective and target audience you might have. That being said, there are many ways to achieve this and you will need to be the judge as to which methods you use.
So, what are some specific ways in how to get more connections on LinkedIn?
First of all, I think it is necessary to understand why a large network on LinkedIn is important. I believe that the main purpose in using this social networking for professionals is TO FIND AND BE FOUND.
In order to do this, you need to use the Advanced Search functionality, which will give you thetop 1,000 resultsbased on whatever search terms you entered from within your network. Your LinkedIn network, for those of you newer to the platform, is defined as your direct connections (1st degree), your 1st degree connections’ connections (2nd degree), and your 2nd degree connections’ connections (3rd degree).
When you first joined LinkedIn, any search you did may not have given you a total of 1,000 results, but as you grow your network, you will realize why some people pay to get more results and access more search filters that LinkedIn Premium provides.
A good example is way back when when I was looking for people in the Staffing and Recruiting industry (headhunters, etc.) who might be working in my field of specialty at the time (IPTV). I would enter the keyword IPTV and select the Staffing and Recruiting industry and voila! I would get 70+ people that popped up. One month later, after increasing the number of LinkedIn connections I had, the number increased to 90+.
This is a simple case study to illustrate the fact that the larger your LinkedIn network, the more you will find and be found. A side point is that your search results will always change as your network grows, so make sure you do regular searches for finding people that are important to you and do not get frustrated if nothing shows up on your first search.
Now that we know why it is important to grow our network, let’s look at some of the common ways of how to get more connections on LinkedIn. There are two types of ways to achieve this:
- an active way, utilizing one’s invitations, and
- a passive way, hoping that people will find you and invite you to their network.
Let’s start with the active ways of inviting others:
Table Of Contents
- 1. Invite Co-Workers from Past and Present Companies
- 2. Invite Classmates from Present and Past Schools
- 3. Invite Business and Personal Contacts from Your Email Database
- 4. Invite LinkedIn Group Members from Groups That You Belong to
- 5. Invite Other People in Your Network to Connect After Finding Them on an Advanced Search
- 6. Completely Fill Out Your Work Profile
- 7. Completely Fill Out Your Education Profile
- 8. State That You Accept Invites in Your Profile
- 9. Join Groups in Whatever You are Interested in or Groups That Meet Your Objective
- 10. Promote Your LinkedIn Profile Everywhere
- How To Get More Connections On LinkedIn
1. Invite Co-Workers from Past and Present Companies

This sounds very simple and indeed is. LinkedIn offers ways for you to easily find people from your past companies that are LinkedIn members. You can then connect up without knowing their E-Mail address. This is really the reason why most people are on LinkedIn and how LinkedIn began to develop, to help you find old colleagues.
However, you can only find people if your profile is up-to-date. That means the more companies that you say that you worked for in your profile, the more colleagues you will find. Make sure you complete your profile for every job you have held since you started working for optimum results. This may sound elementary, but responding to the question of how to build my network on LinkedIn always begins here.
2. Invite Classmates from Present and Past Schools
You can find old classmates on LinkedIn just as you can find old colleagues. In order to do so, though, you need to have your profile updated for every school that you have attended…but maybe not every school.
About 99% of the profiles I see only go back as far as their college. I have added my high school to my profile, but I have only been able to find other classmates not through this feature but by doing a keyword search for my high school name.
During and after college I spent time doing foreign language study at colleges in China, Taiwan, and Japan, and I have added these to my profile. Through this I was able to hook up with a guy from 1988-89 foreign student class in Beijing for the first time since!
Anyways, I would recommend putting every school you attended starting from high school as well as summer and study abroad programs to maximize the benefits here.

This is the way that new people generally get invited in to the LinkedIn network.
LinkedIn will conveniently check your digital address books and allow you to see who from your database is on LinkedIn and then automatically generate an invitation with one easy push of the button.
I caution you here not to just invite anyone and everyone that shows up on these lists.
You may have emailed a bunch of companies asking for a quote on some home improvement project, for instance, and these people will show up here…do you really want to invite the guy who’s business you turned down?
You could have an Outlook contact of someone who is now working at your competition…do you want him to be part of your network?
You really need to go through the results here carefully and only keep the checks on those people that:
- are on LinkedIn (they should be displaying in a different color with more information) and 2
- you feel will add value to your network.
One final note here is that I recommend you DO NOT invite anyone who is not currently a member of LinkedIn. We all find out the hard way, but LinkedIn places an initial limit on the number of invitations that can be sent out to 3,000. That’s definitely a lot of invitations that will take you time to burn through, but you will burn through them as you navigate through the members of this700+ million strong communityand build your network.
So if there are contacts who are not on LinkedIn that you invite and never sign up, your invitation will be wasted. Whether the invitation is accepted, ignored, not delivered, etc., it doesn’t matter. Your invitation has been used up.
4. Invite LinkedIn Group Members from Groups That You Belong to
There are many Groups that you can easily search for and join on LinkedIn. Although I was initially intimidated to join a group, it is a very easy process and I don’t think I have been refused entry to a group so far, although there are some that will ask you to register on their websites or provide them your email address.
Joining a group is easy and benefits you in that you can now search within your group as part of an Advanced Search and see people that may not already be part of your extended network.
As for inviting people from within a group, make sure that you check their profile, and if they say nothing about being open to connecting, make sure that you have a minimal number of mutual connections with them. I would start with a minimum number of 5 mutual connections but raise that as you increase your number of connections and thus potential mutual connections with others you don’t know.
If the above conditions aren’t met, do not risk yourself by inviting them. I made the mistake early on of inviting someone just because they were the member of the same group. BIG MISTAKE. One “IDK” later I came to the conclusion that just because you think that someone in your group would welcome an invite from their fellow group member doesn’t mean that they think the same.
5. Invite Other People in Your Network to Connect After Finding Them on an Advanced Search

This is the most popular way method of how to get more connections on LinkedIn when you want to scale your network growth quickly. It is also the way that mostLinkedIn automation toolswork.
The value of LinkedIn is that there is no other site for professionals where you can absolutely pinpoint and contact a person in a certain industry with a certain company and title.
If you are in sales (or are a recruiter), LinkedIn is like a heaven-sent gift.
That being said, you will get kicked out of LinkedIn if you do not respect the wishes of others that do not want to be bothered by invites, which they will report back as spam (yes, this is worse than an IDK).
Many CEOs that I have met have commented that they saw LinkedIn as merely a way of getting back in touch with old colleagues. However, the people you find in your concentrated search that you absolutely would like to contact but are not part of any common group or show any preference to open networking and have few if any mutual connections are the most difficult yet sometimes the most valuable people to be in contact with.
Before inviting these people, I suggest that you send them an InMail, or if they have an email address listed somewhere in their profile, first send them an email indicating why you would like to connect with them. If they have a paid LinkedIn account, you might be able to send them a free InMail through their LinkedIn profile.
On the other hand, if you become a paid member, you do have an opportunity to send out InMails as part of your subscription. One rule of thumb that I have used is if they have their email address in their profile they are open to being contacted, but remember to first always read their profile and contact settings before attempting a connection.
Now let’s look at the passive ways in which we can attract inbound LinkedIn invitations to get more connections.
6. Completely Fill Out Your Work Profile
This goes hand-in-hand with actively finding people as LinkedIn is about finding and being found. I recommend including every job that you would put on your resume, including early positions you held just after graduating from school. The content is not as important as just putting the company name and years you worked there. That is enough to be found.
7. Completely Fill Out Your Education Profile

This is the exact same concept as completely filling out your work profile. I would put every school attended since and including high school in your profile. If you studied overseas during or after college, or you got an Executive MBA or other degree of higher education, be sure to put those in your profile as well so that you can be found by past classmates.
8. State That You Accept Invites in Your Profile
If people read your profile and you indicate in your contact settings, summary, or headline that you accept invites, it will become easy for you to receive more invitations because open networkers will not be afraid of receiving the dreaded “IDK” from you.
There is no fixed way of doing this, but simply do an Advanced Search with “accept invites” or something similar as the keyword and see how other people do it.
9. Join Groups in Whatever You are Interested in or Groups That Meet Your Objective

While there are “open networking groups” that you might be tempted to join, today I stick to the approach of only joining those groups that meet my objective and that I can bring value to. If you do so, you will be more likely to receive invites from serious group members that aren’t necessarily open networkers.
How to get more connections on LinkedIn by promoting your profile everywhere? From email signatures to printing your LinkedIn profile URL on your business cards, there are plenty of opportunities to promote and build your LinkedIn network.
If you’re trying to build your LinkedIn network too fast, a word of warning: LinkedIn has many safeguards in place to prevent that from happening. Therefore, you should not expect to start getting tens or hundreds of invites a day passively. In my own personal experience, when I had about 3,000 connections I noticed that I would start getting a regular daily batch of about 10 invites. So if you are not getting enough invites passively do not worry…they will come in proportion to how large the reach of your network is, as well as doing the other things that I recommend above.
Have you been able to grow your LinkedIn network effectively? What are some other tips on how to get more connections on LinkedIn that you would add to the above?
Hero photo by Ilyuza Mingazova on Unsplash
How To Get More Connections On LinkedIn
How do I get 500+ connections on LinkedIn?
Here are some ways on how you can get 500+ connections on LinkedIn:
1. Spend at least 15-30 minutes every day to networkon the platform
2. Join and be active in LinkedIn groups
3. Send a personalized “connect” request/message
4. SEO optimize your profile by including keywords on your summary, headline and skills
How do I increase my LinkedIn connections?
To increase your LinkedIn connections, it is vital that you identify your network clusters first. And from there, you can dig deeper into each of them. Visit the connections of the people you are connected with to find more relevant users to send an invite to. But keep in mind to only send connection requests to people that are in line with your industry.
How do I get thousands of connections on LinkedIn?
Here are some strategies that can help you get thousands of connections on LinkedIn:
1. If you have blogs, post your articles on your LinkedIn. If not, then don’t wait longer and start blogging!
2. Moreover, share your content directly with your connections or to different groups. This is the best way to attract an audience.
3. Build a habit of connecting and networking every day
4. Leverage the LinkedIn Connect app to help you stay connected
What happens when you get 500 connections on LinkedIn?
Having 500 connections on LinkedIn shows your credibility and relevance on the platform. If you are sharing content on LinkedIn, having 500+ connections increases your chance of getting click-throughs to your website. Furthermore, you’ll more likely to appear in search results and get higher search rankings because it shows you have relevant connections. It may take time and effort before you can reach enough connection but it will be worth it.
How many LinkedIn connections is good?
There isn’t a specific answer as it may vary depending on your goal. Others say 100 is ideal, while other people say it’s better to reach “magic 500”. If you are a job seeker, a few hundred sounds enough. However, if you reach 500+ connections, you’ll most likely get more opportunities and business leads. If you are aiming to be a “superconnector”, you would want to reach 1,000-3,000 connections.
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FAQs
Top 10 Ways How to Get More Connections on LinkedIn? ›
Use LinkedIn Groups as a way to build a relevant network with others active in your industry. After joining a group, you'll be able to see a list of members, which are most engaged and more. From there, go down the list and send these users a connection request to get the ball rolling.
How can I get 500+ connections faster on LinkedIn? ›- Always Send Personal Invitations.
- Use the Member Directories of Professional Associations.
- Follow Up on Networking Contacts.
- Invite Clients and Past Clients.
- Invite Past Co-Workers and Classmates.
- Spend at least 15-30 minutes every day to network on the platform.
- Join and be active in LinkedIn groups.
- Send a personalized “connect” request/message.
- SEO optimize your profile by including keywords on your summary, headline and skills.
- Member's profile - Click or tap the Connect button on their profile page.
- Search results page - Click Connect to the right of the member's information.
- Grow Your Network page - Import contacts using their email address.
- My Network page - Accept pending invitations.
Use LinkedIn Groups as a way to build a relevant network with others active in your industry. After joining a group, you'll be able to see a list of members, which are most engaged and more. From there, go down the list and send these users a connection request to get the ball rolling.
How to get 1,000 connections on LinkedIn? ›Join linkedin groups of your interest. Follow successful people in your field of work, comment on their posts. Share insights and keep connecting. Set regular time you wish to spend on linkedin preferably every day if you want fast results or at least weekly even if you want to move slowly.
Is 300 connections on LinkedIn a lot? ›54% of people on LinkedIn have less than 500 connections 27% have between 500–999 12% have between 1,000–1,999 3% have between 2,000–2,999. Meaning if you knock out 400 new connections per month you'll be within the top 3 percent in a little over 7 months.
Why do you need 30 connections on LinkedIn? ›Based on our research, the number of connections to kick-start the value of LinkedIn's network is 30. Once you hit this many connections, you should start to see a more relevant news feed and engagement on your posts and new opportunities start to open up.
Will LinkedIn show 1000 connections? ›The connections in the overview section of a profile page are depicted as [Number]+ . Note: Once a member accumulates more than 500 connections, 500+ will be displayed on their profile. We don't display the exact number of connections for a person once they are over 500.
How do you gain connections? ›- Be your authentic self. You can't go wrong with being yourself. ...
- Respect people's boundaries. ...
- Stay focused on the present. ...
- Move past the surface level. ...
- Share the conversation. ...
- Be genuine with your admiration. ...
- Be a good listener. ...
- Schedule your time.
Is 100 connections on LinkedIn good? ›
The average number of connections per LinkedIn profile is around the 500-999 mark. So logic suggests the more people you are connected with on LinkedIn, the higher the total engagement score (likes, re-shares, comments, etc) vs. someone with a lower count. So compare your number of connections vs.
Is it important to have 500+ connections on LinkedIn? ›When you reach over 500+ connections, you are more likely to have 1st, 2nd, or 3rd connections with people who search you; therefore giving you more credibility. If you have some connections or step-connections in common, a person is going to see you are more involved with a designated professional community.
How do I find LIONs on LinkedIn? ›How do I find LIONs on LinkedIn? Finding LIONs on LinkedIn is easy using an advanced search. Just type in “lion” on the search bar and LinkedIn will give you the list. If you want a more specific search just include the keyword of your target industry — like “lawyer lion”, or “Harvard lion”.
Can you buy LinkedIn connections? ›If you want to grow your network quickly, you can buy LinkedIn connections. This is a relatively new way to grow your network, and it can be a great way to get more exposure and build your brand. When you buy LinkedIn connections, you will receive a certain number of followers and connections.
How many connections on LinkedIn is ideal? ›Once you have your LinkedIn profile up and running, the next step is to ensure you can maximize the full potential of the platform. To do this, you really need at least 500 LinkedIn connections.
How do I bypass LinkedIn connection limit? ›2 Solutions to Bypass the LinkedIn Connection Limit:
Select “Message” and then choose “InMail” from the dropdown menu. Write a personalized message to the person, explaining why you want to connect with them and how you could potentially help each other. Send the InMail and wait for a response.
When you have reached 500 connections, your profile will simply tell visitors to your profile that you now have '500+ connections'! You could have 500 or 15,000 connections (in fact you can have anything up to 30,000), and your profile would still say that you have '500+ connections'.
What happens when you cross 5000 connections on LinkedIn? ›Do you know what happens to your profile when you get 5,000 connections on LinkedIn? Absolutely nothing! Well, to be clear, nothing actually happens to your profile. But with 5,000 contacts you open yourself up to that many more opportunities.
How many people have 10k connections on LinkedIn? ›Only 1% of respondents identified themselves as Super Connectors with more than 10,000 connections, while 10% of LinkedIn users said they have more than 3,000 connections.
How many connections does the average person have on LinkedIn? ›How do I know how many relationships one of my contacts has? The following statistic is therefore interesting, and shows that more than 60% of LinkedIn users have less than 1000 connections. Another calculation, certainly less reliable, estimates that an average LinkedIn user has about 1300 contacts.
What happens when you reach 30000 connections on LinkedIn? ›
If you have reached 30,000 connections, Follow will become the default option on your profile. You will not be able to accept or send new connection invitations unless you remove connections to keep network size under the limit. Learn more about: Remove a connection on LinkedIn.
Is it OK to have 0 connections in LinkedIn? ›This might indicate you don't have a good social and communication skills. However, for your case it's perfectly fine, as you are a fresh graduate and you just created your account couple of month ago. They are not expecting to see C level people in your connections.
What happens when you get 10,000 connections on LinkedIn? ›You don't have to demonstrate your ability to connect with others in your industry. When you have 10,000 connections on LinkedIn, it shows that you are well-connected. Being well-connected is one of the most important qualities of any professional, especially those who seek managerial positions.
Why does LinkedIn say I have no connections? ›It may appear that one or more of your LinkedIn connections have disappeared from your connections list if the member has: Closed their LinkedIn account, or. Removed you from their connection list.
How many followers do you need to be an influencer on LinkedIn? ›How many followers do you need to become an influencer? It's not so much about the number of followers you have as it is about the quality and engagement of your followers. That said, to be able to reach a large number of professionals on LinkedIn, you'll need at least 1,000 followers.
How many LinkedIn connections can you make a day? ›To put it simply, for most people, the LinkedIn connection limit is between 80-100 requests per week. And in that same vein, you're allowed around 250 LinkedIn actions per day. This includes messages but also connection requests and most other actions. Why's that?
What are the three ways to make connections? ›Introduce the three types of connections: text-to-self, text-to-text and text-to-world. Read the text aloud. Use the Think Aloud strategy to model one of the three types of connections.
Why don't I feel a connection with anyone? ›Conditions might include personality disorders or attachment disorders. Emotional detachment could also be the result of acute trauma or abuse. A healthcare professional may be able to see when you're not emotionally available to others.
What makes people connect? ›Human connection is a deep bond that's formed between people when they feel seen and valued. During an authentic human connection, people exchange positive energy with one another and build trust. Human connection makes you feel heard and understood and gives you a sense of belonging.
Should I just connect with everyone on LinkedIn? ›LinkedIn's own advice is that you should only accept connection requests from people that “you know personally and who you trust on a professional level”. Which could be fairly limiting, and there is some value to expanding your connection pool a little further than this.
What does Lion mean on LinkedIn profiles? ›
The term LION stands for Linkedin Open Networker, which means a person who wants to expand their Linkedin network and has a high number of connections. They do so by accepting (most) connection requests, even if they don't know the person sending the request or have no mutual connections.
Is it good to connect with a lot of people on LinkedIn? ›If you are going to connect with strangers on LinkedIn, Work advises people to remember that “the goal is not to add as many people as possible just to build up your connections. The goal is to network and get your name out there in the industries you want to work in.” Try searching for connections with intent.
How do I get headhunters to find me on LinkedIn? ›You can reach out to a recruiter on LinkedIn by simply typing “Recruiter” or “Headhunter” in the LinkedIn search bar. Click the “People” tab to further narrow your search. You may also specify which industry by adding the word in the search bar.
Who are the best people to connect with on LinkedIn? ›1. Friends and Family. This can include your personal friends, your family members and perhaps the family members of your friends (parents of your friends at school may be very worthwhile for the early part of your career). Favourite cousins, aunties, uncles and extended family members can also be included.
How do I know I have an All Star LinkedIn? ›The profile level meter is displayed on both desktop and the LinkedIn mobile app. All members start off as a Beginner, and upon completion of four sections will advance to Intermediate, thereafter on adding the remaining recommended sections (a total of seven) will achieve an All-star profile.
Do people pay for LinkedIn followers? ›✨ For LinkedIn, you have the possibility to buy followers or likes. You have several options when it comes to purchasing LinkedIn followers, in increments ranging from 100 to 10,000 subs and prices that range from $8.99 to $299.99!
How many LinkedIn connections do I get per week? ›LinkedIn invitation limits resets at the beginning of the week. You can approximately 100 invitations per week. If you see the “you've reached the weekly invitation limit linkedin”, you would not be able to send connection requests for 2-3 days.
What is the difference between 1st and 2nd connections LinkedIn? ›You'll see a 1st degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile. You can contact them by sending a message on LinkedIn. 2nd-degree connections - People who are connected to your 1st-degree connections. You'll see a 2nd degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile.
Is 3000 LinkedIn followers good? ›LinkedIn Profile Optimization
While larger networks may be less personal, they can also be extremely valuable. While you don't need to hit the maximum number of connections (30,000) to see these benefits, you should aim for at least 500 to maximize your profile “completeness” from LinkedIn's perspective.
Connections. Recruiters look at your connections for a combination of quality and relevance. Quantity is less of a factor (but you do want to have at least 50 quality contacts) because if you have 500+ connections, but 95% of the contacts aren't related to the field or industry for the job, it doesn't offer much value.
What is 1st 2nd 3rd in LinkedIn? ›
Once you connect with them on LinkedIn, you are considered a 1st level relationship. Additionally, people who are connections of people in your network are considered 2nd level, and finally if you have no connections in common, that person will be considered 3rd degree or higher.
What is the LinkedIn limit for 2023? ›How many LinkedIn connections can I have? LinkedIn limits your account to 30,000 connections. This is a finite number and it looks like LinkedIn will not be expanding this limit anytime soon.
What happens when you have more than 1000 connections on LinkedIn? ›The fact that someone has amassed thousands of connections does indicate that they have an ability to connect with other people (or they just trawl LinkedIn 24/7).
Does having 500 connections on LinkedIn mean anything? ›Having 500+ connections gives you a special edge when it comes to searching. Because of the vast amount of connections, people who search for a product, service or skill in your range will be shown your profile because they are most likely to have a 1st, 2nd or 3rd connection with you.
Does it look good to have 500 connections on LinkedIn? ›Interested parties will look at your profile to get an idea. 500+ connections will give them a good impression of your business networking skills. Your connections can also introduce you to their networks of potential clients, customers, or partners.
Is 500 connections on LinkedIn good? ›Why 500? This is the number where you hit a critical mass of connections (people you've met in your life) and get access to all of their connections. It's the point at which your LinkedIn really pays dividends.
How many connections on LinkedIn is normal? ›The average number of connections per LinkedIn profile is around the 500-999 mark. So logic suggests the more people you are connected with on LinkedIn, the higher the total engagement score (likes, re-shares, comments, etc) vs. someone with a lower count.