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A strong LinkedIn network can help you access hidden talent pools, learn from other professionals, and find new job opportunities for yourself. But you can miss out on these benefits if you’re just beginning your career as a talent professional. This can be especially true for those with a network gap. Women and people who don’t live in an affluent area, have a degree from a top school, or work for a prestigious company typically have fewer connections to support their careers.

The good news is that there are plenty of opportunities to connect with peers, job candidates, and industry experts on LinkedIn. Let’s explore some of the ways you can build your LinkedIn network, no matter where you are in your career.

Complete your LinkedIn profile

An optimized LinkedIn profile is more likely to help you attract new LinkedIn connections. People may view your profile before accepting or sending a connection request — and many elements of your profile are visible throughout LinkedIn. 

Some profile fields are particularly important to help you grow your LinkedIn network, but it’s a good idea to fill out as much as possible to showcase your professional identity.

Upload a professional headshot

Your LinkedIn profile photo is highly visible throughout LinkedIn. It displays in search results, connection requests, and next to your posts in the LinkedIn feed. Uploading a professional headshot can help people identify you so they know they’re connecting with the correct person.

Best practices for your LinkedIn profile photo include:

• Picking a recent photo that looks like you, including your hair, glasses, makeup, and facial hair
• Taking the photo in soft, natural light with a simple background
• Wearing what you’d wear to work
• Cropping the photo from the top of your shoulders to just above your head so your face is filling about 60% of the space
• Using a high-resolution image

Craft a compelling headline

Your LinkedIn profile headline is also prominently displayed on your profile and across LinkedIn. For example, your headline appears under your name in LinkedIn search results, when you send an invitation to connect with another member, when you comment on a LinkedIn post, and on the Who’s Viewed Your Profile feature.

Make your headline count by using it to highlight your expertise and demonstrate why someone might want to connect with you. Keep it clear and concise with the most important information at the beginning. While you can use up to 220 characters, your headline may be truncated in some LinkedIn features.

Share your experience and education 

Add your education and work experience — including volunteer roles — to your LinkedIn profile to more easily connect with current and former colleagues and classmates. Completing these profile sections will help your profile appear in relevant search results and the People You May Know feature. It can also help other LinkedIn members validate how they know you before they connect.

Fill in as many details as you can to create connection points with other LinkedIn members and stand out. For example, highlighting years of employment at a past employer or including your field of study at school may help you reconnect with people on LinkedIn.

Verify your profile information

A LinkedIn verification badge shows that you’ve confirmed information about your account, such as your identity, workplace, or educational institution. This signals authenticity and adds credibility to your profile, helping you increase your LinkedIn connection acceptance rates.

Complete identity and workplace verifications to build trust — and grow your LinkedIn network.

Build connections

It takes time and ongoing effort to build a robust LinkedIn network. Set aside time each day — or at least a few times each week — to proactively build your network. 

There are two primary ways to build your LinkedIn network: 

1. Connecting: Connections are mutual relationships where both parties can see each other’s updates and directly message one another. Reserve connection requests for people you know personally and trust professionally. You can have up to 30,000 first-degree connections.
2. Following: Following allows you to see someone’s public posts in your LinkedIn feed without sending a formal connection request. You can view, like, and comment on other members’ posts to help establish a professional relationship with them. This option is particularly useful for engaging with people whose content you find valuable, but don’t know personally. There’s no limit to the number of people you can follow.

There are several ways to find people to connect with and follow on LinkedIn, giving you plenty of opportunities to grow your LinkedIn network.

Search for connections

Leverage LinkedIn’s search bar to find people you already know, including:

• Current and former colleagues
• Fellow school alumni
• Friends and family members
• Job candidates you’ve worked with
• Industry peers you’ve met at events

You can search by name or keyword — such as company and job title — and refine your search with filters such as location, degree of connections, past company, and school.

Regularly connect with new people you meet too. For example, connect with candidates after conducting screening interviews and with team members after conducting training sessions.

Discover people similar to you 

LinkedIn makes it easy to find and connect with people you know with various features throughout the platform.

The People You May Know feature on your My Network page suggests LinkedIn members for you to connect with based on commonalities.

Suggested connections might include people who:

• Share connections with you
• Have profile information and experiences similar to yours
• Work at the same company or in the same industry as you
• Have attended the same school as you

As you view members’ profiles, take a look at the right pane for additional suggestions based on profile-related similarities such as company, industry, and function. 

See who’s viewing your profile

LinkedIn members may view your profile when something stands out to them, such as your headline, a post you published, or another member tagging you in a post. These viewers could be valuable additions to your LinkedIn network.

Regularly review LinkedIn’s Who’s Viewed Your Profile feature to see if there’s anyone you’d like to connect with or follow. 

Share your LinkedIn profile URL

Sharing your LinkedIn public profile URL on other channels can help others find and connect with you. Use a custom URL that’s a variation of your name or professional brand and share it anywhere you connect with other people.

For example, you might share your LinkedIn profile URL on your:

• Email signature
• Business card
• Instant messaging profile
• Social media profiles
• Resume
• Professional association listings

Share insightful content 

Sharing valuable content positions you as an expert in the talent space and helps you expand your reach beyond your first-dress connections, encouraging others to connect or follow you. You can share your insights in a variety of formats, such as a LinkedIn post or a video published to your feed, an article, or a newsletter.

Popular topics include:

• Career tips and work lessons
• Industry news and trends
• Professional news and announcements
• Behind-the-scenes at your office or an event

Participate in conversations on LinkedIn

Actively participating in LinkedIn conversations further establishes your presence in the talent community and demonstrates your expertise. It can also increase your visibility among your second-degree connections who may see and engage with your comments in their feed.

Spend time each day reacting to posts, leaving comments, and reposting content you find interesting.

Build relationships with your network connections

The quantity of your connections isn’t nearly as important as the quality of your connections. Build and maintain relationships with the people in your network through regular, meaningful interactions.

Follow up after connecting

Sending a thoughtful follow-up message after making a new connection can help you strengthen your relationship from the start. Be authentic and tailor the message to the person you’ve connected with. 

For example, you might follow up with a candidate by saying how much you enjoyed chatting with them and wishing them luck with their onsite interviews. Or you might follow up with a former colleague to learn more about their current role.

Engage with your connections

Make it a point to regularly engage with your connections on LinkedIn. This includes reacting to their content and thoughtfully commenting to start conversations and show your support. 

You should also take time to review your InMail and notifications so you can respond to people who have reached out to you.

Offer your congratulations for significant events

Celebrating your connections’ achievements and milestones with them is a great way to stay in touch and ignite conversations. Review the Catch Up feature in the My Network tab for an overview of your connections’ job changes, birthdays, work anniversaries, and education updates so you know when to reach out with your congratulations.

Give recommendations and endorsements

Be proactive in recognizing your connections’ expertise and validating their skills via LinkedIn recommendations and endorsements. This practice is a powerful way to deepen relationships by supporting your connections’ work. 

It can also level up your candidate experience and help you stand out as an employer if you offer endorsements for job seekers after conducting screening interviews.

Say hi to people who view your profile

Your connections might stop by your LinkedIn profile if they’re thinking about you or see your name come across their feed — but they may not reach out. Send your profile visitors an InMail to say hello and ask if there’s anything you can do to help them. This gesture can build goodwill and has the potential to prompt a meaningful conversation.

Final thoughts: Consistency is key

Building a robust LinkedIn network doesn’t happen overnight. The most successful talent professionals approach network building as an ongoing practice of connecting and engaging with others. Remember that the power of your LinkedIn network lies in the quality of your connections — and focus on building meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships.

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