How to Introduce Yourself to a Hiring Manager on LinkedIn

You’ve researched and located the hiring manager for your target role. You want to make a good first impression and not risk harming your chances for an interview. So, now you’re wondering, “How do I introduce myself to a hiring manager on LinkedIn?” In this article, I’m sharing the best steps to introduce yourself to a hiring manager.

I also put together this free 5-day video series to show you the changes I made to my husband’s LinkedIn profile that led to an 8500% increase in his profile view s.

Follow Them First and Engage with Their Posts

Hopefully, you’re networking before your next career move, but often that’s not the case. If you’ve seen a position online that interests you and want to contact the hiring manager, you may not have the luxury of time to build a relationship with the hiring manager .

My first recommendation is to find the hiring manager on LinkedIn and follow them. Anyone can follow someone else and see their posts and status updates. You can then comment on their posts and updates. Go ahead and follow them, and if they’ve shared any updates recently take a few minutes to add an insightful comment.?

If time is on your side, take a week or two to follow up and engage before sending a connection request with a personal note. If you don’t have the luxury of time because the position is already online, the close date is quickly approaching, or you need to move now, then skip taking a couple of weeks of engaging with their posts. Go ahead and follow and comment on their posts, but head to the next step.

In my LinkedIn Unlocked course , I teach you how to research companies, people, and connections so you can grow a stronger network of contacts to advance your career. I also dive into becoming a thought leader and posting authentic content that gets you two times more interview invitations.

Send a Connection Request with a Personal Note

As I mentioned in the last tip, if you’re applying to a position that’s open now, the close date is quickly approaching, or you’re looking to make your next career move now, then go ahead and send the hiring manager a connection request with a personal note.?

If they accept your connection request, you can send a longer message, which I’ll cover in the next tip.

If they don’t accept your connection request within a few days, try following up with them or finding alternative ways to connect.?

If they share status updates to LinkedIn regularly, continue engaging with them. You may also be able to find them on X (Twitter). I know several executive recruiters and search firms who post all their openings on X (Twitter) and direct candidates to their profiles.?

Another option is to use an email search tool like Mailscoop.io to locate the hiring manager’s work email and send them a message that way. You can also use an email tracking app like Mailtrack.io to view when they’ve opened your email. This will let you know when they read your message and so you’ll know when to follow up with them.?

Message Them Regarding Your Interest in the Role?

Once you’ve sent them a connection request on LinkedIn and they’ve accepted it, follow up with a message. Here are some tips to help you write a message to the hiring manager.

Keep it brief—hiring managers are incredibly busy, and a lengthy message is less likely to be read. A paragraph or two is ideal.?

Outline your interest and fit for the role—mention the position you applied for or want to apply for that you saw posted online. Briefly point to your experience or accomplishments that align with the role and any values alignment between yourself and the company. State your excitement/interest in the position and company.

Not all hiring managers will respond. Do not lose heart. This is the time for perseverance and persistence. Follow up with them. Sometimes, hiring managers get busy and need reminders to respond to emails. It happens to all of us.?

Be the squeaky wheel. Follow up in a week or two. In the meantime, continue engaging with their posts and search for others within the company with whom you can connect and build a relationship. The person in the current role, the decision-maker, and past employees are all great options for connections and relationship building.

If you want to discover more ways to connect with hiring managers and others who can help you with your job search, I explain additional strategies and teach you how to leverage them in your job search as part of my LinkedIn Unlocked Course .

If you’ve enjoyed this article and learned something new, please let me know by liking it and commenting below with “helpful.”

#LinkedIn #Careers #JobSearch #Networking