{"id":774996,"date":"2021-03-22T12:00:58","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T12:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/blog\/general\/how-to-connect-with-a-potential-employer-on-linkedin\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T13:57:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T13:57:31","slug":"how-to-connect-with-a-potential-employer-on-linkedin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/blog\/career-and-financial-advice\/how-to-connect-with-a-potential-employer-on-linkedin\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Connect with a Potential Employer on LinkedIn"},"content":{"rendered":"\nYou\u2019ve spent hours crafting the perfect resume and cover letter for a job you\u2019re really interested in. You press submit on your application, but will it ever actually be seen by anyone? Most companies use an automated system for their job applications, so there\u2019s a good chance your resume might never hit a hiring manager\u2019s desk.\n\nYou might wonder if it\u2019s appropriate to contact the hiring manager after you applied for a job, and in most cases it could benefit you to send a message over LinkedIn expressing interest about the position. However, there are several things to consider before pressing send.\n<h3>Do Your Research<\/h3>\nDon\u2019t just rush to send a message to the first employee you see on LinkedIn. You need to do your research. Take the time to read the company\u2019s website, and learn about their values and what they look for in their potential employees. Then review their LinkedIn page and search for the hiring manager that you directed your cover letter to.\n\nIf you weren\u2019t able to find the hiring manager on Linkedin, another option would be to reach out to someone who works in the department that you may have some degree of a connection with. For example, you may have gone to the same college or you crossed paths with working at another company.\n<h3>Craft a Personalized Message<\/h3>\nContacting a hiring manager seems like a simple thing to do, but it can also be intimidating, and you want to be careful what you send. You don\u2019t want to just send a generic message that looks like you pulled it straight from the internet. You need to take the time to make sure that you personalize it for that hiring manager\n\n<strong>Here are a few things to consider when you\u2019re crafting your message:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Express interest in the position and make it clear that you already have applied on the company\u2019s website.<\/li>\n \t<li>Reference one or two of the job description qualifications and relate them back to your experience.<\/li>\n \t<li>Keep your message short! Don\u2019t ramble on about your experience and why you would be good for the job; keep it concise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Know When to Let Go<\/h3>\nBefore you send a message, make sure that the job posting did not specifically say to not contact them outside of sending your application in. If this is the case, you\u2019re better off waiting until you hear back about your application instead of taking the initiative to reach out on your own.\n\nIf you do send a message, don\u2019t worry if you don\u2019t hear back right away or even at all. Just because you didn\u2019t receive a response doesn\u2019t mean you aren\u2019t being considered for the position. One thing you don\u2019t want to do is to reach out again if you haven\u2019t heard back. You don\u2019t want to come off as unprofessional.\n\nRemember, sending a LinkedIn message doesn\u2019t guarantee you an interview spot, but it is a simple way to try and get your name out there.\n\n<hr \/>\n\nAre you looking to take the next step in your career path? Goodwill provides no-cost career services for anyone seeking employment or a higher-paying job. We offer job seekers the tools and resources to feel confident, purpose-driven and successful. <a href=\"https:\/\/locator.www.goodwill.org\">Find a Goodwill career center near you to get started.<\/a>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodwillaz.org\/how-to-connect-with-a-potential-employer-on-linkedin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>This blog is reposted with permission from Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona.<\/em><\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You might wonder if it\u2019s appropriate to contact the hiring manager after you applied for a job, and in most cases it could benefit you to send a message over LinkedIn expressing interest about the position. However, there are several things to consider before pressing send.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":774997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-774996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-and-financial-advice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=774996"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":778393,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774996\/revisions\/778393"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/774997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=774996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=774996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=774996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}