Build your professional network

Your professional network is essentially a professional directory specific to each LinkedIn member, made up of the number of professionals they personally know. You can begin building your professional network by connecting with professional contacts that you know and trust.

Note: To ensure an optimal site experience, LinkedIn members can have a maximum of 30,000 1st-degree connections.

To start building your network, consider these tools:

Invitations: You can send an invitation to a LinkedIn member to ask them to join your network. If they accept your invitation, they'll become a 1st-degree connection. Note: You may need to enter an email address to send invitations.
InMail Messages: InMail messages is a premium feature, and it allows you to directly message another LinkedIn member that you're not connected to. If you have a Basic (free) account, then you can only directly message LinkedIn members that you’re connected to.
Follow: Following someone on LinkedIn allows you to see the person's posts and articles on your homepage without being connected to them.

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