Are LinkedIn's "X wants to connect" always legitimate? (job, companies)

[DavidRudisha]

Oftentimes I'll get an invitation from someone who supposedly wants to connect but

• I haven't talked to that person for years, e.g. my 3rd grade Sunday school teacher
• They haven't viewed my profile

I think what LinkedIn does is fake that the person wants to connect, and once you "accept" it then sends them an invitation from you. Unfortunately, there's no way to confirm this unless I ask those people, "Hey, did you invite me to connect?", which is an awkward question.

[jwiley]

After you accept a connection or invite a person then they take you to that stupid page listing dozens of people you may know, if you click that you want to connect then it sends out the invite. I can see it being very easy for people to send out the invite to connect with someone they barely know or only remember the name. Especially with the weird linkedin thing of having as many connections as possible that some seem to push. So yes it is probably real but the person sending it out probably did not put much thought into it.

[MSchemist80]

I've accepted connections only to get spammed and have to remove them.

[ccm123]

I only accept connections from people that I have a "connection" (job, similar job field, met, or talked on the phone etc) with.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by ccm123

I only accept connections from people that I have a "connection" (job, similar job field, met, or talked on the phone etc) with.

Same here. I don't know who a lot of those people are, and I won't click on the "Accept" button. Some I HAVE accepted when I see what they do, and as you said, similar job or in my industry.

[maus]

Also, it's relatively easy to send out blanket invite requests by the sender when that may not have been their intention on Linkedin. Example, they send an invite out to all the people at company X (where they work) and may not have intended to do that. That's also the reason they haven't viewed your profile if this was done.

I do not accept requests from people I do not know or remember. I simply ignore those requests. I am open to accepting requests from people I either used to work with or met at trade shows, social gatherings or conventions.

[MSchemist80]

I find the technical discussion groups useful on Linkedin and frequently accept invites from people on them. If I start getting spammed or strange messages I'll disconnect them. I do not connect with staffing agency recruiters though.

[jwiley]

I actually only connect with people in my industry if I have met or know them, considering I deal with clients and many of my clients are connections, and there are people who harvest connections on linkedin and then spam your connections I try to avoid connecting with people in my business.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by jwiley

I actually only connect with people in my industry if I have met or know them, considering I deal with clients and many of my clients are connections, and there are people who harvest connections on linkedin and then spam your connections I try to avoid connecting with people in my business.

I have had this happen too, before accepting look at their profile, and if they have none or it's blocked, pass. For example, my profile shows that I am in utilities, and when I get connection requests from people that are in sales for electric meter companies. I pass on them, to avoid sales calls.

[Nor'Eastah]

If you belong to any groups - whether related to your industry or just for fun - and a member of that group sends you an invitation, I think you can legitimately accept. You should always look at the profile of anyone sending you an invite. Lots of problems can be headed off at the pass. Even if you know someone but their profile looks like they are in sales, or recruiting, or anything else you'd find bothersome, reconsider.

That said, I think anyone who attends a trade show or convention with you is fair game, if you are just looking for connections. Lots of people I know have made some great contacts that way.