LinkedIn: How to Connect Like a Pro
About this video
Jeff Su argues that weak ties, not close friends, are most likely to lead to a new job. He cites a sociology paper in the transcript where 84% of respondents got their job through a weak relationship, and Mark Granovetter from Stanford’s strength of weak ties concept — people close to you swim in the same pool of information, while friendly outsiders bring information beyond your immediate circle. Su says his acquaintance Akash helped him land a job at Google four years ago. He gives three LinkedIn methods. First, use the alumni filter on your college’s LinkedIn page: search by target role (e.g., account manager for sales), by company plus role separated by a comma (e.g., Nike, marketing), or expand Where they work to see top employers; the same filter works for company alumni via the People tab. Second, message people you are not connected to through LinkedIn Groups — for example the EY group — since group members can be messaged without a first-degree connection or Premium, and post specific career-advice requests in groups, citing a senior at Emory University who got multiple responses within 24 hours about business continuity consulting. Third, send custom, thoughtful connection requests that are relatable, complimentary, and add value, referencing specific details from the person’s content or background, and on mobile use More > Personalize invite instead of the default Connect button. He closes by reminding viewers to optimize their own profile to receive traffic when people check it before replying.
Key takeaways
- Weak ties outperform close connections for job leads because they bring information outside your immediate circle — cited as 84% in the research discussed
- Find targeted weak ties via the college alumni filter: search by role title, by company + role, or by top alumni employers
- Use LinkedIn Groups to message non-connections without Premium, and post specific advice requests to expand your network
- Send personalized invites that are relatable, complimentary, and value-adding with a specific detail — never use the default Connect button on mobile
- Optimize your profile (photo, banner, value proposition) before outreach so profile checks convert into responses
Episode details: published September 9, 2020 · 7:38 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Jeff Su’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.
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