What is the best approach to convert 2nd level contacts in Linkedin to 1st level,
particularly if they are a recruiter at you target company?

Topic

If I remember correctly,

1st-degree – People you’re directly connected to because you have accepted their invitation to connect, or they have accepted your invitation. You’ll see a 1st degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile. You can contact them by sending a message on LinkedIn.

2nd-degree – People who are connected to your 1st-degree connections. You’ll see a 2nd degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile. You can send them an invitation by clicking Connect or contact them through an InMail or an introduction.

3rd-degree – People who are connected to your 2nd-degree connections. You’ll see a 3rd degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile.

So, my thought process would be if you sent them and invitation and they connect they could become 1st Degree…But I am not 100% Certain…Maybe that is why people recommend introductions to connect

Yes, if you send them an invite they could choose to accept. If you don’t know those people personally and they haven’t invited you to send an invitation, you need to write a personal message to them about why you feel it’s a good idea to connect.

The BEST way to connect with a recruiter at your target company is to call them. While I get hundreds of applicants every month, I get maybe 2 or 3 calls per month from candidates. Calling is the absolute best way in hands down. The 2nd best way to network in with them and make them first connections is to use the strategy I outline in the blog post below, but it’s not necessarily with the recruiters, it with other people in the company who can then introduce you to the recruiters. Check out the link below for that blog post.

Also, if you’re looking to increase your connections quickly to get over the 500 mark, there is an easy way to do that. In the search box at the top of LinkedIn, just type in, with the quotes “I never IDK” and search. Then narrow your results by 2nd level connections and people in the US. The go down the line of results and click Connect. The IDK stands for I Don’t Know you. They are saying ‘if you send me an invite, I’ll accept it no questions asked.’ If you do 50 to 100 of these per day, you’ll be over 500 in no time. I also have a quick video where I show how to do this at the link below.

https://speedupmyjobsearch.com/2014/06/13/linkedin-employment-strategy-using-referral-programs/
https://youtu.be/XphrSj0rXCg

Thanks for your responses