How to Get People to Respond on LinkedIn

Ashley Cross
Sep 16, 2025
3 min read

While working at Carnegie Mellon University, I scheduled meetings with Managing Directors, program alumni, and quant recruiters during my visits to New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, and Singapore. For the most part, these meetings only required about a month in advance (due to the program's prestige in the industry).

Exact Messages I Sent

Contacting Someone New / Meeting a Potential Business Partner

Hi ____,

I’ve been following you and (company name) for a little while and just now realized you’re in Pittsburgh.

I’m a career coach that specializes in working with international students, especially on grad school planning, upskilling, and landing that first internship/role.

I’d love to connect over Zoom or in person to learn more about (company name) so I can refer my clients to it! - Ash

Why This Worked:

1) I've followed them on social media.

2) I've highlighted what we have in common.

3) I've introduced myself and mentioned the services that compliment their platform.

4) I end with a clear call-to-action and state the benefit to them: I want to refer clients their way! (This means they might naturally want to do the same if the call goes well.)

Reconnecting with a Warm Contact / Someone I've Met with Before

Hey _____, hope you're doing well!

I'm working quite a bit more with international students these days and thought of you. Would love to reconnect over Zoom some time to catch up! - Ash

Why This Worked:

1) I met them at a conference previously, and spoke with them on a call with them about 6 months ago, so they're not a cold contact.

2) I've highlighted what has changed with me recently, focusing on what we have in common.

3) I provide a call-to-action that is low key and informal since we know each other already.

Reconnecting with an Old Colleague / Even After 10 Years

Hey ______, I hope you're doing well! I can't believe it's been almost 10 years since we worked together at Rollins. This is random, but I'm actually going to be in town next week visiting one of my clients.

Do you have any availability on Thursday night (9/11) to grab dinner or drinks? Would love to catch up! If not, I'll be visiting in Spring and can give you plenty of notice ahead of time then! - Ash

Why This Worked:

1) I worked closely with this person on long-term projects.

2) I reminded them of how we knew each other and worked together.

3) I gave them context into why I'm reaching out.

4) I give them an easy way to say no if they're busy, but show I do genuinely want to connect.

Caveat:

This might be too specific of a time window for most people - but you never know. I recommend offering the person 2-3 timeframes for them to choose what works best with their schedule...

Or better yet: setup a calendly specifically for networking. Then, you just send them the link and they choose the time - no back and forth messaging needed!

The Winning Formula

1) Find a warm contact - someone you have something in common with (alumni, worked at the same company, have the same interests on social media).

2) Personalize your message - focus on why you're interested in them first.

3) Introduce yourself briefly and how you know them.

4) Offer a clear call-to-action to get them on a call or ask a couple questions for advice.

Check out some of my favorite templates for outreach here! I've used these across email, social media platforms, and even WhatsApp or text!

Need More Networking Templates and Tips?

Get Career+: Get real-time feedback on who to contact and what to say during our weekly group calls! Plus, we'll have an app soon that allows you to connect with other Career+ members - no pressure to deviate too much from the template because we're all using it!