(Author) Counsel

If you interview for a job but are not offered the position, is it weird to try to connect with some of your interviewers on LinkedIn? I genuinely liked some of my interviewers, but apparently the company identified a candidate whom it believes is a better fit.

Attorney and Associate Responses: 

• I would connect, but don’t message.
• I’d probably decline an invitation to connect without a message explaining why they want to connect.
• Obviously you’d want context like “Thanks again for your time recently, let’s connect for future reference and stay in touch.” You don’t want to ask them to reconsider you or anything like that. Just keep it cordial. I do this all the time to grow my network.
• I agree; why not?

Director and General Counsel Responses:

• Let it breathe for a month or two before you try to connect. If you sent it to me shortly after learning I said ‘no’, I’d assume you wanted to chat and find out why you weren’t selected, so I’d probably decline. A few months go by and then you send a request with a message saying something like “Although I wasn’t selected for the role I really enjoyed our discussion and would love to connect”, so they know you’re not upset and just want to expand your network. - Good luck!
• You totally should. I was recently interviewing for a position and I got at least two leads as a result of connections I made on LinkedIn. Considering I had some things in common, as a result of the common connection, I made it clear that regardless of the outcome we should connect. This was 100% effective because I made it clear that it was completely independent and I used that as an opportunity to nag about my prospects as a candidate. - One even made me an offer but I called them personally to thank them and respectfully declined. Who knows, the opportunity may present itself again and I will already have a connection!

In-house? Join the conversation on Fishbowl (anonymous).