Linkedin etiquette: UX edition

How to approach other designers online

Simmy
UX Planet
Published in
4 min readMar 26, 2021

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Don’t go searching for people’s cell numbers and call them unsolicited.

Networking is a learned skill. I haven’t always been good at it, but I’ve learned how to approach people online, and the best way to approach other UX designers specifically.

As a junior designer myself, I’ve spent my fair share of time reaching out to people on LinkedIn. I also have some experience of being reached out to. Here are some of the things I’ve learned throughout my time on LinkedIn so far:

State your reason for connecting immediately

It’s not appropriate to message someone, “Hey”, “Hope you’re having a good day” or “How are you?” without any other information on why you’re messaging.

If you have a previous connection with the person, this could be fine, but generally, you want to state the purpose of your connection immediately. If you don’t people won’t reply, assume you’re a Marketing solicitor or remove you as a connection.

Do not search for their phone number and call whenever you feel

Don’t call people who you don’t know unsolicited. You’d think this would be self-explanatory, but it’s happened to me before. I’ve had people find my number online whether through old resumes or websites and call me. They’d say they found me from LinkedIn and wanted to chat. This is a huge NO. Don’t call people who you don’t know unsolicited. People often don’t want to talk to strangers on the phone at random, especially if you’re asking them on the spot to interview, mentor or anything else. It’s invasive, rude and quite unsettling.

It’s a shocking thing to specify, but in case you’ve ever considered doing this: Don’t.

Have a plan

When you write someone, have a plan of action. If you’re messaging a designer you want to have a method of communication, a time, date and purpose. Let them know why you’re reaching out (be specific) what you’d like to learn or get out of the meeting and a few options of dates, times and length of the chat you’d like to have…

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Freelance writer, video editor, Youtuber, & Complainer. I promise I’m a lot more fun at parties than these articles make you think. / thesimmybusiness@gmail.com