LinkedIn Introductions

I'd like to start out saying I'm a big fan of LinkedIn and have found it very helpful in my job search. That said, I'm a little frustrated with the Introduction feature and have quite a few questions.

When I find a job opportunity on LinkedIn, one of the first things I do is see if I'm connected to the person who posted the job or the hiring manager.

Most of the time, I have found either a 2nd-degree connection where someone I know directly knows the hiring manager. Considered a direct connection. Or a 3rd-degree connection where someone I know knows someone that knows the hiring manager. There are two middle men.

Is it a quantity versus quality issue? I write my introduction email and send it off to my connection and I often get a reply saying, "I don't really know her/him..." But then why are you linked? Do you need to know her/him just to send an introduction?

Is an introduction being interpreted as a recommendation? Asking my connection for an introduction seems to elicit feelings of putting themselves out which sounds more like a recommendation than an introduction. But I'm not asking my connection to recommend me, at least not in an introduction.

Is passing on the message effective? I'm simply requesting my connection to pass on my message to their connection. But I've submitted a resume with a well thought out cover letter. And now I'm sending a message often through a chain of 2 or more people. What would the message say that my cover letter didn't? Or do people find it impressive that I've gone through the trouble of sending a message through this human link?

Is there something I'm missing? Have you been asked to introduce someone? Did you do it or did you decline?


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The effectiveness of LinkedIn introductions. http://tinyurl.com/d8duye