1,200 LinkedIn Requests: How He Found His Job in Just a Few Months

To find a job, Hashim Mahmoud sent out 1,200 connection requests on LinkedIn and conducted 150 conversations. His strategy paid off: ultimately, he learned about an open position that matched his profile through contacts and got the job.

Starting a Career is Not Easy

According to a Kickresume survey, 58% of graduates in the USA are still searching for their first job a year after graduation. It's similar in Germany: As reported by Stepstone, graduates under 30 now need to submit an average of 40 applications to get invited for an interview. Hashim Mahmoud is familiar with these challenges. He now works as a Strategy and Operations Manager at Angi, an online marketplace for home services. According to his own statements, he managed to find a job in 2024 within a few months – with the help of his LinkedIn network and a lot of connection requests.

"I contacted over 1,200 people, spoke with about 150 of them, and had around 20 interviews before I got the position I currently hold at Angi," he told Business Insider. To keep track of his LinkedIn network, he created a spreadsheet. In his research, he focused on people he admired or whose positions he wanted to understand better. "Whenever I sent out LinkedIn connection requests, I always added a personal message," Mahmoud said. He didn't directly ask for help but instead requested a brief conversation.

The Advantage of Personal Conversations

Some contacts accepted his request but did not respond to his message. In this case, he sent a follow-up message thanking them for the confirmation and again requested a brief personal conversation. He had activated notifications in the LinkedIn app to be informed as soon as someone accepted his connection request. "This meant they were likely active on the platform at that moment. Most responded quickly," he reported. "These conversations were essentially informational. I shared a little more about myself and then curiously engaged with them. I asked about their career paths, the key skills in their field, and the culture of their teams."

Towards the end, he asked if his qualifications would fit the company and sent his resume to his conversation partners for any open positions. "If they said no, I asked if it would be okay to stay in touch. I also asked if they could introduce me to people in their network," he said. After each conversation, he thanked them in another message for the time they had taken. "Through networking, you gain much more information than what is stated in a job description, such as how different teams within a specific company operate and what problems they are trying to solve."

Networking Pays Off

Through the many networking conversations, he gained confidence. "Often, the same questions are asked repeatedly, and with each question, I got better at explaining my background," Mahmoud said. Most conversations did not immediately lead to a job opportunity; however, the effort was worthwhile – as this strategy ultimately led him to his current position at Angi. "A former colleague of mine had a friend who worked there. She agreed to talk with me," he reported. At the time of the conversation, there were no open positions, but she agreed to stay in touch. A few months later, Mahmoud followed up. Indeed, a position had opened up that was set to be posted online the next day. He applied – and got the job.

This article was originally published on June 7, 2026, but it still interests many of our readers. Therefore, we have updated it and made it available again.