“I’d like to connect with you on LinkedIn” is the standard default message the site sends when you want to connect with another on the site.

It’s one thing when people I know use the default message and send their connection invitation along. (Though, I always write a personalized message.)

It’s another when someone you don’t know and have never heard of uses it.

If you’ve never met or even heard of a person you’re trying to connect with, I would first ask, “why are you even trying to connect with them?” But then I would ask, “Why, if you are trying to connect to someone who has never heard of you, would you not write a personalized note explaining who you are and why we should connect?”

I guess the flip side is why would anyone accept a LinkedIn invitation from someone they don’t know. But that’s for another post…