LinkedIn Growth5 min read
How to See 3rd Degree Connections on LinkedIn
How to see 3rd degree connections on LinkedIn: how they show up in search, what you can view, and the honest options for reaching them without wasting invites.
By Animesh Kudake, Co-founder, Apna Project
The short version
- A 3rd-degree connection is someone connected to your 2nd-degree connections. LinkedIn marks them with a 3rd degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile.
- You can find 3rd-degree people through normal search. They appear in results with the 3rd icon, and you can open their profile, though some fields have limited visibility compared to closer connections.
- How you reach them depends on how their name displays. If you see their full name, you can usually send a connection invitation. If you see only a first name and last initial, your options narrow to Follow or InMail.
- Do not blast invitations at 3rd-degree strangers. LinkedIn caps how many invites you can send, and a cold request with no context is the one most likely to be ignored or marked I don't know this person.
- The reliable way to warm a 3rd-degree contact is to become a 2nd-degree one first, usually by engaging where they already are before you ever hit Connect.
The first-name-and-initial wall
Here is the detail that trips people up. Sometimes a 3rd-degree result shows only a first name and a last initial, like "Priya S.," instead of a full name.
That display is LinkedIn's signal that the person is near the edge of your reachable network. When you see it, your options usually shrink: instead of a Connect button you will often see Follow, and a direct connection invitation may not be available at all. It is not a bug, it is the platform telling you this person is currently out of standard invitation range.
When the full name is visible, you generally can send a connection request. When it is not, plan to Follow, use InMail, or take the slower relationship route below.
How to reach a 3rd-degree connection
Reaching across the third ring comes down to a few honest paths:
- Send a connection request if you can see their full name. Add a short, specific note about why you are connecting. A blank request to a stranger is the one most likely to be ignored, or worse, marked "I don't know this person," which counts against you.
- Use InMail if you have a Premium plan. It lets you message people you are not connected to, including 3rd-degree members, without a prior connection.
- Share a group. Being in the same LinkedIn group can unlock the ability to message someone you are not directly connected to.
- Follow them and start engaging with their posts, which needs no permission and puts you on their radar over time.
Before you go on a connecting spree, remember LinkedIn caps how many invitations you can send. We cover the real numbers in the weekly invitation limit, and it is worth respecting, because hitting the ceiling with cold requests is a poor trade.
The move that actually works
We build a LinkedIn commenting tool, so this is the part we care about most, and we will be straight that it reflects how we think you should grow. The most reliable way to reach a 3rd-degree person is to stop being three hops away.
The moment you connect with one of their 1st-degree connections, or engage meaningfully in the same conversations they do, you become a 2nd-degree connection. Full name visible, Connect button available, and a shared context that makes your request land. That usually happens by showing up thoughtfully in the comment sections where they and their network already are, long before you ever click Connect.
That is slower than firing off cold invitations, and it is also why it works. A warm 2nd-degree request with real context beats a cold 3rd-degree one every time. If your broader goal is simply a bigger network, we lay out a saner approach in how to get 500 connections without spamming, and if you are just trying to read your own network's numbers, seeing your followers in the app is the place to start. Seeing 3rd-degree people is easy. Turning them into connections worth having is the part that rewards patience.
Frequently asked questions
How do I see 3rd-degree connections on LinkedIn?
Use the search bar to look up a person, company, or role. In the results, LinkedIn labels people outside your immediate network with a degree icon, and 3rd-degree people show a 3rd next to their name. Click through to open the profile. You can view most of it, though some fields have limited visibility for people further from your network.
Can I message a 3rd-degree connection for free?
Usually not directly. Free messaging is reserved for 1st-degree connections. To reach a 3rd-degree person you generally need to send a connection request first, use InMail with a Premium plan, or share a group with them, which can unlock messaging. The free path is to connect, then message once they accept.
Why can I only see a first name and last initial for some people?
LinkedIn limits how much of a profile it shows for members further from your network. When someone appears as a first name and last initial, they are typically out of your reach for a standard invitation, so you will often see a Follow button instead of Connect. Getting closer in the network usually restores full visibility.
How do I connect with a 3rd-degree connection?
If their full name is visible, open their profile and click Connect, ideally with a short personalized note. If only a first name and initial shows, use Follow or InMail instead. The stronger move is to first engage with their content and mutual contacts so you become a 2nd-degree connection, which makes the request far more likely to land.
Written by the team building Commenti on real LinkedIn growth data. Found an error? Tell us and we’ll fix it. Accuracy beats winning.
Co-founder, Apna Project
Co-founder at Apna Project, where he helps founders and agencies turn ideas into products. Writes here on LinkedIn growth and what actually earns attention in a comment section. Commenti is the LinkedIn comment automation tool by Ampliflow.
LinkedIn sorts everyone you might reach into degrees, and the third ring is where most people get confused about what they can actually do. You can often see a 3rd-degree person just fine, but the buttons available to reach them change, and the invitation you fire off may quietly go nowhere.
So let us be precise about what a 3rd-degree connection is, how to find them, what LinkedIn lets you see, and the honest way to turn one into a real contact instead of a wasted invite.
What a 3rd-degree connection is
The degrees are just distance in the network. Your 1st-degree connections are people you are directly connected to. Your 2nd-degree connections are connected to them. Your 3rd-degree connections are connected to your 2nd-degree connections, three hops out from you.
According to LinkedIn's help documentation, members in this ring get a "3rd" degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile. That little label is how you tell at a glance how far someone sits from you. If the whole degree system is new to you, we break it down fully in what 1st, 2nd, and 3rd mean on LinkedIn.
How to actually see them
You do not need Premium to see 3rd-degree people. Regular search surfaces them.
You can view most of a 3rd-degree profile, but not always all of it. LinkedIn limits some fields for members further from your network, so you may see less detail than you would on a 1st or 2nd-degree profile. The further out someone is, the less LinkedIn shows by default.
A couple of filters make this easier. On the search results page, open All filters and set Connections to include 2nd and 3rd degree, then narrow by location, company, or industry to cut a huge list down to the people you actually care about. Free accounts can filter this way; the deeper filters that let you slice by seniority or function sit behind Sales Navigator, but you rarely need them just to find and view a 3rd-degree profile.