Shapeshifter
Networking

Managing Networking Contacts

The Networking feature helps you build and track strategic connections for your job search. You can add contacts in two ways: directly from LinkedIn profiles or through AI-generated recommendations based on specific job postings. Each contact is automatically analyzed for commonalities, connection strength, and pre-generated intro messages.

Before you begin: You'll need a LinkedIn account and the Career Clipper Chrome extension installed for the fastest workflow.

Adding Contacts from Job Postings

When viewing a specific job, Shapeshifter can intelligently recommend networking contacts from that company including team members, hiring managers, and recruiters.

View Networking Recommendations

Navigate to any job in your pipeline and click the Networking tab. You'll see three recommendation categories:

  • Recruiters – Recruiting professionals at the company (more common at larger organizations)

  • Hiring Managers – Managers across the company who could be involved in hiring

  • Team Members – People working on the specific team mentioned in the job description

Networking tab showing recommendation buttons for Team Members, Hiring Managers, and Recruiters

Click any recommendation button (e.g., Hiring Managers) to launch a LinkedIn search filtered to 1st and 2nd-degree connections at that company. This helps you identify people who can provide introductions or referrals.

Focus on 1st and 2nd-degree connections, these are people you already know or who can be introduced through mutual connections, increasing your chances of a response.

Add a Contact from LinkedIn

Once you've found a relevant profile on LinkedIn:

  1. Copy the LinkedIn profile URL from your browser

  2. Return to the Networking tab in Shapeshifter

  3. Paste the URL into the Enter LinkedIn Profile URL field

  4. Click Add and wait 10-15 seconds for analysis

Shapeshifter will fetch the profile information and generate an analysis including positive indicators, potential challenges, commonalities you share, and a suggested intro message.

Adding Contacts Directly

You can also add networking contacts without associating them to a specific job.

Using the Add LinkedIn Profile Modal

From the main Networking section, click Add Contact to open the modal. Paste any LinkedIn profile URL and click Add Contact to analyze and save.

Add LinkedIn Profile modal with URL input field and Get Chrome Extension option

Using the Career Clipper Extension

For the fastest workflow, use the Career Clipper Chrome extension while browsing LinkedIn:

  1. Navigate to any LinkedIn profile

  2. Click the Career Clipper extension icon in your browser toolbar

  3. Select the Networking tab in the extension panel

  4. Click Analyze & Save Contact

The contact will be automatically added to your networking list and analyzed in the background.

Viewing Your Networking Contacts

All added contacts appear in your main Networking section as cards showing:

  • Contact name and profile photo

  • Current company

  • Compatibility score (e.g., Strong, Moderate)

  • Current status (Saved, Contacted, Messaging)

  • Quick action buttons

Networking contacts list showing cards with profile photos, companies, compatibility scores, and status

Click on any contact card to view the full analysis, including:

  • Positive Indicators – Reasons this person is a good connection

  • Negative Indicators – Potential challenges to be aware of

  • Commonalities – Shared background, education, interests, or connections

  • Intro Message – A pre-generated connection request or outreach message

Review the commonalities and intro message before reaching out—personalize the message to increase your response rate.

Tracking Networking Progress

The Networking Tracker provides a Kanban-style view to manage your outreach pipeline. Contacts move through multiple stages:

  • Saved – Contact added but not yet contacted

  • Contacted – You've sent an initial message or connection request

  • Messaging – Active conversation or follow-up in progress

  • Stuck - Conversations that need help for moving forward

  • Completed - You've either got what you wanted or closed the conversation

Drag and drop contact cards between columns as you progress through your outreach. This helps you maintain accountability and track how many connections you're actively nurturing.

Regularly updating your networking tracker helps you stay organized and demonstrates progress toward your 2x interviews goal.

Best Practices

  • Prioritize 1st and 2nd-degree connections for higher response rates

  • Customize the intro message based on commonalities identified in the analysis

  • Track your outreach in the Networking Tracker to maintain momentum

  • Adjust your strategy based on results—if you're not getting responses from team members, try hiring managers or recruiters

  • Use job-specific networking to target the most relevant contacts for each application

Video Walkthrough

Watch the complete demonstration of the Networking feature:

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