Postdoc PI connected with me on LinkedIn after I applied—should I reach out or wait?

Question

I recently applied for a Research Fellow (post-doc) position in political science/social sciences at a European institution. The day after I submitted my application (September 30), the PI sent me a request to connect on LinkedIn, which I accepted. I haven’t heard anything since, and it’s now October 9.

I’m wondering what this LinkedIn connection might mean. Is it a positive sign of interest, or something PIs sometimes do as a professional courtesy? Would it be inappropriate to send a short message (e.g., “Thank you for connecting—I just wanted to reiterate my strong interest in the project”) or should I wait until the shortlist/interview stage?

I’m trying not to overthink, but the timing and silence have me second-guessing what’s appropriate in the European academic context. Any insight from people who’ve hired postdocs (or went through this when applying to such positions) would be appreciated.

Answer 1

You are overthinking this. Some people want to befriend everyone they meet in their lives on Facebook. Others do the same on LinkedIn, perhaps because they are actually interested in the person, or perhaps simply because they like to rack up their number of LinkedIn contacts into the hundreds or thousands. I would not read anything into it.