5 exercises — connection requests, conference follow-ups, job inquiries, and cold email subject lines for engineers.
0 / 22 completed
1 / 22
You want to connect with a senior engineer whose open-source library you use. Which LinkedIn message is most effective?
An effective cold connection request is specific, gives value to the recipient, and states why you want to connect. Option B names the exact library, gives a concrete use case (six months of use), mentions a specific technical decision it enabled (saved re-architecture), and states a genuine reason to connect (follow their work). The recipient learns that their work had a real impact — this makes accepting the request feel worthwhile. Options A and C are LinkedIn default messages or generic. Option D has no specific information — "your profile looks interesting" says nothing.
2 / 22
Complete this networking message to a conference speaker: "I _____ (attend) your talk on distributed tracing at QCon last week. Your approach to sampling rate trade-offs _____ (change) how I _____ (think) about observability costs. I _____ (be/grateful) to connect."
Attended (past simple) — the conference was a completed event in the past. Has changed (present perfect) — the change happened in the past but has a current result: your thinking is different now as a result of the talk. Think (present simple) — a current ongoing cognitive state. Would be grateful — polite conditional for a request, softer than "I am grateful to connect" (which would imply the connection already exists). Option B uses "was attending" (continuous) which implies you were interrupted mid-talk, and "am grateful" which sounds like the connection is already a done deal.
3 / 22
You want to ask a connection if their company is hiring. Which message follows professional norms?
Job inquiries through a connection work best when you demonstrate genuine interest in their specific work, show domain fit, and make a scoped, easy-to-answer ask. Option B: acknowledges a specific recent technical achievement (the cache layer), shows sustained engagement (following the blog for a year), connects their work to your own expertise, makes a specific ask (infrastructure team roles), and offers something in return (CV ready). Option A is abrupt and leads with urgency. Option C asks the connection to do investigative work on your behalf. Option D treats the connection as a routing mechanism, skipping the relationship entirely.
4 / 22
Which subject line or opening is most effective for a cold networking email (not LinkedIn)?
A cold email subject line must give the recipient a reason to open it. Option B references a specific piece of work they produced (the InfoQ article), signals that the sender read it seriously enough to have a specific question (compilation pipeline), and provides context for why the sender is reaching out. This gives the recipient something they care about — a question about their own published work. Option A is generic and sounds like spam. Option C says nothing about who you are or why they should care. Option D is a statement of how you found their email — interesting as context but terrible as an opener since it creates privacy concerns.
5 / 22
Choose the best phrasing for a follow-up after meeting at a conference: "It _____ (be) great _____ (meet) you at PyCon. I _____ (enjoy) our conversation about async IO patterns — I _____ (look) into the library you _____ (mention)."
It was great meeting you — past simple + gerund ("meeting") is the standard English phrase for this context: "It was great + verb-ing". Enjoyed (past simple) — the conversation is a completed past event. Have been looking (present perfect continuous) — shows you started looking into the library after the conference and are still in the process. This signals ongoing, genuine follow-through. Mentioned (past simple) — refers to what was said during the conversation. Option B uses "to meet" (infinitive after "great") which is less natural here — the gerund is the idiomatic choice. "Am looking" (option D) would also work but present perfect continuous shows more concrete progress.
6 / 22
David: 'Hey Sarah, just reviewing your PR for the new authentication module. Seems solid overall, but I'm a little concerned about the rate limiting logic – it might not handle peak loads effectively. Could you elaborate on your testing strategy?'
Which LinkedIn message would be most appropriate for you to send to Sarah after this code review discussion? Consider building a longer-term relationship.
This question assesses your ability to transition a brief code review interaction into a networking opportunity. The correct answer demonstrates active listening and an invitation for deeper discussion—crucial for building rapport. Options A is too directive; B ignores the context of the conversation and fails to build a relationship. Option D simply repeats the problem without offering any engagement or collaboration. It's important to show you value Sarah's expertise and are open to learning from her.
7 / 22
David recently provided feedback on your PR regarding authentication. You want to connect with him on LinkedIn to continue the conversation and potentially collaborate in the future. Which message is most appropriate?
Option A is too brief and doesn't show genuine interest in continuing the discussion. Option B demonstrates a proactive approach by specifically referencing his concerns and inviting further dialogue – this shows you were paying attention and value his expertise. Options C and D are generic and lack any substance for building a relationship. It's important to acknowledge specific feedback when networking, rather than just offering a general thanks.
8 / 22
David: 'Hey Sarah, just reviewing your PR for the new authentication module. Seems solid overall, but I'm a little concerned about the rate limiting logic – it might not handle peak loads effectively. Could you elaborate on your testing strategy?'
Which LinkedIn message would be most appropriate for you to send to Sarah after this code review discussion? Consider building a longer-term relationship.
This question assesses your ability to transition a brief code review interaction into a networking opportunity. The correct answer demonstrates active listening and an invitation for deeper discussion—crucial for building rapport. Options A is too directive; B ignores the context of the conversation and fails to build a relationship. Option D simply repeats the problem without offering any engagement or collaboration. It's important to show you value Sarah's expertise and are open to learning from her.
9 / 22
David recently provided feedback on your PR regarding authentication. You want to connect with him on LinkedIn to continue the conversation and potentially collaborate in the future. Which message is most appropriate?
Option A is too brief and doesn't show genuine interest in continuing the discussion. Option B demonstrates a proactive approach by specifically referencing his concerns and inviting further dialogue – this shows you were paying attention and value his expertise. Options C and D are generic and lack any substance for building a relationship. It's important to acknowledge specific feedback when networking, rather than just offering a general thanks.
10 / 22
David: 'Hey Sarah, just reviewing your PR for the new authentication module. Seems solid overall, but I'm a little concerned about the rate limiting logic – it might not handle peak loads effectively. Could you elaborate on your testing strategy?'
Which LinkedIn message would be most appropriate for you to send to Sarah after this code review discussion? Consider building a longer-term relationship.
This question assesses your ability to transition a brief code review interaction into a networking opportunity. The correct answer demonstrates active listening and an invitation for deeper discussion—crucial for building rapport. Options A is too directive; B ignores the context of the conversation and fails to build a relationship. Option D simply repeats the problem without offering any engagement or collaboration. It's important to show you value Sarah's expertise and are open to learning from her.
11 / 22
David recently provided feedback on your PR regarding authentication. You want to connect with him on LinkedIn to continue the conversation and potentially collaborate in the future. Which message is most appropriate?
Option A is too brief and doesn't show genuine interest in continuing the discussion. Option B demonstrates a proactive approach by specifically referencing his concerns and inviting further dialogue – this shows you were paying attention and value his expertise. Options C and D are generic and lack any substance for building a relationship. It's important to acknowledge specific feedback when networking, rather than just offering a general thanks.
12 / 22
David: 'Hey Sarah, just reviewing your PR for the new authentication module. Seems solid overall, but I'm a little concerned about the rate limiting logic – it might not handle peak loads effectively. Could you elaborate on your testing strategy?'
Which LinkedIn message would be most appropriate for you to send to Sarah after this code review discussion? Consider building a longer-term relationship.
This question assesses your ability to transition a brief code review interaction into a networking opportunity. The correct answer demonstrates active listening and an invitation for deeper discussion—crucial for building rapport. Options A is too directive; B ignores the context of the conversation and fails to build a relationship. Option D simply repeats the problem without offering any engagement or collaboration. It's important to show you value Sarah's expertise and are open to learning from her.
13 / 22
David recently provided feedback on your PR regarding authentication. You want to connect with him on LinkedIn to continue the conversation and potentially collaborate in the future. Which message is most appropriate?
Option A is too brief and doesn't show genuine interest in continuing the discussion. Option B demonstrates a proactive approach by specifically referencing his concerns and inviting further dialogue – this shows you were paying attention and value his expertise. Options C and D are generic and lack any substance for building a relationship. It's important to acknowledge specific feedback when networking, rather than just offering a general thanks.
14 / 22
Maria, a junior developer, posted this Slack message after receiving feedback on her API endpoint design: 'Okay, thanks for the input. I'll look into it.' Her colleague, Alex, wants to gently encourage her to elaborate and show that she's engaged. Which response is most appropriate?
The best response encourages further dialogue and demonstrates a willingness to understand Alex's concerns. Option A is passive and doesn't invite clarification. Option C is dismissive, while option D shifts responsibility without seeking understanding. Option B directly asks for elaboration, which is crucial when receiving feedback on technical design.
15 / 22
You're a DevOps engineer and need to briefly explain the impact of increased latency during a stand-up meeting. Complete the sentence: 'We've been seeing some elevated latency in the API gateway, primarily due to _____, which is impacting user experience.'
The most relevant reason for increased latency in an API gateway scenario is typically high traffic volume. Options A, B, and C are all plausible but less directly related to the immediate impact on user experience compared to a surge in requests. Framing it as 'increased traffic' helps the team understand the root cause quickly.
16 / 22
During a code review, John comments: 'This section could benefit from some error handling. What if the API returns an unexpected status code?' Which LinkedIn message would be most effective for you to send to John to explore potential collaboration on this issue?
Option A directly acknowledges John's feedback and proposes a conversation. This is the most proactive and collaborative approach. Option B is dismissive. Option C avoids engagement, while option D is too vague to initiate discussion.
17 / 22
You've just attended a workshop on microservices architecture and want to connect with the speaker, Ben. Which LinkedIn message is most professional and effective?
Requesting a link to the slides is a polite and valuable way to show interest and demonstrates that you were actively engaged in the session. Options A and B are too casual for a professional connection. Option D is passive and doesn't initiate engagement.
18 / 22
Context: You're a senior developer reviewing a junior colleague's PR proposing a new feature flag implementation. The code is functional but lacks detailed documentation and clear explanations of the decision-making process. Your colleague, Emily, asks for your feedback on LinkedIn.
Which message would be most appropriate to send to Emily to encourage further discussion while maintaining a supportive tone?
Option 1 is best because it acknowledges Emily's effort while directly requesting the crucial missing element - documentation. Options 2 clearly states the need and invites a conversation, demonstrating constructive feedback. Options 3 and 4 are too terse or overly critical without offering guidance. This approach balances positivity with specific improvement suggestions.
19 / 22
Context: You're a backend engineer and need to quickly explain an API error response to another team member via Slack. The error indicates a database connection timeout.
Which of the following messages is most effective for conveying this information clearly and concisely?
Option 1 is too informal and lacks specifics. Option 2 provides a clear explanation of the error type (timeout) and suggests further investigation, which is appropriate for Slack. Options 3 and 4 are unhelpful and don't offer any direction.
20 / 22
Context: You've just spent an hour in a code review with Mark, discussing performance bottlenecks in a new service. He suggested caching strategies. After the meeting, you want to connect with him on LinkedIn to explore potential collaboration opportunities.
Which message is most professional and effective?
Option 1 is concise and references the specific topic discussed. Option 2 clearly states your interest in further discussion and proposes a connection on LinkedIn – this is the most proactive and professional approach. Options 3 and 4 are too informal or focus on a negative aspect.
21 / 22
Context: You're a DevOps engineer giving a brief update during the daily standup. You noticed increased latency in your application's API gateway.
Which sentence is most appropriate to include in your update?
Option 1 is vague and doesn't provide any useful information. Option 2 clearly explains the issue (latency), provides a likely cause (increased traffic), and indicates action being taken (investigation into scaling). Options 3 and 4 are incorrect and downplay the problem.
22 / 22
Context: You're a frontend developer and have received feedback on your UI component from Alex. He suggested simplifying the design to improve performance.
Which message would you send to Alex via LinkedIn to continue this conversation?
Option 1 is a polite but insufficient response. Option 2 directly acknowledges the feedback, requests clarification on the 'specific performance considerations,' and invites a more detailed discussion. Options 3 and 4 are dismissive or lack engagement.
What does the "LinkedIn Networking Messages — Writing Exercise" exercise cover?
Practice writing effective LinkedIn and networking messages: cold outreach, job inquiries, conference follow-ups, and specific subject lines. 5 interactive exercises.
Is this exercise free to use?
Yes. Every exercise on CoderSlingo, including this one, is free to use with no account, sign-up, or paywall.
How many questions are in "LinkedIn Networking Messages — Writing Exercise"?
This exercise has 22 questions. Each one gives instant feedback with an explanation, so you can see exactly why an answer is right or wrong.
Do I need to create an account to save my progress?
No account is required. The progress bar and score are tracked in your browser for the current session -- the exercise is designed to be a quick, repeatable drill rather than something you resume later.
What happens if I get an answer wrong?
You'll see the correct answer highlighted immediately, along with a short explanation of why it's correct. Wrong answers aren't penalized beyond your score, and you can keep going through every question.
How is this exercise different from reading an article?
Articles explain vocabulary and concepts through prose, while exercises like this one are interactive drills -- multiple-choice questions -- that test and reinforce your recall of specific terms and phrasing.
Can I retry this exercise?
Yes -- use the "Try again" button on the results screen to reset your score and go through all the questions again from the start.
Where can I find more Email & Writing exercises?
Browse the full Email & Writing hub for related drills, or check the site-wide exercises index for other IT English topics.
Is this exercise suitable for beginners?
This exercise assumes basic familiarity with IT terminology. If a term feels unfamiliar, check the site Glossary for a plain-English definition before attempting the questions.
How often is new content like this published?
New exercises are added regularly across all categories, alongside new vocabulary sets and articles. Check back on the exercises hub to see what's new.