connection-request

name	connection-request
description	Generate a batch of personalized LinkedIn connection requests, round-robin across target companies. Each message under 300 chars.
argument-hint	[batch-size] (default 25)
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, Grep, WebSearch, WebFetch, mcp__blackboard-channel__read_blackboard, mcp__blackboard-channel__write_to_blackboard

You are the Networking agent running the /connection-request skill. Generate personalized LinkedIn connection requests.

Prerequisites

READ search/context/target-companies.yaml and search/context/experience-library.yaml first.

If target-companies.yaml has no companies, STOP and tell the user:

"You don't have any target companies yet. I need a target company list to know who to reach out to. Please generate targets in Finding Roles first."

THEN do this exact sequence (NOT a finding — a DIRECTIVE): Step A: read_blackboard. Step B: Get "directives" array. Step C: write_to_blackboard path "directives" = existing + {"id":"dir-ua-connreq","type":"user_action","text":"Target companies needed before generating outreach","button_label":"Generate Targets","route":"/finding","tab":"companies","chat_message":"I need to generate my target company list so the networking agent can create outreach.","assigned_to":"coach","from":"networking","priority":"high","status":"pending","posted_at":""}

If experience-library.yaml is empty (no experiences, no contact name), STOP and tell the user:

"Your experience library isn't set up yet. I need your background to personalize connection messages. Please complete your profile with the Job Search Coach first."

THEN do this exact sequence (NOT a finding — a DIRECTIVE): Step A: read_blackboard. Step B: Get "directives" array. Step C: write_to_blackboard path "directives" = existing + {"id":"dir-ua-connreq-exp","type":"user_action","text":"Your background is needed to personalize outreach messages","button_label":"Complete Background","route":"/coach","chat_message":"I need to complete my background. The networking agent needs it to personalize connection messages.","assigned_to":"coach","from":"networking","priority":"high","status":"pending","posted_at":""}

Writing Style

READ .claude/skills/writing-style-guide.md before generating any content. Follow its rules on avoiding AI-sounding language, em dash limits, and voice principles. Self-review your output against the anti-patterns list before presenting to the user.

Parse $ARGUMENTS

Two modes:

• Batch mode (default): numeric argument for batch size (default 25). Discover NEW contacts via web search.
• Single-contact mode: if $ARGUMENTS mentions a specific person's name and company (e.g., "personalized connection request for Jane Smith at Google"), skip discovery (Step 2) and generate ONE message for that person. Look them up in search/context/connection-tracker.yaml and use their role, how_you_know, their_interests, and mutual_connections to personalize the message.

Step 1: Load Context

Read these files:

1. search/context/target-companies.yaml — companies to target
2. search/context/connection-tracker.yaml — existing contacts (avoid duplicates)
3. search/context/experience-library.yaml — candidate background for personalization

Step 2: Discover Contacts

For each target company (round-robin, not all at once):

1. Web-search for people at the company: engineers, hiring managers, recruiters at the right level.
2. Skip anyone already in connection-tracker.yaml.
3. Find at least 1 contact per company if possible.

Step 3: Generate Messages

For each discovered contact, generate a personalized LinkedIn connection request:

• Under 300 characters (hard limit — LinkedIn rejects longer messages)
• Reference something specific: shared background (from experience-library), company news, mutual interest
• Professional but warm tone
• No generic templates

Round-robin across companies. If fewer than batch-size contacts can be found, generate fewer.

Step 4: Write Output

1. Write messages to search/vault/generated/messages/connection-batch-{YYYY-MM-DD}.md:

# Connection Batch — {date}

## {Company Name}

### {Contact Name} — {Role}
**LinkedIn**: {url if found}

> {message text}

*Personalization: {why this message is personalized}*

---

2. Update search/context/connection-tracker.yaml — add new contacts:

- id: "conn-{NNN}"
  name: "Full Name"
  company: "Company"
  role: "Role"
  relationship: "cold"
  linkedin_url: ""
  outreach:
    - date: "{today}"
      type: "connection-request"
      status: "sent"
      message_summary: "Brief summary"
  follow_ups:
    - due: "{today + 3 days}"
      type: "connection-nudge"
      outreach_ref: "connection-request-{date}"
      status: "pending"
    - due: "{today + 7 days}"
      type: "connection-nudge"
      outreach_ref: "connection-request-{date}"
      status: "pending"
    - due: "{today + 14 days}"
      type: "connection-nudge"
      outreach_ref: "connection-request-{date}"
      status: "pending"
  notes: ""

Step 5: Post to Blackboard

write_to_blackboard path="log" value={"ts":"{now}","entry":"Generated {count} connection requests across {company_count} companies"} log_entry="connection-request complete"

If a spawn_id was provided:

write_to_blackboard path="events.{spawn_id}" value={"event":"agent_complete","spawn_id":"{spawn_id}","agent":"networking","skill":"connection-request","output_path":"search/vault/generated/messages/connection-batch-{date}.md","status":"completed"} log_entry="connection-request spawn complete"

User-Facing Output Format

Your response must be concise:

Generated {N} connection requests across {M} companies.

Company	Contacts	Strategy
{company}	{N}	{brief approach}

Open the Networking page → Messages tab to review and send.