In this episode we will answer a question about replying to LinkedIn connection requests. The question is:
“How do I send a message to someone that wants to connect with me, before I accept the connection request?”
I get this question all of the time and from lots of people, so let’s look at the steps to do this.
So you’ve received an email from a person requesting that you connect. Don’t click the “Connect” button, rather, click the “View Profile” button. This will take you to the profile page for the potential connection. Alternatively, you can go to LinkedIn in your web browser. Now, click the “Envelope” icon in the top right. Don’t do the drop-down menu, just click the envelope. On the left, you will see several choices for your Inbox. Click on “Invitations.” In the list of received invitations, each will have two buttons: “Accept” and “Ignore.” Next to the “Accept” button, there is a little downward triangle. Click it and select “Reply (don’t accept yet)”. Now you can type your message and then click the “Send Message” button. Once you’ve sent the message, you can still accept the connection, or wait for a response to find out if you actually know the person who sent the connection request.