When you send a connection request on LinkedIn, the recipient’s profile will not indicate that you have sent the request while it is still pending. LinkedIn does not notify users when they have connection requests waiting for a response. This allows recipients to accept or ignore requests without feeling pressured. Here’s a quick overview of how pending LinkedIn connection requests work from each user’s perspective:
For the Sender
When you send a connection request on LinkedIn, the profile of the recipient will look normal to you while your request is pending. You will not see any notification that you have sent them a request.
The only place you can view your sent connection requests is by going to your homepage and clicking “Manage my network” > “Connections” > “Sent invitations.” Here you will see a list of pending requests you have sent.
You can also choose to cancel a pending request before the recipient responds by finding it in your list of sent invitations and clicking “Cancel invitation.”
So as the sender of a connection request, the recipient’s profile will display as normal without any indicators of a pending request.
For the Recipient
On the receiving end, LinkedIn will not alert you that someone has sent a connection request. The sender’s profile will display normally without any signs of a pending connection request.
The only way you can view incoming connection requests is to visit your homepage, click on “Manage my network” > “Invitations.” This is where you will see a list of pending connection requests you’ve received.
You can then choose to accept or ignore these requests. If you ignore a request, the sender is not notified. Their request will simply disappear from your list of pending invitations.
So as the recipient, there will be no indicators on the sender’s profile or notifications that they have sent you a request until you view your incoming invitations. Accepting or ignoring requests is at your discretion.
When is the Sender Notified of Acceptance?
When you accept a connection request on LinkedIn, the sender will be notified and can see your updated profile in their network. They will also receive an email notification that you accepted their invitation.
Accepting a request is the only time the sender is actively notified. Declining or ignoring a request does not alert the sender – their pending request simply disappears from your list of incoming invitations.
Who Can See Your Pending Connections?
Pending connection requests and invitations are only visible to the sender and recipient. No one else will see pending requests on your profile or someone else’s.
For example, if John sends Mary a connection request, the only way Mary can view it is by checking her list of incoming invitations. No one else can see that John has sent her a pending request.
Similarly, John can only see his pending request to Mary when he checks his sent invitations. No other profile will display indicators of the pending request John sent to Mary.
In summary, pending connection requests are kept private to only the sender and recipient on LinkedIn.
Changing Privacy Settings
While keeping pending requests private is LinkedIn’s default behavior, you can adjust your settings to change this:
- As the sender, you can choose to publicly display connections you’ve sent invitations to through your “Share job seeking activity” privacy setting.
- As the recipient, you can opt to let your connections see who you declined invitations from through the “Show who you declined invitations from” setting.
However, by default, pending requests remain between just the sender and recipient only.
Do Premium Subscribers Get Different Visibility?
Having a premium LinkedIn account does not affect the visibility of pending connection requests and invitations. The default privacy settings remain the same.
As a premium subscriber, you have access to more data about your network, but pending requests will still only be visible to the sender and recipient – not wider connections or profile viewers.
Summary
To recap the key points on LinkedIn’s handling of pending connection requests:
- Senders of requests cannot see any status or notifications on the recipient’s profile
- Recipients do not see indicators on the sender’s profile or get notifications
- Pending requests are only visible in the sender’s “Sent invitations” and recipient’s “Incoming invitations”
- Accepting a request notifies the sender – ignoring does not
- By default, pending requests are only seen by the sender and recipient
- Premium accounts do not get different visibility of pending requests
So in summary, LinkedIn does not show pending connections on user profiles. The pending status is only visible to the two parties involved by checking their invitation lists. This allows connections to be made freely without applying unwanted social pressure on recipients to accept requests.
Comparison to Other Social Media
Compared to other social media networks, LinkedIn takes a more private approach to pending connections than sites like Facebook and Instagram.
On Facebook and Instagram, you can request to follow someone or add them as a friend. These platforms immediately notify the recipient and show the pending status publicly on both users’ profiles.
For example, if Joe sends Jake a friend request on Facebook, Joe’s profile will show “Friend request sent” when Jake views it. And Jake’s profile will show “1 friend request” from Joe to anyone who visits his profile.
On LinkedIn, this type of public pending status does not exist. Requests remain private between just the two connecting individuals.
Here is a comparison of how the major social networks handle pending connections:
| Platform | Sender Visibility | Recipient Visibility |
|---|---|---|
| Only visible in “Sent Requests” list | Only visible in “Incoming Requests” list | |
| “Friend Request Sent” shown on recipient’s profile | “XX Friend Requests” shown on own profile | |
| “Requested” shown on recipient’s profile | “XX Follower Requests” shown on own profile |
So LinkedIn offers a much more discreet approach to connecting compared to other social networks.
Contacting Connections First vs Sending Invite
Rather than sending an unprompted connection invitation, many LinkedIn experts recommend contacting someone first to introduce yourself and ask for a connection.
This approach prevents people receiving “cold call” invitations from strangers. It also improves the chances the recipient will accept and engage with your request when you make a personalized introduction.
Ways to reach out and connect include:
- InMail: Send a customized message introducing yourself and why you’d like to connect.
- Commenting: Leave a comment on one of their posts to start a conversation.
- Share Content: Share one of their posts and add your own message.
Making first contact allows you to establish a relationship and context before sending an invitation to connect. This helps put the recipient at ease so they will be more likely to accept your request or even send one to you first.
Is There a Pending Request Limit?
LinkedIn does limit the number of pending connection requests and invitations you can have at one time. However, the exact limit is not publicly disclosed.
If you hit the pending request limit, you will see an error notification that states, “You’ve reached the limit for invitations you can send.”
To send more requests, you will need to cancel some pending invitations or wait for current requests to expire. Invites that recipients have not responded to within 7 days are automatically withdrawn.
While the maximum number is not public, common estimates indicate the limit is around 100-200 pending requests at a time. This prevents excessive spamming of invitations on the platform.
Managing Multiple Requests
When you receive multiple connection invitations, LinkedIn provides tools to help you manage them efficiently:
- Sort by newest/oldest – Prioritize the most recent requests at the top of your list.
- Search – Quickly locate a specific request.
- Filters – Categorize requests by 1st degree, 2nd degree, groups, companies, and schools to focus on certain types.
- Bulk actions – Accept or decline multiple requests together.
Using these features makes it easy to parse and respond to a large volume of connection invitations.
As a sender, you can also withdraw invitations in bulk by going to your sent requests list and using the “withdraw selected” option.
Turning Off Invitations
If you wish to stop receiving LinkedIn connection invitations, you can change your settings to block invites.
To do this, go to your profile > Settings & Privacy > Communications > Blocking and hiding > Block invitations.
With this enabled, if someone tries to send you an invite it will be automatically rejected. They will see a message that you are not open to receiving invitations.
As the sender, you can also stop notifications about accepted invitations through your notification settings. This prevents your inbox from being cluttered with acceptance emails.
Closing Thoughts
Pending connection requests on LinkedIn are designed for privacy and discretion. Unlike more public-facing social platforms, LinkedIn keeps invitations behind the scenes until accepted.
Rather than overload profiles with pending requests, LinkedIn only makes them visible in each user’s invitation lists. This reduces unwanted social pressure associated with connecting.
By keeping things discreet until both parties formally accept, LinkedIn creates a professional environment for building meaningful connections.