LinkedIn is a popular professional networking platform that allows users to connect with each other. When you send a connection request to someone on LinkedIn, they have the option to either accept or ignore/reject it. Unfortunately, LinkedIn does not directly notify you if someone rejects your connection request. However, there are a few subtle signs you can look for to determine if your request was rejected or ignored.
Check notification alerts
The easiest way to know if someone rejected your LinkedIn connection request is to check your notifications. Go to the notifications icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage. Here you will see alerts for new messages, connection requests, and updates from your network. If the person accepted your request, you would get a notification saying “X has accepted your connection request”. However, if they rejected it, there will be no notification.
So if you don’t see an acceptance notification within a few days of sending the request, it likely means they ignored or rejected your request. The lack of any notification is the clearest sign your request was not accepted.
See if you can still send a request
Here is another simple way to check. Go to the person’s profile that you had sent the connection invitation to. See if you still have the option to “Connect” with them or if it now says “Pending” or “Invite Sent”.
If the Connect option is still there, it means your previous request was rejected or ignored. If a connection is still pending or invite sent, then they have not responded to your request yet.
Check connection list
You can also directly check if the person appears in your LinkedIn connections list. Go to My Network > Connections on LinkedIn. Search for the person’s name here or scroll through your list of connections.
If you had sent them a request earlier but they are not in your connections, it means they most likely rejected your invite. Of course, you’ll need to first confirm that you did send them a request and didn’t just view their profile.
Number of connections
This is a more indirect way to potentially identify if your request was rejected. Look at the number of connections the person has. If they rejected your request, the number should stay the same as before you sent the invite. However, if they accepted it, their total connections would go up by one.
Of course, this is not foolproof as the number can change due to other accepted requests. But if it has stayed the same for days after you sent the invitation, it suggests they ignored your request.
Use LinkedIn Premium to confirm
The easiest way to directly confirm if your connection request was rejected on LinkedIn is to use LinkedIn Premium. It shows you the status of all your sent invitations under My Network > Manage > Sent invitations.
Here you can see which requests are still pending, accepted, or rejected. The rejected ones will show as “Invitation canceled”. So Premium members can immediately find out if their request was rejected without any guesswork.
Send a follow up message
If you are still not sure about the status of your connection request, you can send the person a polite follow up message. Say something like:
“Hi [name], I wanted to check if you received the connection request I sent you on [date]. I’m interested in connecting as [reasons]. Let me know if you would be open to connecting on LinkedIn.”
This shows you are genuinely interested in connecting with them for professional reasons. If they already rejected your request, they may communicate that to you after receiving your message. Or they may reconsider connecting with you if your message makes a strong case.
Why your request may get rejected
There are a few common reasons why your LinkedIn connection requests may get rejected:
- The person does not know you well enough to connect.
- They want to limit their network to people they personally know and work with.
- Your invitation was too vague or impersonal.
- You have few shared connections in common.
- There is not enough overlap between your profiles and interests.
Making your request more personalized and highlighting common connections or interests can help increase your chances of getting accepted.
How to react to a rejected request
Getting your connection request rejected can be disheartening. But it’s best not to take it personally. Here are some ways to react:
- Be professional about it. Don’t message them repeatedly if they have not responded to your first invite.
- Connect with them on other platforms like Twitter or Facebook if you have access.
- Wait for a few months before sending another request. Give time for more overlap to develop between your profiles.
- Build greater rapport through common connections before resending a request.
- Make your next request more specific and personalized to stand out.
With persistence and relationship building, you may eventually be able to connect with them on LinkedIn. But also respect their choice if they seem disinterested in connecting after multiple invites.
Mistakes to avoid when sending requests
Here are some common mistakes that increase your chances of having your connection request rejected:
- Mass sending generic invites to anyone and everyone.
- Not personalizing the request with a message highlighting common interests or connections.
- Asking to connect after interacting just once or briefly at an event.
- Sending an invitation from a bare-bones profile with few details filled in.
- Asking to connect solely for commercial reasons like promoting your business.
- Connecting from a personal profile to their professional company page.
- Sending repeated requests without giving them time to respond.
Avoiding these mistakes and being more targeted, patient, and personalized can help boost your connection acceptance rate on LinkedIn.
Useful tips for better acceptance of your requests
Here are some tips to follow so your LinkedIn connection invitations are well received:
- Personalize each request with a note, especially if you don’t know them well.
- Only connect if you have interacted before or have shared connections/interests.
- Have a complete, professional looking profile before reaching out.
- Connect from your professional account, not your personal one.
- Send just a few targeted requests per week instead of bulk invites.
- Highlight how connecting can benefit them as well, not just you.
- Follow up a rejection politely once, but don’t be pushy beyond that.
Taking these steps to send more genuine, personalized requests can help boost your LinkedIn connection acceptance rate.
Stats on LinkedIn connection requests
Here are some interesting statistics on LinkedIn connection requests and rejections:
- The average acceptance rate for LinkedIn invitations is about 37%.
- Senior executives and influential professionals can have request acceptance rates below 20%.
- Personalized requests mentioning common connections see 30-50% higher acceptance rates.
- Requests from contacts made at events or in-person see acceptance rates above 50%.
- Almost 75% of professionals say they are unlikely to accept requests from people they do not know.
- About 68% of users say receiving generic or impersonal requests is a pet peeve.
The key takeaway is that taking the time to personalize your requests and target those with common connections pays off in much higher acceptance rates.
Conclusion
Getting your LinkedIn connection requests rejected can be disappointing. But do not take it personally or make the mistake of repeatedly sending requests to the same people. Use the tips in this article to make your requests more personalized for higher acceptance. With persistence and improving your rapport over time, you can eventually connect with most professionals on LinkedIn.