# How to Contact Recruiters on LinkedIn (With Good and Bad Message Examples) > How to contact recruiters on LinkedIn on a free account: the 200-character note limit, who to message, good vs bad examples, templates, follow-up timing and the scam signs. Canonical: https://hiredfolio.com/blog/how-to-contact-recruiters-on-linkedin Published 2026-10-27 ยท 8 min Keywords: how to contact recruiters on linkedin, message recruiter on linkedin, linkedin message to recruiter example, connection request note to recruiter, how to reach out to a recruiter on linkedin Every guide on this topic tells you to personalize your connection request. Few mention that a free LinkedIn account only lets you do that a handful of times a month, and that the note is shorter than most of them say. So this guide starts with the budget. Then it covers who is worth one of those notes, what a good and a bad message look like side by side, templates that fit the limit, when to follow up, and how to spot a "recruiter" who is after your money. ## LinkedIn gives free accounts three or five personalized notes a month, so spend them well LinkedIn's help page on personalized invitations sets two limits for free accounts. In its own words: "You can add a personalized message to up to three connection requests per month", and "Each message can be up to 200 characters" ([LinkedIn Help](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/46662)). Premium members get unlimited personalized invitations. LinkedIn's billing help page contradicts it and says five a month for free accounts ([LinkedIn Help](https://www.linkedin.com/help/billing/answer/a550555)). We cannot tell which page is current, so check the counter on your own account. Either way, it is single digits. Several guides on this topic still quote 300 characters for the note. LinkedIn's own page says 200 for a free account. Write to 200 and your note fits whatever account you have. Every example in this article is under 200 characters, with the count shown. A cap this low changes the strategy: 1. **Spend notes on the people who decide.** An in-house recruiter hiring for a role you have just applied to is worth a note. A recruiter at a company you might like someday is not. 2. **Connect without a note for everyone else.** A plain request costs nothing from the monthly budget. Once the person accepts, you are first-degree connections and you can message them, with no 200-character cap. 3. **Write the real message after they accept.** That is where the full pitch goes, and it is the message most of the examples below are built for. ## Who to message: agency recruiter, in-house recruiter or hiring manager "Recruiter" covers three different people, and they want different things from you. - **In-house recruiters** (titles like Talent Acquisition, Technical Recruiter, People Partner) work for one company and fill its openings. Message them about a specific role at that company, ideally one you have applied to. - **Agency recruiters** work for a recruitment firm and are paid by the employer when they place someone. They hold several clients' roles at once, so they want to know quickly what you do, where, and when you are free. A short profile of yourself is the right message here, not a question about one job. - **Hiring managers** run the team you would join. At a small company with no recruiter, they are the person to write to. At a large one, a message to the manager usually gets forwarded to the recruiter anyway, so start with the recruiter. To find them, open the company's LinkedIn page, go to the People tab and search "recruiter" or "talent". On a job post, LinkedIn sometimes shows the person who posted it or a "Meet the hiring team" box; that is the best name you will get. Before you write, check your own profile is ready for the visit your message triggers: the headline and About section are what they read next. Our guide to [optimising your LinkedIn profile](/blog/optimise-linkedin-profile) covers those fields. ## Good and bad messages, side by side Each bad version below is a common shape: a request with no context, a job request with no job, a pitch that is all adjectives. Each good version fits in a free account's 200 characters.

Connection note after applying to a role

No reason to accept

Hi, I'd like to add you to my professional network.

Role, reference, proof (176 characters)

Hi Sarah, I applied yesterday for the Data Analyst role on your team (ref. 4471). I built the same kind of Looker dashboards for a 40-store retailer. Happy to share an example.

Agency recruiter no specific opening

Asks them to do the work

Hello, I'm looking for a new job. Do you have anything for me? I'm open to anything.

What, where, when (165 characters)

Hi Tom, I see you place backend engineers in fintech. I'm a Python developer with 5 years in payments, free from March, London or remote. Could I send you my resume?

Company you want to join no opening posted

Adjectives, no facts

I'm a passionate, hard-working, results-driven designer and I'd be a great fit for your amazing company!

A real hook, a closed question (167 characters)

Hi Priya, your post on Acme's design hiring was useful. I'm a product designer moving in-house after 4 years agency-side. Is Acme hiring mid-level designers this year?

What the good versions share: the recruiter's name, a reason to write to this person and not another, one fact they could check, and a question they can answer in one line. "Open to anything" sounds flexible. To a recruiter it means they have to work out what you do before they can help. ## The message to send once they accept The connection note opens the door. This is the message that does the work, and it has no 200-character cap. Keep it under 100 words anyway: it is read on a phone, between other messages.

Full message to an in-house recruiter, after applying

Hook

Hi Sarah, thanks for connecting. I applied on Tuesday for the Data Analyst role in your Bristol team (ref. 4471).

Proof

The posting asks for Looker and SQL on retail data. That was my job for the last two years: I rebuilt the weekly sales dashboards for 40 stores and cut the Monday reporting from a day to an hour.

Ask

If it helps your shortlist, I can send a redacted example of one dashboard. Is there anything else you need from me at this stage?

James

Notice what it does not do. It does not paste the cover letter, attach a resume nobody asked for, or ask for a call. The recruiter can reply in one line, and the one fact in the middle is the line they will repeat to the hiring manager. ## Five templates to copy The first four fit under 200 characters once filled with short words. Swap the brackets and count again before sending. LinkedIn stops you at the limit, and a note cut mid-sentence reads worse than a shorter one. 1. **After applying (in-house recruiter).** > Hi [Name], I applied for the [Role] role (ref. [number]) on [day]. I [one result with a number] at [Company]. Happy to send anything that helps your review. 2. **Agency recruiter in your field.** > Hi [Name], I see you recruit [roles] in [sector]. I'm a [title] with [X] years in [speciality], available from [month], [city or remote]. Can I send you my resume? 3. **Company you want, no opening.** > Hi [Name], I read your post on [topic]. I'm a [title] with [X] years in [field] and I follow [Company] closely. Do you hire [level/role] in [team or city]? 4. **After meeting at an event.** > Hi [Name], we spoke at [event] about [topic]. I'm the [title] who [one detail they'll remember]. Good luck with the [project/hire]. 5. **Replying to a recruiter who wrote first.** No note needed, they started it. Answer within a day or two, say whether you are interested, and give your notice period and location so they can check fit before a call. Template 3 is the one to use sparingly. A note to a company with no opening is a speculative application, and it works best when the role you name is one the company plausibly hires for. ## A real recruiter never asks you to pay LinkedIn messages are also where fake recruiters work. In 2019 the US Federal Trade Commission stopped an operation that "sent consumers unsolicited messages through well-known business networking websites, like LinkedIn", claiming exclusive links to private equity firms, and charged job seekers $1,200 to $2,500 upfront ([FTC press release](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2019/02/ftc-halts-fake-job-opportunity-resume-repair-operation)). The FTC's consumer protection director put it plainly: "Paying upfront for job placement services is often a sign of a scam." In the UK the rule is written down: "Recruitment agencies cannot charge you a fee for finding or trying to find you work" ([GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/agency-workers-your-rights/fees)). They may charge for separate services such as CV writing or training, but they cannot make you buy them to be put forward.

Real recruiter or not check before you reply

Walk away

Asks for a fee to submit you or "unlock" interviews

Says your resume must be fixed by their partner, for a price

Wants bank details before any interview

Profile created last month, no colleagues at the firm

Normal

The employer pays the agency, you pay nothing

Asks for your resume as it is

Bank details only after a signed offer, through HR

Listed on the firm's site, connected to colleagues there

## When to follow up, and when to stop Recruiters miss messages. One follow-up is normal, a second is the limit. Our [follow-up date calculator](/tools/follow-up-date-calculator) treats an unsolicited approach as needing 7 working days before the first follow-up, then 7 more before the second (weekends are skipped, and you can switch on French public holidays). A LinkedIn message to a recruiter is that kind of approach, so the same timing fits. The follow-up itself is two lines: a reminder of the role or the question, and one new fact if you have one (an interview elsewhere, a certificate, a portfolio link). After the second message with no answer, stop and put your time into the next application. If a recruiter does reply with something vague, our guide to [what recruiter phrases actually mean](/blog/recruiter-phrases-decoded) helps you read it. ## Make it easy for them to say yes ### Have a resume ready before they ask The best answer to a good message is "send me your resume". If your resume is out of date, that request sits for days while you rewrite it, which wastes the reply you worked for. Our [LinkedIn import](/linkedin-import) turns your profile into a resume in one pass, so the resume and the profile the recruiter just looked at say the same thing. ### Use Open to Work, knowing its limits The "Recruiters only" setting shows that you are looking to LinkedIn Recruiter users without the green photo frame. LinkedIn says it takes steps to hide this from recruiters at your current company, "but we can't guarantee complete privacy" ([LinkedIn Help](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/67405)). If your employer finding out would be a problem, leave it off and rely on the messages you send. ## Common questions ### Should I give my resume to a recruiter? To an in-house recruiter, yes: you are applying to their company anyway. To an agency recruiter, yes, but ask them to tell you before they send it to any employer. That way the same company does not receive you twice, once from you and once from an agency that expects a fee. ### Should I message a recruiter on LinkedIn after an interview? A short thank-you the same day or the next is fine, especially if the recruiter ran the interview. Do not use it to ask for the decision. If they gave you a date, wait until it has passed by a working day before asking.

Key takeaways before your next message

01

Save your few monthly personalized notes for recruiters hiring for roles you have applied to, and write each one under 200 characters.

02

Put one checkable fact and one easy question in every message, then follow up once after 7 working days.

03

Never pay a recruiter: the employer pays them.

Sent a message today? Put the date in the follow-up date calculator now.

## Read next - [How to add your resume to LinkedIn (3 ways), and the setting that turns on when you apply](https://hiredfolio.com/blog/how-to-add-resume-to-linkedin) - [Professional bio examples: 9 bios written to the limits real forms set](https://hiredfolio.com/blog/professional-bio-examples) - [LinkedIn summary examples: 8 About sections written for recruiter search](https://hiredfolio.com/blog/linkedin-summary-examples)