How to find the hiring manager, when to use a connection note, a message or InMail, nine templates for different situations within LinkedIn's current character limits, and when to follow up.
To message a hiring manager on LinkedIn, find the person the role reports to, then send a connection request with a short note (or a direct message, if you are already connected). The note should name the role, give one piece of evidence that you can do it, and make one small ask. Keep a connection note under 200 characters, which is the limit LinkedIn's help center gives. Follow up once, about a week later, and then stop.
How to find the hiring manager
The hiring manager is the person you would report to. The recruiter runs the process, and the manager makes the decision. Both are worth a message, but they need different ones, so work out which is which first.
- Check the job post. Many LinkedIn postings have a "Meet the hiring team" section. LinkedIn's help page says members can "connect and message the entire team listed in this section, including the job poster". The poster is often a recruiter, so look at each person's title.
- Read the posting for a reporting line. "Reports to the Director of Finance" tells you exactly whose profile to find.
- Search the company's People tab. On the company page, open People and search by function: "engineering manager", "head of marketing", "controller". Filter by the office location in the posting.
- Confirm before you write. Check that the person's current title matches the team, and that they are active on LinkedIn. A profile last updated four years ago is a message nobody will read.
If you cannot identify the manager with confidence, message the recruiter instead. A note to the wrong senior leader looks careless, and a recruiter who owns the role is a perfectly good person to reach.
Connection note, message or InMail
LinkedIn gives you three ways in, and they have different limits.
| Option | Who you can reach | Length | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connection request with a note | Members outside your network | Up to 200 characters | First contact with someone you are not connected to |
| Message | Your first-degree connections only, on a free account | Room for a full message | They accepted your request, or you were already connected |
| InMail | Anyone, using Premium credits | 200-character subject, 1,900-character body | You need more than 200 characters and they have not accepted a request |
The details, from LinkedIn's own help pages:
- LinkedIn's page on personalized invitations currently says a free account can add a note to up to three connection requests a month, each up to 200 characters, and that Premium members can personalize every invitation. LinkedIn's help pages do not all agree: another one gives Premium members 300 characters, the number most guides quote. Write to 200 and your note fits on any account.
- With a free account, you can only message members you are connected to. InMail is the Premium feature for reaching people outside your network.
- InMail allows up to 200 characters in the subject and 1,900 in the body, and a credit is returned when the message is accepted, declined or answered within 90 days.
- If the manager has a Premium account with Open Profile turned on, anyone on LinkedIn can message them for free, without a connection or an InMail credit.
On a free account, those few personalized notes a month are the scarce resource. Spend them on hiring managers, and send plain requests to everyone else.
What goes in the message
Every template below follows the same order, because it is the order a busy manager needs:
- Why you are writing. The role by its exact title, or the reason you picked them.
- One piece of evidence. A result that matches something in the posting. One, not three. It has to survive a phone screen.
- A small ask. A 15-minute call, a question, or simply "happy to share more". Never "please look at my application" or "can you get me an interview", which ask for something they cannot give in a LinkedIn thread.
Leave out the life story, the full resume and the paragraph about how much you admire the company. Assume the message is read on a phone between meetings. Anything that does not fit on one screen gets saved for later, which usually means never.
Templates for messaging a hiring manager
Names, companies and numbers are placeholders. Replace every one, and cut anything you cannot back up.
1. Connection note after you applied (190 characters)
Hi Dana, I applied for the Senior Data Analyst role on your team today. I built the churn model my current team uses to forecast renewals and would be glad to share how it works. Thanks, Sam
2. First message once they accept
Thanks for connecting, Dana.
I applied for the Senior Data Analyst role on Monday. The posting mentions rebuilding the churn forecast, which is close to what I did at Brightline: I replaced a spreadsheet model with a Python one, and our renewal forecast went from 15% off to within 4% of actuals.
If it would be useful, I'm happy to walk you through how it worked in 15 minutes. Either way, thanks for reading.
Sam
3. Connection note with a referral (186 characters)
Hi Dana, Priya Shah suggested I contact you about the Data Analyst role on your team. I've spent four years on churn and pricing analysis at Brightline. Open to a short chat? Thanks, Sam
Ask Priya first, and name her only if she agreed. A referral the manager later checks and cannot confirm ends the conversation.
4. Connection note to a fellow alum (193 characters)
Hi Dana, fellow Michigan State grad here. I applied for the Senior Data Analyst role on your team this week after four years in churn analytics. Could I ask you one question about the team? Sam
If they accept, ask the question you promised, and make it a real one, such as which problem the team most needs the new hire to solve.
5. No opening posted (177-character note)
Hi Dana, I read your post on moving support reporting into Looker. I ran the same migration at Brightline and would like to be on your list if you hire an analyst this year. Sam
This one works only when you are reacting to something they did: a post, a talk, a launch. Without that hook it is a cold request for a job that does not exist.
6. InMail when you are not connected
Subject: Senior Data Analyst application: churn forecasting
Hi Dana,
I applied for the Senior Data Analyst role on your team this week. The posting's first line is about making the churn forecast something sales trusts. At Brightline I rebuilt ours in Python and walked the sales leads through it every month for a year; by the end, they were using it to plan renewals.
I would be glad to share more about how that worked, in writing or on a 15-minute call.
Best, Sam Rivera
7. Thank-you after an interview
Hi Dana, thank you for the time today. Your point about the forecast needing to be trusted by sales, not just accurate, stayed with me; it is the part of the job I would most like to work on. Here is the one-page outline of the model we discussed: [link]. Looking forward to hearing about next steps. Sam
Send it within 24 hours, to each interviewer you are connected with, and change one line per person so it refers to what they asked you.
8. One follow-up when there is no reply
Hi Dana, a short follow-up on my note last week about the Senior Data Analyst role. If someone else on the team is the right person to speak to, I would be grateful for a name. Thanks, Sam
9. After a rejection
Hi Dana, thanks for letting me know, and for the time you and the team gave me. If another analyst role opens on your team, I would like to be considered. Good luck with the forecast rebuild. Sam
It takes a minute to write, it leaves the last impression a good one, and it gives the manager a reason to remember your name when the next opening comes up.
When to follow up, and when to stop
| Situation | When | What to send |
|---|---|---|
| They accepted your connection request | Within one or two days | Template 2 |
| No reply to your message | After five to seven working days | Template 8, once |
| Still no reply after the follow-up | Never | Nothing. Keep going through the formal application. |
| After an interview | Within 24 hours | Template 7 |
| They gave you a decision date and it passed | Two or three working days after it | A two-line status question |
| Connection request not accepted | Leave it | Nothing on LinkedIn. Contact the recruiter if you need an answer. |
Two unanswered messages is the limit. Managers talk to their recruiters.
Mistakes that get messages ignored
- Pasting your resume into the message. Offer it instead. If they want it, they will ask.
- Sending the same text to five managers at one company. They talk to each other. Pick the one who owns the role.
- Flattery with nothing behind it. "I've always admired your company" is the sentence every other message starts with. Name the specific thing you read or used.
- Writing to their personal accounts. Instagram, a personal email you found, their phone. LinkedIn is where they expect work messages.
- Text that reads as generated. A message stuffed with "I hope this message finds you well" and three adjectives per sentence gets recognized fast. Write it the way you would say it.
Before you hit send
The first thing a hiring manager does with your message is open your profile. Check that your headline names the role you are targeting and that your current job and dates match your resume. If your LinkedIn profile is the more up-to-date of the two, the LinkedIn import turns it into a structured CV, so the resume they ask for next matches what they just read. Have that resume ready as a PDF before you send anything, because a manager who replies "send me your resume" expects it the same day. The step-by-step resume guide covers what it should contain.
FAQ
Is it OK to message a hiring manager on LinkedIn?
Yes, as long as it is short, specific to the role and sent once or twice at most. A manager listed on the job post has already made themselves reachable. What they do not want is a long message, a pasted resume or daily follow-ups.
Should I message the recruiter or the hiring manager?
Both is fine, with different messages. Ask the recruiter about the process and timing. Show the hiring manager one piece of evidence that you can do the work. If you can only identify one of them, the recruiter is the safer choice.
How long should a LinkedIn message to a hiring manager be?
A connection note has to fit in 200 characters, according to LinkedIn's help center. A message or InMail should still fit on a phone screen: three short paragraphs, under about 100 words.
Should I message the hiring manager before or after applying?
After, in most cases. Applying first puts you in the system, so when the manager forwards your name to the recruiter there is an application to find. The exception is when no role has been posted yet.
What if the hiring manager does not respond?
Send one follow-up after five to seven working days, then stop. Silence usually means they are busy or the role is further along than you think. A third message reads as pressure, so put the energy into the next application.
Before any of these messages go out, get the resume they will ask for into shape. The free resume builder turns your notes, an old CV or your LinkedIn profile into an ATS-friendly PDF, rewording what you give it without adding numbers, and you do not need an account to download it.
