You can send an InMail message to a LinkedIn member in Recruiter from your search results, a project, or a member’s profile. InMail credits allow you to send messages directly to members you're not connected with.

You can’t send bulk InMail if an admin on your contract has disabled bulk messages or if you’re in an InMail Improvement Period.

Note: Recruiter Lite customers can't send bulk InMail messages.

You won't receive a notification if a candidate declines your InMail message, even if they decline with a message.

Every LinkedIn Recruiter license comes with an allotted number of InMail credits each month. That number varies by the type of Recruiter account you have.

You'll receive a new allotment of InMail credits every month, on the first day of your billing cycle. To see when your InMail credits refresh, navigate to Usage overview under Product settings. Every InMail message that is accepted, declined, or responded to directly within 90 days of it being sent is credited back. A pending InMail message isn’t counted as either accepted or declined. As part of the LinkedIn messaging experience, Quick Replies to InMail messages also count as a response. Your InMail balance may temporarily exceed the cap between refresh dates based on past InMails being credited back, but it will be adjusted down to the cap on your refresh date.

InMail messages can have up to 200 characters in the required subject line and up to 1900 characters in the body.

You can format your message in the following ways using the toolbar at the top of your InMail message:

• Accepted: This status indicates that the candidate has received and accepted your InMail message. They have responded, allowing you to continue the conversation with the potential candidate.
• Pending: This status applies to InMail messages that have been sent but have not yet received a response, and thus are neither accepted nor declined. Such pending messages temporarily utilize your InMail credit until a response is received. Remember, messages that are accepted, declined, or responded to within 90 days will be credited back to your account. To see which candidates have not yet responded, navigate to your inbox in Recruiter and select the Awaiting reply folder, where all pending message threads will be displayed.
• Declined: This status means that the candidate has received and declined your InMail message. As a result, you cannot continue the conversation with the potential candidate.

You can purchase additional InMail credits in Recruiter Lite. InMail credits purchased in addition to your monthly allotment never expire, but they are limited to 120 InMails per seat when your billing cycle renews. See Purchase additional InMail credits for your Recruiter Lite account for more information.

"Access keys" allow users to access elements on the screen using a keyboard shortcut. In the Compose Message window, you can use access keys to insert variables into the message, add an attachment into the message, or set up an availability link.

To avoid conflicts with other keyboard shortcuts, they are unique to each browser and operating system. Find your system's access key prefix here.

When sending InMail messages with follow-ups, each message, whether initial or follow-up, is treated individually, and credits are charged upfront at the time of scheduling.

If the candidate responds to the initial message, the follow-up message is automatically canceled, and both credits are refunded. This happens because credits are refunded whenever a candidate responds to a message and the follow-up message was not sent.

If the candidate does not respond to the initial message and the follow-up is sent, a recruiter will receive a refund for one credit only if the candidate replies to either message. However, no refunds are provided for follow-up messages that are sent and do not result in a response.

Any credits that are refunded will be returned to the dashboard rather than the individual user account.

Note: Follow-up messages aren't available in Recruiter Lite.

Every InMail message that is accepted, declined, or responded to directly within 90 days of it being sent is credited back. The credit will also be refunded if the user cancels a scheduled message. A pending InMail message isn’t counted as either accepted or declined. As part of the LinkedIn messaging experience, Quick Replies to InMail messages also count as a response. If your credit is not refunded, the message may still be pending a response. If an admin on your contract has set a monthly limit on the number of InMails, any credits that are refunded will be returned to the dashboard rather than the individual user account.

To see which candidates haven’t responded to your InMail message, navigate to your inbox in Recruiter and select the Awaiting Reply folder. Your message threads will appear when you have messages awaiting reply.

You can edit or delete an InMail message in Recruiter and Recruiter Lite even if the message has been seen or if the candidate has replied. See Edit an InMail message in Recruiter and Recruiter Lite and Delete an InMail message in Recruiter and Recruiter Lite for more information.

Recruiter will display a warning in the Compose Message window if a recipient has been messaged by anyone on your Recruiter contract in the same calendar month.