This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Managing Your Inbox
Your Inbox is the focal point for all your direct communication on LinkedIn. A summary of your five most recent Inbox items appears at the top of your home page. You can also click the Inbox link on the left navigation menu to open the Inbox page, shown in Figure 6.2.
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Figure 6.2 Your Inbox is the focal point for your personal communications on LinkedIn.
The default view of your Inbox is the Received tab, which displays all the items you've received. If you have a lot of Inbox items and want to filter what you see, click the down arrow next to the Received heading and choose one of the available options. For example, you can choose to display only action items, messages, InMails, introductions, invitations, jobs, recommendations, or group messages.
From the Received tab, you can
- Sort your messages. Click one of the message headings (From, Subject, Status, or Date) to sort based on that heading.
- Archive a message. Select the check box to the left of the message you want to move to the Archive folder and click the Archive button. It's a good idea to archive old or resolved messages to keep your Inbox focused on your current action items.
- Mark a message as read or unread. By default, new messages appear in bold text to signify they have not yet been read. After you read a message, the message no longer is boldfaced in your Inbox. To change this, select the check box to the left of a message and click either the Mark Read or Mark Unread button.
- Flag a message as an action item for follow-up. By default, new messages include a flag icon to the right of the subject line, flagging it as an action item. Click the flag icon, which serves as a toggle, to flag or unflag a message for action.
The Inbox also includes two other tabs. The Sent tab displays all your sent messages and the Archived tab displays all the messages you archived.
Each message also lists a status. When a new message arrives, its status displays as Pending. Based on the action you take on each message, your status changes. Status options include
- Accepted. You accepted the message, such as an invitation to connect.
- Bounced. The message bounced when sent to an email provider.
- Don't Know/Doesn't Know. The message, such as an invitation to connect, was rejected when the recipient clicked the I Don't Know This User button. LinkedIn lists the status as "Don't Know" if you clicked the button. The status is "Doesn't Know" if you sent the request that was rejected.
- In Progress. Identifies an InMail or introduction request that is still an action item for one of the people involved.
- Replaced. Another message has replaced this message and you can no longer respond to it. For example, someone sent you a recommendation request and then resent it when you didn't respond.
- Replied. You replied to the message.
- Sent. You sent this message. If the message was a request, the recipient hasn't accepted it yet.
- Withdrawn. The sender has withdrawn this message, request, or invitation.
You can also send messages directly from the Inbox. Click the Compose Message button to open the Compose Your Message page and send a message to a connection. For other options, click the down arrow to the right of the Compose Message button. From the drop-down list, you can choose to
- Send a message to a connection (same result as clicking the Compose Message button)
- Send InMail or an introduction
- Send invitation
- Send recommendation
- Request recommendation
- Send job notification
Refer to other sections in this lesson and other lessons in this book for more information about each specific type of communication.