# Review LinkedIn connection invitations with Claude: a recruiter’s workflow

Source: https://finchreach.com/blog/claude-linkedin-invitation-review
Published 2026-10-28 by Finchreach team. Tags: claude, linkedin, mcp, recruiting, invitations.

Accept invitations on LinkedIn, then let Claude check new connections against the roles you hire for and draft welcome messages that wait for your approval.

## The short answer

> Note: listing and accepting received invitations through Finchreach is coming soon. Until then, accept invitations on LinkedIn yourself; the workflow below uses tools that are live today.

Once you have accepted invitations on LinkedIn, Claude can look up each new connection, compare their headline and role with the positions you are hiring for, and tell you who is a strong match, who to look at more closely and who to leave alone. For the matches, it drafts a short first message, and those go out only after you approve them.

This works by connecting Claude to Finchreach, a remote MCP server for LinkedIn (MCP is a standard plug that lets AI apps use outside tools). The tools involved are `linkedin_get_notifications` and `linkedin_get_profile` to see who is new and read their profile, and `linkedin_send_dm` to queue a message. With approval mode on, which is the default, every message waits in your [approval queue](https://finchreach.com/approvals).

## Why do recruiters fall behind on LinkedIn invitations?

Active recruiters collect invitations faster than they can open them: candidates who saw a job post, people from other agencies, vendors, students, and the occasional fake profile. Accepting takes a few seconds each; following up with the strong candidates is what falls behind, and the person from last Tuesday never hears from you.

Claude is good at that follow-up because the decision is mostly reading: headline, current role, location, and whether that matches a role you have open.

## How does Claude review new connections?

1. You accept invitations on LinkedIn, as you do today.
2. You tell Claude which roles you are hiring for and what a good match looks like.
3. Claude calls `linkedin_get_notifications` for recent activity, and `linkedin_get_profile` or `linkedin_search` for the people you name, to read each person’s headline, role and location.
4. It sorts them into groups such as “strong match”, “maybe”, “not relevant” and “looks suspicious”, with a one-line reason for each.
5. You check the list, move anyone you disagree with, and say which group to message.
6. Claude calls `linkedin_send_dm` for each one you confirmed, for example pointing to the role they seem suited for. Each call returns `pending_approval`.
7. You approve the messages in Finchreach. Rejected ones are never sent.

Listing and accepting received invitations through Finchreach is coming soon. There is also no “ignore invitation” tool, so declining happens in LinkedIn itself.

## What should I ask Claude?

> Ask your assistant: “I am hiring a senior backend engineer (Go, Postgres, remote in the US) and a product designer (B2B SaaS, 4+ years). I just accepted these people on LinkedIn: [names or profile URLs]. Look each one up and make a table: name, headline, location, and a verdict: MATCH-BACKEND, MATCH-DESIGN, MAYBE, NOT RELEVANT or SUSPICIOUS, with a one-line reason. Do not message anyone yet.”

> Ask your assistant: “For everyone in MATCH-BACKEND and MATCH-DESIGN, draft a two-sentence welcome message that mentions the role and asks if they are open to a quick call. Show me the messages before queueing them.”

> Ask your assistant: “Check my recent LinkedIn notifications and conversations. Did any of my new connections ask me a direct question? Summarize the questions and draft answers I can approve.”

Give Claude your hiring criteria in a Claude Project so you do not have to repeat them every week.

## How do I connect Claude to my LinkedIn account?

Finchreach supports OAuth sign-in, so claude.ai and Claude Desktop connect with a custom connector and no API key (as of October 2026, per Anthropic’s [custom connector documentation](https://claude.com/docs/connectors/custom/add-unlisted)):

- claude.ai or Claude Desktop: go to Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, enter `https://mcp.finchreach.com/mcp`, click Add, then Connect. Sign in to Finchreach, choose the LinkedIn account and what Claude may do, and approve. The Free plan allows one custom connector.
- Team and Enterprise: an Owner adds the connector in organization settings, and members click Connect.
- Prefer an API key? Claude Desktop can run the `mcp-remote` bridge in `claude_desktop_config.json`, shown below. It runs locally and adds the header for you.

claude_desktop_config.json:
```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "finchreach": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.finchreach.com/mcp", "--header", "Authorization:${AUTH_HEADER}"],
      "env": { "AUTH_HEADER": "Bearer lk_your_key" }
    }
  }
}
```

1. [Create a Finchreach account](https://finchreach.com/sign-up) and connect your LinkedIn account on the Accounts page.
2. Add the custom connector and approve access. If you use the bridge instead, create an API key on the API keys page, add the config and restart Claude Desktop.
3. Ask “show my recent LinkedIn notifications” to check that it works.
4. Full instructions: the [Claude guide](https://finchreach.com/guides/claude), the [Claude integration page](https://finchreach.com/integrations/claude) and the [docs](https://finchreach.com/docs).

If you work in a terminal, [Claude Code](https://finchreach.com/guides/claude-code) connects with a single command and full header support.

## Where should a recruiter keep human judgment?

- Fairness: give Claude criteria about skills and experience, not proxies such as names, photos, schools or age. Review its reasons with that in mind.
- Suspicious profiles: Claude can flag mismatched headlines or thin profiles, but it cannot verify identity. Treat the flag as a prompt to check.
- Tone: approve welcome messages you would actually send. Candidates can tell when a message is generic.
- Pace: message in reasonable batches, as you would by hand.

## Is it safe to message new connections through an AI assistant?

> Automating a personal LinkedIn account carries risk under LinkedIn’s User Agreement. The approval queue and a human pace lower that risk; they do not remove it.

A message is a real action: once sent, it can’t be taken back. That is why Finchreach treats it as a write and puts it through approval, just like a post or a comment.

## Frequently asked questions

Can Claude list or accept my pending invitations? Not yet; listing and accepting received invitations through Finchreach is coming soon. Accept them on LinkedIn for now.

Can Claude see the full profile of each new connection? It can look people up with `linkedin_get_profile` and `linkedin_search` and read what those return, such as headline, role and location.

Can it send invitations to candidates too? Yes, `linkedin_send_invitation` takes a note of up to 300 characters, and each invitation waits for approval. Use it sparingly.

Does it work on the Claude mobile app? We have not verified it there. Anthropic says connectors added on claude.ai are available in the mobile apps, but we haven’t tested Finchreach there. The `mcp-remote` bridge only runs in Claude Desktop.

What about sales inboxes? See [inbox triage](https://finchreach.com/blog/chatgpt-linkedin-inbox-triage). For background, read [what a LinkedIn MCP server is](https://finchreach.com/blog/what-is-a-linkedin-mcp-server).