Ok I’ll admit it. I’m guilting of SENDING this tired old message:
“I came across your profile and was very impressed with your background! I’d love to talk to you about opportunities!”
Ugh. How embarrassing.
Here’s the thing recruiters. When we’re initiating contact, we have a responsibility for making the message worth responding to. Of course not all messages deserve (or will get) a response, and that’s ok! But we still need to at least put some effort in.
The biggest challenge for many recruiters is balancing PERSONALIZATION with VOLUME. This is hard! I get it’s not always possible to spend tons of time on every single individual message. However, candidates don’t care about your volume problems. They care about getting messages meant for them that are worth replying to.
Instead of preaching at you about this, I’m going to tell you exactly how I do it.
Campaigns!
I actually do like automation when done correctly. I have a CRM that I can create “campaigns” in, meaning I can select candidates and start an email drip campaign. I can just set it and forget it, until I get a response – which then turns into a personalized recruiting process. I do it like this:
Start with a specific role
I don’t randomly reach out to people for coffee chats or just to hop on a call. I have stuff to do – most importantly, fill these damn reqs! If you’re getting an email from me, it’s because I think you might be a good fit for one of my open positions. By having a clear target, I can also share important stuff like compensation, location, and what makes the role cool (check out my pal Nic’s excellent post on this topic!)
So I have my list of folks I think might be good, and I will do small batches – maybe 10 at a time – so I can tweak the email to personalize a bit (who wants the same generic email EVERYBODY got? Boring!!) My first email goes something like this:
“Hi (prospect),
Amy from (Company), reaching out for the nefarious purposes of stealing you from your current job and convincing you to come do (cool stuff) here! I checked out your (resume, profile, blog, whatever) and thought there might be a fit based on (specific thing).
I don’t want to assume you’d be open to a change, but in case my timing is right, here’s a link to the role and (something cool, compensation, etc). You can learn more about (company, team, project) here (include link, articles, whatever).
Most importantly, I’d love to learn more about what kind of work lights you up, in case I have other positions now or in the future that might be worth talking about.
You can reach me any time at (contact info) or feel free to book something directly at (calendar link). I look forward to connecting with you!
Me“
My goal here is to give enough information to actually act on, but also keep it short enough with a clear call to action that prospects can respond quickly if they want.
2nd Outreach
Ok maybe that wasn’t exciting enough for you. Or you missed it. Or just didn’t want to respond. Some candidates have actually told me they purposely wait for a 2nd or even 3rd email to make sure the recruiter is serious!! WHO KNEW?? So if the first email doesn’t get a response, number 2 goes something like this:
“Hi (prospect),
Hey there, following up on my email last week. I’d love to chat with you about a position I’m recruiting for – here’s the info (add job posting link, data included in first email) I sent – I’d love your feedback on it even if my timing is off!
We recently announced/shared (something cool), you can read about that here (include link or articles, depending on what you’re sharing)
If you’re open to hearing more, would love to connect live! You can reach me at (contact info) or book time whenever is convenient at (calendar link).
Thanks,
Me“
My goal here is to simply send a friendly reminder with an extra tidbit that may help convince someone to talk to me – or at least tell me no thanks. I’ll accept closure!
3rd & Final Outreach
Ok this is where I lose some recruiters. I am personally not interested in harassing people. I will send 3 emails, and if I get nothing back, I can take a hint. I have other prospects to move on to and I am not interested in wasting my time nor do I want to bug a prospect! It goes a little something like this:
Hey (prospect),
Just closing the loop with you. We’re still looking to hire for (role), but totally understand if my timing is off or the role just isn’t right for you at this stage of your career. If anything changes on your end please get in touch! If you know anyone in your network who might be interested in hearing about the role, please feel free to forward my info and I’m happy to share more!
Thanks for letting me invade your inbox – happy to connect in the future if you’re open.
Me”
I have a roughly 80% response rate to the 3rd email. That’s damn good for cold recruiter outreach.
I know some folks may think this is boring, or too focused on the role, but here’s my thought process. I’m trying to RECRUIT someone. They know it, I know it, why would I pretend this is anything but an attempt to get them in process with my company? Secondly, these are TEMPLATES – I fully expect anyone who wants to try this method to spice up their messages. My ACTUAL messages are a little funnier and include some cool stuff not shared here – give yourself permission to get creative!
Check out this week’s video HERE
