The candidate you want isn't applying to anything. Your first message has one job: to earn a 15-minute conversation. The template is maybe a fifth of that – the rest is the rule below.
The one rule
One specific, true detail about the candidate in the first two lines – or don't send it. A specific reference to their work is what tells the candidate a person looked at them rather than a scraper hitting their inbox. 'I was impressed by your background' is not a detail. 'The way you handled the migration you wrote about last month' is. If you genuinely can't find one, that's useful information: you haven't actually assessed this person as a fit yet.
Email – first touch
'[Specific observation about their work.] I'm hiring a [role] at [company]. It's close to what you're doing now, with [one concrete differentiator: pay band, ownership, remote, team, product stage]. Not asking you to apply – just worth 15 minutes to see if it's worth a proper look? [scheduling link]' Keep it under 120 words, sign with a real name and title.
Email – follow-up (one only, 3–4 days later)
'Floating this back up in case it got buried. Still happy to keep it to 15 minutes: [link]. If the timing's wrong, tell me and I'll check back in a few months.'
Connection note: '[First name] – [specific observation]. I'm hiring a [role] at [company] that lines up with your background. Open to a quick chat? No pressure either way.' After connecting, add the key facts: role, differentiator, location or remote, pay band if you can share it, and the scheduling link.
Social DM
Match the register of the platform – no pasted email. 'hey [first name] – saw your [video/post] about [thing], really good. random question: we're hiring [role] at [company] ([pay], [location], [one perk]). any interest? happy to send details or just chat.'
The other rules, briefly
- Lead with what's in it for them, not your requisition
- Make the next step tiny: 15 minutes, one click, just reply yes – never 'complete our application form' as the opener
- Keep it short: under 120 words for email, far less for DMs
- Send from a named person with a signature, not a careers@ alias
- One follow-up, then stop – a single nudge roughly doubles reply rate, a third annoys
- Track reply rate by template, channel and role, and iterate
How long should a candidate outreach message be?
Under 120 words for email and shorter for a DM. The specific first line and a clear differentiator matter far more than length.
How many times should you follow up?
Once. A single nudge after three to four days roughly doubles the response rate; a third message costs you goodwill.
Should outreach come from a person or a company account?
A named person, every time. Outreach from a generic alias reads as automated and gets ignored.
SmartHire runs sourcing and first-touch outreach across social platforms and delivers the candidates who respond into your ATS – so your team spends its time on conversations, not on writing cold messages one at a time.
Want to increase your candidate flow?
Let's talk about how SmartHire can help your business fill roles faster.
First filtered candidates within 3–5 days · No commitment