How To Write Irresistible LinkedIn Messages To Candidates

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So you’ve found the perfect candidate on LinkedIn and now need to craft an irresistible message to them.

You’re aware they’re probably getting approached every other day by different organisations not to mention the plethora of hungry recruitment consultants on the prowl. Amongst all the competitive LinkedIn clutter, how do you stand out from the crowd?

We’ve analyzed blogs from recruiters, hiring managers and successfully recruited passive candidates from all over the internet to bring you the top tips on writing messages to get the attention – and the time – of the candidates you really want.

Key Takeaways:

• When reaching out to candidates, always be clear, specific, and concise to communicate your message without making the candidate feel like their time is being wasted.

• Be sure you’ve done your research and have your facts right – nothing makes a worst first impression than misspelling someone’s name or misstating their qualifications or background.

• Show your interest and take initiative by inviting the candidate to follow up or plan a specific time to talk with them.

Dos for Writing Irresistible LinkedIn Messages to Candidates

1. Go for Quality Over Quantity. Maybe you have your own tried and true methods. Perhaps you have templates that seem to be working? Is it because you’re smashing through 100 candidates a week in the belief ‘it’s a number’s game’ or that if you throw enough mud at the wall something’s bound to stick?

   Far and wide, the emails that get the attention of highly sought after candidates are those that are incredibly personalized. This takes time but your success rate will be much higher. Choose quality over quantity.

2. Do Your Homework. The number one frustration of candidates targeted through LinkedIn is messages that show the recruiter or hiring manager hasn’t done their homework.

   • Check their background: Look for any shared histories between your organisation (or your client) and the candidate. You will look very stupid if you approach someone who has already worked with people in that organization.

   • Check their strengths and skills: For example just because they did events management the year after they finished high school doesn’t mean that’s what they want to do in the future.  You are wasting the candidates’ time and your time by pitching roles they have no interest in doing.

3. Be Concise but Not Too Concise. The ideal tailored message is between 150 – 250 words. Less than 150 words and you risk coming across like you don’t care enough. More than 250 words and the candidate won’t read it or will assume you don’t value their time.

   Keep it simple and straightforward.

4. Use the Words You, Your and Yours A LOT. As with any well crafted job ad, the best LinkedIn messages are those that focus on the candidate. Show your familiarity with their career history by highlighting the skills and experience that stood out to you.

   Don’t launch into too much detail about the opportunity. Rather, paint a picture of the person’s suitability within the organization. “You’ll be working …”,  “You’d be responsible for …”,  “It would give you the perfect opportunity to …” etc.

5. Throw Away Personal Introductions. “Hi, I’m …” is unnecessary. Your name is in the header.

   The first sentence is your first impression and invaluable in grabbing the attention of the passive candidate as quickly as possible. Begin with a sentence talking directly to them or about them. Save the other information for later.

6. Be Specific. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to show that you have spent the time looking into the candidate’s background. This alone will put you in the top 5% of emails received.

   Mention specific things about their profile that caught your attention such as, ‘I noticed you have taken on three project management roles in the past four years which suggests to me that you may have a desire to expand your skills and oversee a bigger team …’

7. Suggest a Specific Date for a Chat. If you’re serious about the candidate show it. Suggest a time to catch up within the next seven days and use actual names of the days, rather than ‘sometime this week’. For example, ‘If you’re interested, would you like to catch up either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning?’

8. Mention If You Are Following Up. Not mentioning that you have previously sent an email looks like you couldn’t be bothered to remember or to personalize the email again. If the candidate was seriously interested in your opportunity, but just didn’t have time to get back to you, they will remember you.

   Coming across like you don’t care could lose that opportunity. Use something along the lines of ‘Just sending you another email’ or ‘I contacted you a few weeks ago …’ as your openers.

9. Try to Find Someone Who Knows Them for an Introduction. By far and away the number one way of standing out to a potential recruit is to organise an introduction through someone else who knows them. LinkedIn Graph is great for this. Use your networks to get as close and personal as possible before making first contact.

Don’ts for Writing Irresistible LinkedIn Messages to Candidates

1. Don’t Lie. Be careful with those little white lies like ‘I’ve heard about your work’ when you haven’t; or ‘Someone told me about you’ when they didn’t.

   If you don’t have specifics you could be caught out at a later date. Beware of pretending that you have already spoken to them when you haven’t.

   If they’re interested in your opportunity, they will remember.

   Your ‘RE:’ in the subject line or ‘Hey again!’ paints you as untrustworthy.

2. Don’t Ask for Details of Other People Who May be Suitable. This is the equivalent of someone asking you out on a date and then saying, ‘But if you’re not keen do you think any of your friends would be?’.

   You want the candidate to feel like they are special, like they have been picked out of the crowd. If it’s a good opportunity that might suit a friend or colleague, they will pass it on.

3. Don’t Call Them at Work. There’s nothing more awkward for a candidate than getting a phone call from a recruiter in the middle of a workday. You have just interrupted their flow. If they are interested, they can’t say it on the spot. Give them the space to choose when to speak to you.

4. Don’t Use Generic Flattery. It might feel nice the first time a candidate receives an email saying ‘I’ve come across your profile and I am impressed.’ However after a while the generic flattery falls flat.

   It sounds insincere and can quickly turn a candidate off wanting to talk to you. Flattery is fine, but be specific about it.

Final Thoughts

These aren’t just good ideas, they are tried and tested rules and processes that will make you stand out to your next ideal candidate. Keep this guidelines in mind, and you will make a great first impression that might just be the beginning of rewarding professional relationship!

Author

Paul Slezak

With over two decades of experience in the recruitment and human capital industry, Paul Slezak has established himself as a transformative force in the realm of leadership and career coaching, group facilitation, and talent acquisition. His unique perspective, drawn from his early career as a leader in global recruitment firms and his entrepreneurial success with his own start-up, has enabled him to make a significant impact on leaders, teams, and organizations across the world. Paul's passion for helping others achieve success and high performance is evident in his commitment to transforming leaders and their teams at local, national, and international levels. He specializes in promoting the importance of human-centered intelligence, focusing on soft skills such as authenticity, transparency, and trust to complement business-centered acumen and drive better workplace outcomes. As an impartial facilitator, Paul brings his expertise to team offsites and strategy days, ensuring alignment on goals, values, and culture while keeping participants on task. His engaging and energetic presence, coupled with his unique "entertraining" and "edutaining" delivery style, enables him to connect with audiences both large and intimate, sharing personal and professional anecdotes that inspire and energize.