Carefully crafted, professionally written recruiting emails are becoming rare. We have all seen those spammy recruiting emails throughout our career and we know where they finally land to – either in the spam or trash folder. Recruiters have known this but still some intrepid’s do not fear the fate of their sickening emails. By following simple tips mentioned below, you can master your recruiting emails.
1. Use catchy, Interesting subject line:
A lot have been discussed about writing a subject line for commercial emails but the area of recruiting emails is still very less explored. Without a catchy, compelling subject line, your recruiting emails are destined to reach the trash folder in no time. Subject line is something that can compel the candidate either to open the email and react on it or to mark it as spam.
To make them interested, Refer to the things that are relevant for them. Highlighting the nearby locations or mentioning the skills that are relevant for them in the subject line may get you better open rates compared to a generic subject line. e.g. “Mike, Quick note about Java Developer role in London” can yield better results compared to “Interesting Job for you”.
2. Introduce yourself:
Once you have crossed the first barrier of getting them to open your emails, the candidate wants to know who you are and how did you find their details. Introducing yourself formally with a mention of your company and the purpose of the email, can get you closer to that final goal you want to achieve with your emails.
3. Highlighting connections:
Do you have any personal and professional connection with the candidate you are trying to reach? Do you know anyone who has worked with some of his past employers? Have you gone to the same school which he too attended? Do you have a friend at their college? Do you know some hiring manager from their current employer? Anything personal helps. Mentioning something as simple as this – “I know you worked at Oracle corporation till 2010. I did my internship there only and I realize how hard you must have worked” – can get you farther in establishing a quick rapport and increasing your email response rate.
4. Beating around the bush will get you nowhere:
In the current economic scenario, When an average candidate gets 50+ job emails everyday, Do you think your vague, not-so-clear emails will do you any good? Come to the point directly. Tell them why are you contacting them and what’s there in it for them. Eliminate any unnecessary waffle from your email and focus on the job at offer.
5. Personalization is the key to success:
No-one likes robotic emails with no personalization at all. If you are sending an email to the candidate, ensure you have seen and studied her profile thoroughly. Sending an email with the content tailored for the candidate can get you as much as 50% more open rates.
6. Write an email, Not a novel:
Emails are meant to convey your messages effectively. The shorter they are, the better. Recruiters who don’t know how to keep their emails short and crisp are doing injustice to themselves. Keep your content crisp and clear.
7. Guess their motivation:
If you are into recruitment for some time, you should be able to judge a possible motivation of the candidates by looking at their job profile and their social media footprints. If they are climbing the corporate ladders and emphasise too much on their job title, probably mentioning the seniority of the position will help you get their attention. If they work for the employer who is known to make their employees work to death with long working hours, mentioning the flexibility of the job might catch their attention. Just by identifying the motivation of the candidate, you can change your email into a more effective sales pitch to entice the candidate.
8. Show your competence:
Candidates keep receiving recruiting emails soliciting their resume for jobs that are totally irrelevant for them and sometimes even at the wrong locations. You would want to distinguish yourself by sending only the most relevant jobs to the candidates with the right type of emails. Doing some research about the candidate beforehand will help you do this.
Include thoughtful personalized notes at the end of the email that can demonstrate your competence. e.g. A personalized note like this – “Your overall experience along with your recent project with XYZ company makes your profile very interesting for this role. Would you like to have a conversation?” can help you win candidate’s trust in your ability to get the best job for them.
9. Avoid being robotic:
The language of your email should not look like being written by an automated bot. Keeping your tone casual connects better with the recipients and improves the chances of your email getting opened and responded upon.
10. Provide your contact Information:
Make sure to mention your email id, contact numbers and any social media profiles if possible. If your company has a dedicated careers page, including the link will not only make your emails more credible but also it will help the candidates browse other opportunities at your company.
A perfect recruiting email can help you get the candidates’ attention and open up doors for further communication.
