Unsurprisingly, as recruiting professionals, we receive a veritable avalanche of job seeker outreach every week. The vast majority of this communication is respectful, agreeable, and friendly – but from a recruiter’s perspective, the bulk of them are highly ineffective. At least 50% of the time, these InMails, emails, or texts (whether addressed to our CEO or a former intern) are as simple as “Hey Kate, I’m looking for a new job, any chance you have something that might be a fit?” Is there anything inherently wrong with such a message? Not exactly – but you’re not doing yourself OR the headhunter any favors.
Neglecting to provide any pertinent information about your relationship with the recruiter, your background, or the roles you’re seeking puts pressure and extra scut work on the plate of the recruiter, who must then dig into their archives… How do they know you? What have you been up to career-wise? Are you a fit for any of their current job openings?
We’re on your side, but we’re not mind readers. Most of us are genuinely happy to help to the best of our abilities, but when asking for a favor, giving the ask-ee extra gruntwork (however unintentional it may be) is not typically the best course of action. So, what is the right way to reach out to a recruiter? We’re glad you asked. Read on to uncover the type of messages that grab our attention from the get-go.
DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST.
Save time on both sides by digging in before reaching out.
You’ll earn props if you take even a cursory glance at the recruiter’s LinkedIn profile and website before crafting a message. Some headhunters are focused on a specific industry (healthcare, manufacturing, tech, etc.) or job function (HR, accounting, legal, etc.), which may help or hurt your case. If you have a background in product management and see a lot of technical job openings, that’s a great sign! On the flip side, if you’re a salesperson seeking a business development role, contacting a recruiter who specializes in placing construction leaders makes about as much sense as trying to nail Jell-O to a tree.
Other independent headhunters and executive search firms embrace an industry- and function-agnostic philosophy, working on a wider variety of searches. Here at Treehouse Partners, we typically fill roles ranging from Manager-level to the C-suite for a huge variety of clients in just about every industry imaginable (we know way more about custom injection molding than the average Joe). A good rule of thumb is that if the recruiter has proactively contacted you in the past, there’s a better chance they’ll be interested in hearing from you.
Finally, while pondering the recruiter’s LinkedIn and website, check out the jobs currently advertised. If you don’t see anything that lines up with your background, odds are this is not the right recruiter for you to contact. If you notice jobs adjacent to your target, but that aren’t quite right for you – for example, if you’re an accountant and see lots of accounting and finance roles, but none at the level you’re seeking – that’s a much better indication that you’re on the right track. In these cases, don’t hesitate to reach out, but indicate you’ve done your homework (e.g. “While I don’t see anything quite at my level on your site…” “I noticed you were working on…”). New jobs open up all the time, and companies occasionally have active confidential reqs that can’t be publicly advertised.
CRAFT AN IMPACTFUL MESSAGE.
Stand out from the crowd and make a positive impression with a brief, but impactful, message that includes the following data points.
Your relationship and/or history with the recruiter
Headhunters interact with dozens of people every day. In most cases, it doesn’t matter if you worked together extensively in the past; if you’re not in the active candidate pool, it’s inevitably going to take the recruiter some time to jog their memory. Including a line or two that explains your relationship goes a long way, whether you worked with the recruiter all the way up to the offer stage, or barely know them at all.
Example (if you worked together extensively): Hi Kate! You and I connected a few years ago about a VP of Marketing position with XYZ Company. I ended up accepting another offer, but had a great experience with you and your team. I’m now on the hunt again, and…
Example (if you don’t know them well): Hi Kate! You reached out to me last year about a Finance Analyst position. I wasn’t looking for new roles at the time, but…
A brief (BRIEF!) recap of your background
Talk about what companies you’ve recently worked for, the industry or industries you’ve been exposed to, and perhaps a significant accomplishment or two. Remember that just like you probably do, talent acquisition leaders have a landslide of messages to read and emails to sort through, so keep it short and sweet – a few sentences will suffice. No need to tell your entire career story, save that for the interview!
Example: I’ve been working in the logistics industry since 2006. Since then, I’ve worked my way up from a warehouse worker at Company A to my current position as Director of Operations at Company B.
What roles you’re targeting
Again, brevity is the name of the game here. A few lines about your target title, industry, and job function is sufficient. Bear in mind that some firms (including Treehouse Partners) will only be able to help you if they’re actively working on a job that fits your existing experience pretty strongly. Be prepared for the answer, “We’d love to help, but unfortunately, we don’t have anything available right now. We’ll keep you posted!” Accept it with grace, and forge ahead.
Example: With 10+ years in the legal field, I am targeting in-house General Counsel positions. I am particularly passionate about sustainability, and the dream scenario would be something in renewable energy, sustainable consumer goods, or similar.
Your target salary, if possible
There’s no need to divulge your current salary details, and if you’re not comfortable sharing your target salary, that’s OK, but explaining what you’re aiming for is incredibly helpful. Don’t waste your time interviewing for roles that don’t meet your needs. Even a broad spectrum like “$130-$150k” or “mid $200k range,” can help the recruiter zero in. Feel free to go even wider if you’re in a field in which bonuses or commissions typically make up a large chunk of the compensation package. Every little bit of information helps!
Example: I’m currently targeting roles with a base salary of $110-$150k, and OTE of $180-200k+ after sales commission.
Any other pertinent information
Any other information important to your job search can be included here; just keep it concise. Only interested in remote roles? Let the recruiter know. Willing to relocate for a dream job? Put it in your message. Been out of work for a while, but ready to get back to it? Great detail to have. Looking to change job functions or industries? That’s important information. You don’t have to include anything here if you don’t want to – or if there really isn’t anything more to share – but if you have dealbreakers, it’s good to get them out in the open sooner than later.
Examples:
- I strongly prefer a fully remote or minimal hybrid setup; ideally reporting to an office no more than twice a week.
- I’ve taken the last two years off to raise my kids, but am excited to return to the workforce and explore new industries.
- While I’m open to pretty much any industry, I’d prefer to work for a small, high-growth company in a role with significant impact potential.
Put it all together
When all’s said and done, you should have a clear, concise message ready to send out to any recruiters in your network. 1-2 short paragraphs is more than enough; no one wants to read a novel about your career story, as thrilling as it may be. Alternatively, a bulleted list of highlights is fantastic for easy reading. The more specific you are about your history with the recruiter, current goals, compensation expectations, and target roles, the easier it is for a talent acquisition pro to get on board with your story and advocate for you – IF they are in a position to do so.
If they’re not able to help, keep an eye on the recruiter’s or search firm’s website and social media channels to stay on top of new job postings. Resist the temptation to check in frequently, meaning more than once every couple of months (and honestly, that’s pushing it – if you’ve read this far, you should know better!) Trust that the headhunter is keeping you on their radar and will reach out if a strong-fit opportunity comes across their desk. Generally, recruiters do not want a weekly or monthly note asking if they have any new jobs that might be a fit for you, especially when that information is easily found on their website or LinkedIn profile.
At Treehouse, we live by the philosophy that “how you do something is how you do everything.” If you come in hot and send an outreach message with limited data points, what are you going to do in any role we place you in? Initiating this kind of outreach thoughtfully, professionally, and with our very full plates in mind eliminates tedious research and protracted back-and-forth from the equation. You’re not just scoring brownie points with us: You’re better positioning yourself for guidance, advocacy, and future opportunities, and that’s a huge piece of what building and maintaining a relationship with recruiters like us is all about.