How To Reach Out To Recruiters On LinkedIn (+ Templates)
Knowing how to reach out to recruiters on LinkedIn is an important part of a successful job search.
With 850 million members and 58 million companies, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform. 6 people are hired every minute on LinkedIn!
With so many job candidates and employers in one place, LinkedIn is a recruiter’s paradise, which is probably why 87% of recruiters regularly use LinkedIn.
It also presents an awesome opportunity for job seekers to proactively reach out to recruiters on LinkedIn.
But first, why do you need to reach out to recruiters? Shouldn’t they be reaching out to you?
Why you need to reach out to recruiters
Recruiters have their own advanced methods for finding candidates, including softwares that are specifically built for candidate sourcing (e.g., LinkedIn Recruiter, ZipRecruiter, Zoho Recruit, Gem).
Unless you’re a highly-qualified candidate, you probably won’t get more than 1-2 recruiters per month reaching out to you. And that’s probably not enough to get a really good job offer.
So how can you get noticed by more recruiters? There are two strategies: the passive strategy and the proactive strategy.
The passive strategy
The passive strategy involves optimizing your LinkedIn profile: uploading a professional photo, adding work experience and education, turning on the #OpenToWork feature, and filling your profile with keywords.
But even if you have the perfect LinkedIn profile, recruiters still might overlook you.
Which is why we recommend the proactive strategy.
The proactive strategy
The proactive strategy involves identifying recruiters who specialize in the type of role you’re looking for and then sending them a message.
This strategy is better because you’re in control of how many recruiters and which recruiters you reach out to.
If you want to reach out to a hundred recruiters, you can. The more recruiters you work with, the better. More recruiters, more job offers.
Also, you want to be selective about which recruiters you reach out to.
How to find recruiters
Some recruiters work individually, but most recruiters work as employees of a recruiting firm. So you want to start by searching for recruiting firms that have a good reputation and specialize in your target role.
You can do this with a simple Google search: “Tech Sales Recruiting” or “Technology Sales Recruiter” or “Software Sales Recruiters.”
If you’re looking for a job in software sales, we’ve already done the work for you. Here’s a list of the best software sales recruiting firms.
Once you identify a few recruiting firms, follow these steps:
- Go to LinkedIn
- If you haven’t already, create a profile
- Search for a recruiting firm
- Go to their company page
- Click on “People”
- Find the recruiters on staff
Once you’ve clicked on a recruiter’s LinkedIn profile, now it’s time to send a message.
How to message recruiters
On LinkedIn, you have two choices: you can add a note to a connection request or you can send InMail (only for Premium accounts).
Let’s assume you’re using the free version of LinkedIn and adding a note to a connection request is your only option.
The tricky part is that you’re limited to 300 characters, so you’ll have to make your note short and sweet. But this is actually a good thing because shorter LinkedIn messages get a 22% higher response rate.
Here are a few templates ✍️
Template #1:
Hi <insert name>! I’m currently going through the job search process (actively interviewing) for my next role in software sales. Is there an opportunity for you or another recruiter at <insert name of recruiting firm> to help me find a role?
Template #2:
Hi <insert name>! I wanted to reach out because I’m currently exploring new opportunities in software sales and I noticed you’re a recruiter at <insert name of recruiting firm>. I was previously at <former employer> and now I’m looking for <insert what you want for your next role>. Is there an opportunity for you or another recruiter at <insert name of recruiting firm> to help me find a role?
Template #3:
Hi <insert name>! I noticed that you’re a recruiter at <insert name of recruiting firm>. I wanted to reach out to see if you might be able to help me with finding my next role in software sales. I was previously at <former employer> and now I’m looking for <insert what you want for your next role>. Is this something you can help me with?
What next?
Okay, so you’ve messaged some recruiters. Great work!
Now, don’t sit at your computer refreshing your LinkedIn inbox every 5 minutes.
Give it a few days and by then you’ll probably have one or two responses in your inbox.
If some of the recruiters accepted your connection request, but they didn’t reply to your message, then send a follow-up message.
When a recruiter responds, they’ll likely request to schedule a call with you. You should treat the first call with a recruiter just like an interview. It’s basically a “screening” call.
Remember, recruiters make money when you get hired by one of their clients. If they think you have high chances of getting a lot of job offers, they’ll want to work with you. Bottom line: you need to impress the recruiter on your first call with them. Click here to read more about how to prepare for a phone call with a recruiter.