Having a set of strong recruiting email templates to work from can make a huge difference in your recruiting efforts. Well-written recruiting emails that are tailored to the specific job and candidate can grab attention, provide key details, and persuade qualified applicants to apply.
However, creating effective email templates from scratch takes thought and time. That’s why having samples to model your own recruiting emails after can save a ton of effort. In this guide, we’ll go into the elements of persuasive recruiting emails and include templates you can customize to attract top talent.
Using pre-built email templates for recruiting outreach provides several advantages:
Easier creation: Email templates allow you to skip over the blank page and dive right into customizing the messaging for each role and candidate. This enables you to quickly reach more people and make recruiting more scalable.
Consistent branding: Keeping elements like formatting, messaging tone, closing sentences, etc consistent across all candidate communications reinforces your employer brand. Templates help accomplish this.
Clear communication: Recruiting email templates make it easier to clearly communicate key details like job responsibilities, required skills and qualifications, company culture and employer brand, and the practical elements like links to apply.
Higher response rates: Carefully optimized email copy and formatting lifts open and response rates compared to entirely ad hoc messages. Starting with proven email recruiting template helps get better results.
Recruiting email templates aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. You still need to customize messages to resonate with different recipients and roles. Here are tips for writing compelling templates:
Make the recruiting email all about the prospective applicant. Focus your messaging squarely on what the open position offers this particular recipient, the growth opportunities for them, and why they’d find the role compelling. Avoid talking too much about your own needs as the hiring manager.
One-size-fits-none personalization is what makes recruiting email templates work. Do research on the recipient and incorporate specific elements of their background, skills, experience, accomplishments, and personality into the message. This shows you did your homework and see them as an individual. Some details to call out:
Personalized subject lines also boost open rates. Include the company and position to differentiate amidst other messages.
A common mistake in recruiting emails is focusing too much on duties and requirements of the role rather than the underlying candidate benefits and employer value proposition. Put yourself in the recipients’ shoes. What would truly excite and motivate them enough to apply? You need to appeal directly to these intrinsic and extrinsic motivators.
Intrinsic motivators relate to inherent psychological rewards like growth, purpose, autonomy, mastery, creativity, and challenge. Emphasize how the role taps into these.
Extrinsic motivators involve concrete rewards like compensation, benefits, perks, work-life balance, culture, career advancement, job security, and location. Feature these prominently because they’re key decision drivers.
Don’t just sell them on the opportunity - make it extremely easy to apply. Close the email with simple application instructions or a link to the job posting. Spell out any initial steps they need to take to submit their info, answer prescreens, sign up for an interview slot, etc. Make it happen with minimal effort on their end.
In reality, many recipients will just skim your recruiting email rather than read every word. Make key points and details stand out for easy skimming with:
Bold for highlighting critical specifics like job titles, requirements, benefits and value prop elements
Italics for emphasizing certain statements
Numbered or bulleted lists for duties, qualifications etc so they’re more scannable
Liberal use of whitespace between sections
Short paragraphs focused around a single idea each
These tactics make your emails more consumable for the quick-reading, inbox-deluged people you want to recruit.
Let’s explore some specific email templates you can model for different recruiting scenarios:
Cold emails to prospects passively seeking new jobs present a high difficulty level. You’re interrupting recipients out of the blue to sell them on a role and company they didn’t proactively apply for. Carefully crafted messaging is key for cutting through the noise.
Template Subject Line: {Name}, I think you would be a great fit for [role] at [company]
Template Body Copy:
Dear [First Name],
I hope you don't mind me reaching out cold! I came across your profile while sourcing for [role] over at [company] and was thoroughly impressed by your background. You have fantastic experience [highlight one key qualification or achievement that stood out].
In particular, I think you’d be a great match for [role] focused on [key responsibility area]. Some exciting things the role offers:
I'd love the opportunity to tell you more about the company and role, and see if it piques your interest. Would you have 30 minutes later this week or early next for a quick call to discuss? If so, here is a link to schedule a call with me directly [calendly link].
Either way, I certainly appreciate your time considering this opportunity. Looking forward to potentially connecting!
Best, [Your name]
[Signature With Contact Info]
Candidates who previously applied but didn’t land an offer are fantastic recruiting targets when you have a new opening. Tap this talent pool with a nurture email sequence.
Template Subject Line: A new opportunity that's perfect for you at [Company]
Template Body Copy:
Hi [Name],
I hope you’ve been doing well! I wanted to revisit our previous conversations around [role candidate previously interviewed for].
Although that position wasn’t ultimately the right fit, you made a strong impression on our team. That’s why when a new [role title] opened up last week focused on [summarize responsibilities], I immediately thought of you.
Based on our prior conversations, I think you’d be particularly excited by:
[List benefit connected to what originally motivated them to apply]
[Highlight another compelling part of job that matches their skills]
[Tease company news they’d find interesting like expansion plans, new tech stack etc]
Please take a look at the full job description here [link] and let me know if you’d like to move forward! I can make sure we fast-track you through the process since we already know you so well.
Thanks again and looking forward to your reply!
Best,
[Your name]
When an employee referral surfaces a promising lead, you want to pounce on them quickly. Kick things off by having the referring employee introduce you over email. Reply back directly to build rapport in a triple thread.
Template Subject Line: Thanks [Referring Employee] for the referral! Looking forward to speaking [referred candidate name]
Template Body:
Hi [Referred Candidate Name],
I’m thrilled [referring employee] connected us! They had glowing praise for your [background, accomplishments, or previous work together]. As we’re looking to hire a [role] with [key skills/traits], I agree you look like a fabulous fit for the position.
In particular, I was impressed by your expertise in [relevant accomplishment or skillset] and think you’d excel at [key responsibility area]. Some of the great things you can look forward to in the role:
[List intrinsic and extrinsic benefits]
Thanks again to [referring employee] for the friendly referral! Would you be free for a call early next week to discuss the role and how your background translates? I have open timeslots on Monday and Wednesday.
Look forward to speaking soon, [Your Name + contact info]
To maximize the ROI of your template library over the long-haul, keep these tips in mind:
Instead of keeping recruiting templates in scattered Word docs or Notepad files, centralize them directly in your email services like Outlook or Gmail. This makes it much easier to start from templates and customize the content for each candidate and role.
Most email services either allow saving emails as templates or have dedicated template functionality. Take advantage of this built-in feature so anyone on your recruiting team can access your shared bank of proven emails.
As with any important document, you’ll want to version control changes you make to recruiting templates over time. Otherwise you risk losing beneficial tweaks if you later refer back to an outdated template.
Ideally, use filename conventions that indicate the version - like adding the date modified at the end.
Another simple tactic is copying over old versions of templates into an archive folder before overwriting with edits. This preserves the iteration history so you can refer back and grab anything lost in newer versions if needed.
To streamline personalizing recruiting email templates for each recipient, use merge tags for candidate specifics you want to dynamically swap out.
For example, most email providers let you set up template fields like {{Candidate_Name}} {{Job_Title}} etc. Your CRM may also have this personalization functionality.
When using the template to reach out to prospects, quickly populate these variables, and the rest of message stays intact. This saves manually changing all instances of the person’s name and role each time.
Leverage email tracking to which types of recruiting email performs best. Over time, double down on high responder templates and rework poorer performers.
Tracking metrics like:
Let this response intel guide improving your recruiting email template mix. Test new versions against legacy standbys using A/B testing methods.
With more people checking email on mobile than desktop, optimizing for smaller screens is now vital. Use these methods to make recruiting templates shine on smartphones:
Get key details like the open position, name of the referring employee if applicable, etc high upfront when visibility is limited on mobiles.
Bulleted lists, bold text, title case headers and ample line spacing allows readers to quickly parse critical info when scrolling on phones.
Embedding links directly to your careers portal or job advertising site allows instant apply for candidates motivated after reading your message.
Set column widths for template layouts to automatically shrink smoothly for narrow mobile widths. This prevents awkward horizontal scrolling or content getting cut off screen.
Strong recruiting email templates will make building your talent pipeline much easier over time. Follow the guidelines and examples in this guide to craft polished templates for each hiring scenario and audience.
Just remember that messaging still needs careful customization for each recipient and role to spark engagement. Personalize every outreach while keeping underlying template structure consistent.
With compelling templates that convert candidates as your starting point, you can scale outreach dramatically while nurturing higher quality applicant leads. Master this crucial tactic to boost recruiting productivity and build an elite workforce.