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Refine your candidate outreach strategy with LinkedIn InMail
Learn the most effective ways to message candidates and get more responses.
Initial outreach is an important part of the hiring process and overall sourcing strategy— but the wrong approach can discourage your candidates. Knowing how to craft engaging messages helps you get the most out of the global LinkedIn network of professionals.
How InMail in LinkedIn Recruiter can help your outreach strategy
Save time and improve your outreach efforts from end to end with these InMail features in Recruiter.
Recruiter spotlights
Want to understand where and how to begin the candidate outreach process? With Recruiter spotlights, you can:
- Prioritize candidates most likely to respond, selected specifically for your company
- Identify candidates who have previously applied to work at your company
- Pinpoint candidates connected with employees at your company
- Recognize candidates who are actively engaged with your brand
DID YOU KNOW?
Candidates who have indicated that they’re open to new opportunities are 75% more likely to respond than candidates who haven’t.
Recruiter messaging features
Reduce manual work and gain back time with a robust suite of messaging features in Recruiter that includes:
- Custom message templates tailored to different candidate types
- Bulk messaging that sends up to 25 InMails at once
- 150 InMails per month for each seat
- InMail pooling across account seats, so recruiters can allocate InMails as needed
InMail performance data
Get real-time insights into InMail performance and usage to discover opportunities that increase candidate engagement. InMail analytics allow you to:
- Track InMail response rates and performance
- Identify high-performing templates and messages
- Compare InMail performance to industry benchmarks
- Gain a holistic view of your team’s performance
DID YOU KNOW?
InMails get a 300% higher response rate than regular emails featuring the same content.
Composing a high-performing InMail message
Learn how to write the most engaging InMails and reach more potential candidates.
Crafting the perfect subject line
Capturing a reader’s attention with a strong subject line is crucial because:
- Recipients view subject lines first, then determine whether a message is worth opening
- Concise, catchy subject lines intrigue candidates and stick with them
- Mobile audiences — accounting for 57% of LinkedIn traffic — prefer short subject lines
PRO TIP
Don’t use pushy subject lines such as “Did you get my earlier message?” or “Need to fill this role immediately.”
Creating a personal connection
Messages that engage candidates on a personal level perform better. Here’s how to build stronger connections with them:
- Include a quick anecdote that makes you relatable to the candidate
- Show you know that the candidate’s qualifications and experience are suited to that specific role
- Use Recruiter to view the candidate’s connections, groups, work background, education, and interests to find common ground
- View candidate highlights in Recruiter to discover if you share a previous employer, which increases your chances of a response by 27%
Source: LinkedIn Data, 2021
Work with your hiring manager. Show them the InMail you plan to send to passive candidates, and ask if there are any adjustments to make. Adding that personal touch and knowing the hiring manager is interested in moving forward produces a higher response rate from candidates!”
— Sarah Silva, LinkedIn Recruiter
Keeping it short and sweet
Shorter InMail messages engage recipients more than longer ones, so keep this in mind when composing:
- InMails between 200 and 400 characters are 16% more likely to receive a response
- Shorter InMails aren’t guaranteed to overperform, but they do tend to see higher response rates
- Keep your target audience in mind to better understand how long your InMail should be
DID YOU KNOW?
InMails between 200 and 400 characters are 16% more likely to receive a response.
Putting your network to work
Here’s how to take advantage of your connections to improve your outreach efforts:
- Leveraging your network to find mutual connections is proven to increase outreach response rates
- The more connections you make as you browse LinkedIn, the more second- and third-degree connections you can uncover to boost your network even more
Source: LinkedIn Data, 2015
What to avoid when developing your candidate outreach strategy
Candidates can spot a generic attempt from far away, so stand out against other InMails by avoiding these missteps.
Information overload
Messages that are too long lose people’s interest. Here’s how you can trim your message to the essential points:
- Avoid unnecessary information that doesn’t offer a clear call to action
- Stay away from embedded links that distract from your message
PRO TIP
Ask candidates to share their career objectives so conversations become more relevant — and don’t forget to thank them for their time.
Reliance on jargon
Jargon tends to turn off audiences. Here’s why you should stay away from unfamiliar language:
- People unaware of industry-specific terms can be confused and close your message
- Prospects looking to transition into your industry might not yet know the nuances of it
PRO TIP
Avoid gender-biased words like “decisive,” “independent,” or “aggressive.”
Unclear next steps
When candidates don’t know how to follow up on your outreach, they can get confused and discouraged. Keep your process simple with these tips:
- Center your conversion around a clear, focused agenda
- Read your InMail back from the candidate’s perspective before sending in order to spot confusing areas
- Make the InMail part of an ongoing conversation instead of just redirecting the candidate to an application
- Don’t make the candidate do heavy lifting (ex: asking them to share their network for referrals)
Source: LinkedIn Data, 2015
Poor timing
InMails sent to a prospect outside certain time ranges can be ignored, get lost, or even annoy your candidate. When scheduling InMails, remember:
- InMails sent out between Monday and Thursday have increased response rates
- InMails sent on Saturdays are 16% less likely to get a response compared to those sent during the work week
PRO TIP
The best time to send an InMail is between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on a weekday.
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