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Guide

How to write candidate outreach messages with ChatGPT

Updated

To write a candidate outreach message with ChatGPT, give it one specific thing the person made, wrote or did, the role in one line with the pay range, and the one thing you're asking for. Ask for under 400 characters on LinkedIn or under 120 words by email, a subject that names the role or the reason, and two follow-ups about a week apart that each add one new fact. If the reason would fit fifty other people, find a better one before you send.

Short answer

  • Why them: one thing they did, named.
  • The role in one line, with the pay range if you can share it.
  • One easy ask: a short call, or "want the job description?"
  • Two follow-ups, a week apart, each with something new.

The brief to copy

Outreach brief

"Write a [LinkedIn message / email] from [my name, title] to [first name], about [role].

Why them: [the talk, post, project or result, and why it matters for this role].

The role in one line: [title, team, the problem it solves, location, pay range].

One ask: [a 15-minute call / 'want the job description?']. No apply link yet.

Under [400 characters / 120 words]. Subject under eight words, naming the role or the reason.

Then two follow-ups a week apart: the first adds one new fact about the role or team; the second closes the loop politely."

Paste only the piece of work you're referring to. Leave out contact details and anything about the person's age, family or nationality; see what not to paste.

A worked example

Illustration: a made-up business. Dana runs operations for Brightside, three bakeries in Chicago, and is hiring a planning lead. She found Sam through a talk he gave at a local meetup on cutting bread waste with daily order forecasts. She sends the message herself, as the person Sam would work for.

The message (LinkedIn, 251 characters)

Subject: Your talk on daily order forecasts

Hi Sam,

Your meetup talk on cutting bread waste with daily order forecasts is the exact problem we have in our three bakeries. I'm hiring a planning lead for our team of 3 at Brightside, in Chicago, $72,000 to $84,000. Open to a 15-minute call?

Dana

The follow-ups

A week later: Hi Sam, one more detail: the first project is moving store orders from a weekly spreadsheet to a daily forecast. Happy to send the job description if a call is too much.

A week after that: Hi Sam, I'll leave it here; the timing may well be wrong. If you'd like to hear about planning roles later, just say so. Thanks for the talk either way.

Dana checks that the talk's title is right and that the range matches the job post, and sends each message by hand rather than in bulk.

Check before you send

  1. The reason names one real thing they did and wouldn't fit anyone else.
  2. The role fits in one line, with the pay range if you can share it.
  3. There's exactly one ask, answerable in a word.
  4. It's under the limit: 400 characters on LinkedIn, 120 words by email.
  5. Nothing refers to personal traits, even as a compliment. In the US, the EEOC says it's illegal to recruit in a way that discriminates because of race, sex, age (40 or older) or other protected traits.

Next step: keep the brief

Sourcing means many messages a week from the same brief. HR prompts, saved shows where to keep it so you only paste the candidate's work and the role. For the post the candidate will read next, see writing a job description with ChatGPT.

Skills for this

All skills

Questions

What should a recruiter outreach message say?

Three things: one specific reason you picked this person (something they made, wrote or did), the role in one line with the pay range if you can share it, and one easy ask, such as a short call. Leave the company history and the job post for later.

How long should a LinkedIn recruiting message be?

Short. LinkedIn's 2022 data found InMails under 400 characters got about 22% more responses than average, and those sent one by one about 15% more than bulk sends. For email, under 120 words is a good limit.

How many follow-ups should I send a candidate?

Usually two, about a week apart. Gem's 2022 analysis of nearly 8 million sequences found replies rose from 8.3% after the first email to 15.8% after the second. Each follow-up should add one new fact, and the last should close the loop politely.

AI skill

Have your AI write a scout message a candidate will answer

Put this skill in AI Skill Pod and everyone on your team gets it in their Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT (Pro, Business, Enterprise): one invite link, free to start. Passive candidate outreach message has your AI write each sourcing message from the candidate's work and your role: one specific reason why them, the role in one line, one easy ask, and two follow-ups that each add something new.

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Sources

  1. LinkedIn Talent Blog: How to improve your InMail response rate, according to LinkedIn data (19 May 2022) — InMails under 400 characters got about 22% more responses than average; individually sent ones about 15% more than bulk (read 2026-11-05)
  2. Gem: 2022 benchmarks for recruiting email outreach — nearly 8 million sequences; cumulative reply rate 8.3% after the first email, 15.8% after the second, 21.3% after the fifth (read 2026-11-05)
  3. US EEOC: Prohibited employment policies and practices — illegal to recruit in a way that discriminates because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information (read 2026-11-05)
  4. OpenAI Help: Data controls — personal plans train on chats by default unless turned off; read through search-result text (read 2026-11-05)