How to Write a Great Intro Email

As a recruiter, odds are you have a hard drive full of email templates for the myriad of recruitment situations that require written correspondence. Today, we’re going to focus on the cold email. As a recruiter using Selected, your first interaction and first impression with candidates consists of the message you send with your connection invitation. If left empty, chances are high that the candidate response rate will be low. Here are three tips for making that message count!

Get to the Point

Let the candidate know exactly why you’re reaching out, and do it right away. Leading with the specific position you think they’re a fit for helps personalize your message. It also shows that you’ve done your homework on their profile - something our candidates have worked hard to perfect. This care and attention will go a long way toward improving your positive response rate and will give you an advantage over schools that send generic, impersonal messages.

Remember: Just as recruiters often make first judgements by skimming resumes, candidates often only read the first few sentences of a cold recruiter email. Be sure to give them something to grab onto.

Introduce Yourself

Have you ever ignored someone who came up and introduced themself to you? Me either! And this concept applies to cold emails - though admittedly, it is a lot easier to ignore an email than a real life human. Still, when an email introduction is done correctly, it brings you to the surface and it personalizes the experience. These interactions count and can go far.

Remember: Your introduction should be brief and ideally tied to what you’ve learned about the candidate. Doing so will help the candidate see that you are a real person interested in them.

Clarify the Next Step

Give the candidate an action step. Whether it’s to reply with interest or schedule a call via a calendar link, making a clear ask shows candidates that you are serious - and removes any areas of doubt.

Remember: Time is of the essence. And neither you, nor the candidate, have time for back and forth pleasantries. You need to get this person going in your interview process - before another school does!

Sample Email Template

Hi <<First Name>>,

I’m <<Your First Name>> from <<Your School>> -- our mission is to prepare students for success in college and citizenship and your experience feels like it might be a great fit. I’m interested in speaking with you about our HS Physics opening for the 20-21 school year. In particular, I’d like to explore how your background as an Assistant Professor in Physics would make you an ideal fit to teach our 12th graders.

Please let me know if you are interested by either replying directly or scheduling a call with me here <<Insert Link Scheduler>>. I’m looking forward to connecting soon!

<<Your First Name>>

Have an awesome recruitment intro email template? Please share it with us!

About Selected

Selected helps schools hire the best teachers. We offer a matching platform that connects 1,200+ public and independent schools with a deep and diverse pool of 30,000+ Pre-K to 12 teachers in urban metro areas in the Northeast and West Coast, including New York City, NJ, CT, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Boston, SF Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Create a FREE school profile and start speaking with candidates immediately.