Recruiter BD outreach messages on LinkedIn: notes, openers and follow ups

A recruiter's BD message to a hiring manager works when it names the open role, says one specific thing about the market for it, makes one small offer and asks a question that takes a word to answer. Keep the connection note short, the first message under 80 words, and each follow up about something new.

This is part of the series on recruitment agency business development. Below are eight made up examples, grouped by stage. They are patterns to adapt, not proven copy, and every name, company and figure in them is invented. Replace each bracket with a fact you have checked.

What does a hiring manager want from a recruiter's message?

Hiring managers receive a lot of agency messages. Four things separate the ones that get an answer.

• A real role. The message names a vacancy that exists. "I work with many companies like yours" does not.
• A reason to trust the writer. One concrete fact about the market, not a claim of excellence.
• A low commitment. Two profiles, a salary range, a ten minute call. Not a contract.
• An easy reply. A question that can be answered with one word.

Everything below follows from those four.

Connection notes

A connection request is free and the default first touch. A note is optional. If you use one, keep it to a line that says why you are writing. The pitch waits until they accept.

Note 1 (made up), niche link: "Hi Priya, I place backend engineers in Manchester software companies and noticed your team is growing. Would be good to connect."

Note 2 (made up), mutual context: "Hi Daniel, we both follow the Berlin fintech community. I recruit for early stage finance teams in the city, so thought a connection made sense."

Do not pitch in the note. A note that sells reads like the spam the person already ignores. If you plan to use an InMail instead, there is no note: see the next post in the series on which first touch to use.

First messages after acceptance

Send the first message once the connection is accepted, usually within a day. Name the role, give one fact, make one offer, ask one question.

Message 1 (made up), live job post: "Thanks for connecting, Priya. I saw the senior backend role on your careers page, open since early October. In Manchester, engineers with Go and payments experience often hold two or three offers, so speed matters. I can send two shortlisted profiles by next Friday. Is the role still open?"

Message 2 (made up), funding round: "Thanks for connecting, Daniel, and congratulations on the seed round. Companies at this stage often hire a first account executive within a quarter. I place first sales hires for UK software start ups. Are you planning that hire this year?"

Message 3 (made up), new leader: "Hi Maria, congratulations on joining Northwind as head of operations. New operations leaders often rebuild the planner and coordinator team in the first six months. I recruit for logistics operations in the Midlands. Is hiring on your list for this quarter?"

Count the words in each. They sit at roughly 45 to 65 words. That is the target.

Follow ups

A follow up is a new reason to reply. Avoid "just checking in", "bumping this" and "did you see my message". The research on follow up copy that worked and failed and the note on how many follow ups depends on the relationship point the same way: add something.

Follow up 1 (made up), market fact, three days later: "Priya, one thing that may help: in the last month I have seen backend salary offers in Manchester settle around [range you have actually seen]. If you are benchmarking the role, I can share how it compares. No need to engage an agency for that."

Follow up 2 (made up), useful offer, a week later: "Priya, I put together a one page summary of three candidate profiles with no names, so you can judge fit before any introduction. Happy to send it. Should I?"

Closing note (made up), about ten days later: "Priya, I will stop writing here so I do not clutter your inbox. If the backend role stays open or you add another, I am at [your email]. Good luck with the search."

The closing note is not a trick. It is the honest end of the sequence, and it often gets the reply the earlier ones did not.

What changes by situation?

What to avoid

1. Claims you cannot support. "We are the best", "top 1%", "guaranteed fill in 7 days." If you have a real figure, cite where it comes from.
2. Candidate names without permission. Never name a candidate to a client before you have the candidate's consent. See the GDPR basics.
3. Attachments and links in the first message. They reduce the chance the message reads like a person wrote it.
4. Invented urgency. "Two other firms are interested" when they are not.
5. Long paragraphs. On a phone, a six line paragraph is a wall.

How do you test which message works?

Split a niche list in half by random draw. Send message A to one half and message B to the other, using the same sender and the same days. After three weeks, count replies and calls held, not likes. With two groups of 50, only a big gap means anything, so change one thing at a time: the hook, or the offer, or the question. We publish no benchmark for recruiter outreach and you should not trust one from anyone else without seeing the list it came from.

Can an agent send these?

Sellinger's agent researches each prospect, writes the first message and every follow up, answers the replies and books the meeting on your calendar. Give it the niche sentence, the offers you will actually honour and the replies it may not answer, such as fees and candidate names. Run the campaign in approval mode for the first week, so you read every message before it sends. A person can take over any conversation, and the agent stops by itself when it meets a question it cannot answer, such as a price it has no answer for.

LinkedIn has a default of 20 invitations a day per account in Sellinger, with a weekly cap of 150. No tool can guarantee that LinkedIn will never restrict an account. For email, the staffing agency client outreach email template is the starting point. For the first touch decision see the InMail comparison, and for the full process return to the hub.