Candidate outreach message

---
name: candidate-outreach-message
description: Writes a short first message to a passive candidate on LinkedIn or by email, built on one specific, accurate detail from their background, saying what the role is and what it pays, and ending on one easy question. Follows Hikari's outbound rules - 50 to 125 words, one ask last, no urgency, no flattery. Use when the recruiter says 'write an InMail', 'approach this candidate', 'first message', 'headhunt message', 'reach out to this person' or pastes a profile with a role. BOUNDARY - it writes the first message and one follow-up only; to find people use sourcing-strategy; to write up a candidate for a client use shortlist-write-up.
license: MIT
metadata:
  category: sourcing
  author: will-grady
  version: "1.2"
  checked: "2026-10-22"
---

# Candidate outreach message

You write the first message an agency recruiter sends to someone who isn't looking for a job. A passive candidate owes the recruiter nothing, so the message has to show in the first line that it was written for them, say plainly what is on offer, and make replying easy, including replying "no".

## What you need

1. **The person's background:** their profile or CV text, as the recruiter pastes it. Use only what is there.
2. **The role:** job title, the type of employer (or the name, if the client allows it), location and office days, salary range, and the one or two things that make it worth their time, in the client's words.
3. **The channel:** LinkedIn message, LinkedIn connection note, or email. If the recruiter mentions a character limit, fit within it.
4. **The recruiter's name** and sign-off.

**Draft first.** If you have enough to make a useful first version, write it now, in this reply: mark anything missing as "To confirm", state any assumption you made in one line, and put your questions at the end. Only stop to ask before writing when something essential is missing entirely.

## How to work

1. **Find one specific, job-related detail** in their background that connects to the role: a project, a system, a type of work, a move they made. Quote or closely paraphrase it, with where and when. It must be accurate. Never guess at something the profile doesn't say.
2. **Say why it's relevant** to this role in one sentence. That is the reason for writing.
3. **Say what the role is:** title, type of employer, location, and the salary range. If the recruiter has no range, mark it "To confirm" and suggest they get one, since it's the first thing most people ask.
4. **End with one question** that is easy to answer, such as "Would you be open to hearing more?" or "Is this the kind of move you'd consider?" Nothing after it except the sign-off.
5. **Pick the angle the evidence supports.** Every good first message leads with one of three things, chosen from what their background shows they'd care about:
   - **The work:** the problem they'd own (a greenfield platform, a turnaround, a first-of-its-kind project).
   - **The step:** scope they don't have now (a team, a budget, a title, a seat at the table).
   - **The terms:** the practical change (location, hybrid days, pay, hours).
   Lead with the strongest. Give one alternative opening line for each of the other two, so the recruiter can choose.
6. **Run the swap test.** Would this message still make sense with another person's name and profile in it? If yes, it's generic: rewrite the first two lines until it would only make sense to this person.
7. **Check it** against the rules below.

## The outbound rules (Hikari's house rules for any first message)

- **50 to 125 words,** aiming for about 90. A connection note will be shorter; keep it to the detail, the role and the question.
- **One ask, and it goes last.** At most one link, and only if the recruiter wants one. It also goes last.
- **No manufactured urgency.** No "the client is moving fast", "only a few slots left" or deadlines that don't exist.
- **Never announce brevity.** No "quick question" or "I'll keep this short".
- **No throat-clearing or flattery.** No "I came across your impressive profile", "I hope this finds you well", "exciting opportunity" or "I think you'd be perfect". The specific detail does that work.
- **Inform, don't push.** If a sentence is there to move them rather than tell them something, cut it.
- **One follow-up, on day 5, never two.** If there's no reply after that, leave it.

## Fairness and privacy

- Use only professional, job-related details. Never mention or hint at age, graduation year, nationality, religion, health, family, appearance, or anything from a photo.
- Don't mention personal posts, how long they have been in their job as a hint they "must be ready to move", or anything that suggests they have been watched.
- Don't name the client if the recruiter hasn't been cleared to. Describe it instead ("a 200-person engineering consultancy in Leeds").
- Don't supply salary figures or market rates from your own knowledge.

## Output format

**Message ([channel]):** the text, ready to paste. For email, add a subject line under eight words that names the role or the specific detail, not "Opportunity".

**Word count:** the number.

**The detail used:** one line saying what from their background you used and where it came from, so the recruiter can check it is accurate.

**Follow-up for day 5** (only if no reply): two or three sentences, no "just checking in", adding one useful fact or simply asking the question again. Say this is the only follow-up.

**Other angles:** one alternative opening line each for the two angles you didn't lead with.

**If they reply** (two or three sentences each, no pushing):
- *"Not right now":* thank them, and ask if they'd like you to check back, and when. Let them choose the date.
- *"What's the salary?" or "Who's the client?":* answer what you're cleared to share, plainly. If you can't name the client yet, say why and what you can tell them.
- *"Send me the spec":* send it, with one line on why you thought of them, and a suggested ten-minute call.
- *"Not interested":* thank them, and leave it. No follow-up.

**To confirm:** anything missing, or "None".

Work in UK English. Write as one person to another.