10 commandments of a tech recruiter.

Kasia Michalak
Jul 21, 2017 · 5 min read

In other words, how to write proper messages to software developers.

It’s nice to receive messages like the ones below, right? If you get them too, kudos to you. If not, this post will tell you how to increase your open rate (the percentage of e-mails opened). It’s going to be subjective, yes, but I hope you will find it useful.

From time to time, on my LinkedIn profile, you can see screenshots of replies which I get from candidates. I post them to show that you can recruit professionally and break the negative stereotype about IT recruiters who don’t know the difference between Java and JavaScript.

It takes some time to personalize an e-mail, you can’t deny it. And it’s tempting to send the same message to twenty people. But it reminds me of the situation when you want to have a six-pack, but you eat donuts every day ;) Consequently, this is what we have:

I’m more than sure that none of you would reply to this, would you? :)

When you write to someone with a specific job opportunity, you need to make strong arguments and know why this person might be interested in it. Specifically, your proposition should, ideally, be a step forward in someone’s career.

But, let’s get to the point.

1. The title of your e-mail

In case of an e-mail or in-mail, instead of writing “JavaScript Developer needed”, “Awesome startup is recruiting”, write “position + company + city + salary brackets”.
If you send an invite on LinkedIn, don’t leave it empty, like: „Hello X, I’d like to add you to my contacts”. Come on. Explain why you’d like to add someone to your connections. Savoir-vivre requires that.
I recommend: “Hey Kasia, we met recently […]. I’d like to add you to my contacts” or “Hey Kasia, I was really interested in your recent post. Can I add you to my connections?”
It sounds waaay better, doesn’t it?

2. Be normal

Try to keep your message casual, like you were writing an everyday e-mail, not a wordy essay about people’s behavior in the 18th century. My two cents? Write to people in such a way that you’d like to be written to.

3. Introduce yourself.

Such an obvious thing, and so frequently forgotten. In real life when we meet new people usually we introduce ourselves (name, surname, company). Why not do that when writing e-mails?

4. Why me?

You need to know the reason why you are writing to this specific person. If you’re looking for a JavaScript Developer, analyze his/her LinkedIn/Github profile, his/her company and (personal) projects. Go deeper. Have a look at what they do in their free time and why (the h***) this person should be interested in your job opportunity. Even if they say “no”, at least the message will make you smile:

5. Another scaling secret startup?

Come on, really? :) Then let whoever would like to to take part in a recruitment process to an unknown company cast the first stone. Do I see anyone? Nope. That’s what I thought. Dear recruiter, write what company you represent and what you can offer. Of course, there are people who will then apply directly via the company’s website, however, I deeply believe that they will shoot themselves in the knee. Not only may the truth come to light, but also they will be just one of dozens of people sending their CVs and not a candidate recommended by a recruiter. They won’t get the recruiter’s support and help. And they won’t be able to write this:

But of course, that’s my VERY subjective opinion.

6. What are the brackets?

Yeah… It would be great if you could write about that. The problem is that some startups / software houses / companies still don’t want to reveal salaries. Employees don’t feel comfortable as this is a kind of taboo. Where does it lead us? People stop trusting each other. Candidates are frustrated that they went through the whole recruitment process and they were offered a (really low) salary in the end and they have a deep feeling that they wasted their time. Let’s respect their time and ours. If someone tells you the brackets are too low, you can always try to negotiate with them and the company, right?

7. Tomorrow or after tomorrow?

In your e-mail, try to suggest two possible slots for a phone call. Instead of writing “I’m waiting to hear from you” try “Would you have time tomorrow at 2 pm or 3 pm to talk about the details?” It’s much easier for a candidate to look at the calendar and see if they’re free at a specific hour.

8. Give details

Say why you are writing, introduce the company and the details. And that’s it. Writing about details, plans, attaching 5 links in your first message doesn’t make sense. But again, that’s my point of view.

9. Keep Smiling and Take Care of Personal Branding

Remember to keep your message positive. But how? Well… try to imagine what type of e-mail you would respond to and then just write it. Take care of your personal branding. Every candidate can check your LinkedIn profile and if they find it’s a job board, I’m not so sure they will want to talk to you.

10. Don’t give up

It’s not easy to be a tech recruiter, especially when direct searches take up most of your time. Developers are very conscious candidates and they’re not paid to check portals with job offers ;) You need to get their attention and send a follow-up more than once sometimes.

I hope you, Dear Recruiters, will find these tips useful and you, Dear Software Engineers, will start receiving more personalized messages where no one ever will confuse Java with JavaScript ;)

*******

This post first time appeared on 18.04.2017 on a Goldenline blog (a Polish equivalent of LinkedIn).

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Kasia Michalak

Written by

Business Development Manager @ Bee Talents. Speaker. The Best Recruitment Consultant in Poland-HR Pearls 2016. They say I can talk to developers.

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