LinkedIn Recruiter is a powerful tool that allows recruiters to source, engage, and manage candidates efficiently. One of its useful features is the ability to create customized message templates that can be used to reach out to potential candidates.
Message templates help streamline communications and maintain brand voice and tone consistency across outreach campaigns. They save recruiters time as they don’t have to rewrite messages from scratch every time.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the step-by-step process to create effective message templates in LinkedIn Recruiter that get responses.
Why Use Message Templates?
Here are some key benefits of using canned message templates in LinkedIn Recruiter:
- Save time – Pre-written templates remove the need to draft personalized messages from scratch every time. You can put together high-quality messages once and reuse them.
- Ensure consistency – Templates allow you to standardize your communication style and branding. All candidates receive messages reflecting your company’s voice.
- Increase response rates – Well-crafted templates tailored to the target audience can boost open and response rates.
- Scale outreach efforts – With templates, recruiters can connect with more candidates in less time, enabling wider sourcing campaigns.
- Stay organized – Storing all your best messages in one place allows you to manage communications seamlessly.
- Train new recruiters – Share successful templates with new team members to get them up to speed on effective outreach quickly.
The key is to ensure your templates sound natural instead of overly salesy or robotic. Personalize them for each recipient and role for best results.
How to Create a Message Template in LinkedIn Recruiter
Here are the steps to create customized message templates that get responses:
Step 1: Plan The Message Structure
First, plan the basic template structure and content flow. Outline the key sections:
- Greeting – Warm opening addressing candidate by name.
- Introduction – Who you are, your company, role you’re recruiting for.
- Candidate Background – Refer to their experiences or profile to establish relevance.
- Role Details – Overview of the position, responsibilities, qualifications, etc.
- Call-to-Action – Next steps you want the prospect to take. Apply, schedule a call, etc.
- Conclusion – Closing statement expressing anticipation of hearing from them.
This provides a framework to build upon. The next steps cover applying this structure to create effective templates.
Step 2: Craft The Message Subject Line
The subject line is the first touchpoint determining if your message will be opened. To maximize open rates:
- Keep it short, personalized, and compelling.
- Convey the role seniority and function – e.g. “Senior Product Manager Role at Company X”.
- Mention any referral sources – “John Smith Referral – Software Architect Role”.
Test different subject line formats and choose ones that perform best.
Step 3: Write The Opening Greeting
Personalize the opening greeting based on available data:
- Use first name if you have it – “Hi [First Name]”.
- Use Dear [Full Name] if you only have their name.
- Avoid generic openings like “Hello” or “Dear Candidate” whenever possible.
This warm start helps set an engaging, consultative tone.
Step 4: Introduce Yourself And Company
The next section should briefly introduce yourself and your company. Include relevant details like:
- Your name, role, and company.
- What your company does.
- Notable clients, achievements, mission, etc.
This establishes credibility and gets the prospect’s interest, priming them to hear more about the role.
Step 5: Refer To Candidate Background
Now refer to the candidate’s profile, experiences, or background if relevant to the role:
- Mention if you have a shared connection.
- Highlight work experiences that match role requirements.
- Note any certifications, academic projects or activities of interest.
Showing you’ve reviewed their profile and see the relevance creates a personalized tone.
Step 6: Describe The Role And Requirements
Give an overview of the key details of the position:
- Role name and seniority level.
- Core responsibilities.
- Must-have qualifications and skills.
- Salary range and location if applicable.
- Technology stack or frameworks used.
Keep it high-level and compelling. Save deeper specifics for later discussions.
Step 7: Add A Clear Call-To-Action
Tell the prospect explicitly what you’d like them to do next:
- Apply to the role directly on your site.
- Respond if they’re interested in learning more.
- Schedule a quick call to discuss the role and their background.
Having a concrete CTA boosts response rates vs. open-ended messaging.
Step 8: Close With Next Steps
End the message by recapping next steps and expressing enthusiasm:
- Reiterate the requested next action.
- Share excitement to connect further.
- Add a signature with your contact info.
This drives home the CTA and creates a strong, positive closing impression.
Step 9: Make The Template Easy To Adapt
When creating the template, use markers like [First Name] and [Role] so they are easy to customize per candidate.
Build in flexibility to swap out components for different roles. This maximizes reusability.
Step 10: Test and Refine
Once you’ve created initial templates:
- A/B test templates with variations to see which perform best.
- Review results and iterate – improve wording, formatting, etc.
- Standardize on optimized versions as your master templates.
Ongoing testing and refinement will maximize the impact of your outreach.
Best Practices For LinkedIn Recruiter Templates
Here are some additional best practices to make the most of your LinkedIn Recruiter templates:
- Keep language warm and conversational, avoid overly formal wording.
- Aim for concise, scannable paragraphs – don’t make messages too long.
- Personalize each message with profile details and recipient name.
- Focus on mobile optimization – simplify formatting for small screens.
- Use templates consistently, but add some personalized flair.
- Have a mix of templates tailored to different roles and seniority levels.
- Collaborate across your recruiting team to share what works.
Adhering to these practices will maximize your template click-throughs, response rates, and candidate conversion from outreach.
Types of Message Templates To Create
Here are some kinds of templates worth creating to cover various outreach scenarios:
LinkedIn Connection Request Template
For sending InMail connection requests to passive candidates:
- Introduce yourself and common connections.
- State you’d like to connect due to shared interests/experiences.
- Reference their background and your open role(s).
LinkedIn InMail Role Intro Template
For introducing an open position via InMail to prospects:
- Lead with a warm greeting and your/company background.
- Summarize the role and your interest in their experience.
- Include logistics like location and salary.
- Close with a CTA to continue the conversation.
Screening Call Invite Template
For asking candidates to schedule a screening call:
- Thank them for their interest.
- Propose 2-3 timeslots that work on your calendar.
- Set expectations for call length and agenda.
- Include a calendar invite link to schedule easily.
Candidate Profile Request Template
For asking prospects to share an updated resume/profile:
- Note you’d love to learn more about their most recent experience.
- Ask them to forward an updated resume or LinkedIn profile link.
- List the role details they’d help assess skill fit for.
- Thank them for accommodating the request.
These are just some potential template examples. Identify the most common scenarios your outreach requires and create tailored templates to address them.
Template Examples
Here are a couple template examples for a software engineering role at a tech company to illustrate the concepts covered:
LinkedIn Connection Request
Subject: Connecting on LinkedIn
Hi [First Name],
My name is [Your Name], I’m a technical recruiter at [Company]. I noticed we have several shared connections from [University Name], including [Common Connection Name].
I’m expanding my network of software engineering professionals to connect with talented individuals like yourself. I’d love to add you to connect on LinkedIn. Please feel free to reach out anytime regarding potential roles at [Company] that may be of interest. I have several exciting positions across full-stack development, mobile, QA and cloud engineering.
I look forward to connecting!
Best,
[Your Name]
[Your Contact Info]
Role Intro InMail
Subject: Senior Python Developer Role at [Company]
Hi [First Name],
My name is [Your Name] and I’m a technical recruiter with [Company], where we’re building cutting-edge software in the e-commerce space. We’ve worked with major clients like [Notable Clients].
Based on your background in Python and cloud engineering, I wanted to reach out regarding an exciting Senior Python Developer position on our backend infrastructure team. This is a full-time opportunity based in our New York City headquarters.
In this role, you would be responsible for:
– Developing and optimizing our cloud-based microservices and APIs.
– Designing scalable cloud architecture solutions on AWS.
– Implementing best practices for security, availability and performance.
The ideal candidate has 5+ years of professional Python experience, expertise with Django/Flask frameworks and AWS services, and great communication skills.
If this seems like an interesting opportunity for you, I’d love to schedule a call to discuss further. Please let me know if you have some time this week or early next week to connect. I’m excited at the prospect of working together!
Best,
[Your name]
[Your contact info]
These examples follow the template structure and best practices outlined in this guide. Feel free to customize them as needed for your own outreach messaging. The key is crafting compelling templates tailored to engage your target candidates.
Conclusion
Creating and using strong message templates is a best practice for LinkedIn Recruiter outreach to maximize efficiency and response rates.
Follow the template creation steps and optimization tips covered in this guide. Develop a variety of templates to address different recruiting scenarios.
With well-crafted templates in place, you or your team can communicate consistently and effectively. This enables building rapport with candidates and increases hiring success.
Hopefully this gives you a blueprint to get set up with powerful message templates for your LinkedIn Recruiter activities. Let me know if you have any other questions!