The #1 Reason you don’t hear back from candidates: Your outreach messages aren’t focused on the right value for the role.
Positioning the appropriate value to the type of candidate you’re targeting is everything when it comes to first outreach messages.
Let’s be clear of what to avoid – an unnecessary introduction and a list of details about the job and individual responsibilities like that of a job description. It’s really a marketing message that describes to the candidate why they should want to learn more about what you are offering. The goal is to get their attention and get a response.
The very first question to ask yourself before drafting a message is this: “For this position and for the type of candidate I am targeting, is it more effective to highlight the value of the company, the value of the individual role, or both? It’s critical to make this distinction, because the answer to this question could be different even for the same company.
The key is to think like a marketer and segment candidates into different personas and demographics – based off what is important to them at this stage of their career on a
professional and personal level.
When the value isn’t clear in your message, or it isn’t on target to the motivations of the candidate– you’re not going to get a response.
So, here’s an example of how to present the value of the individual role to a Junior or Entry-Level sales candidate:
“This is your chance to learn the fundamental skills that will set the course for the rest of your sales career. You will be receiving the tools for long term success, including ongoing training and coaching, and a qualified pipeline of sales leads.
Nothing is more valuable to someone junior in their career than mentorship and being on a path for a successful future. And that’s what the job offers according to the message. It isn’t listing duties and responsibilities, it’s telling them what they will get out of the job, because I know this is what’s important to this particular type of candidate. I’m not talking about the product that they will be selling, or amenities that are featured in the company, because that may not be where the value lies.
But what if I determine if I want to focus on the value of the company? Perhaps the company makes a product that makes some type of positive impact on the world or, of if it’s involved in an industry that has a ton of financial potential.
Here’s what I might lead off with in my message:
“What would it mean to you if you were part of an organization capable of making the ultimate impact – saving lives? I am reaching out to you because I want to know if you want to join our mission for helping the greater good.”
Or
“This is your chance to get on the ground floor of a technology disruptor that will change the future of XYZ Industry – and industry that will be worth Z dollars in Y years.”
Selling the value of the company can be really impactful – especially when the role itself may not be the most exciting thing in the world.
At the end of the day, to get candidates to respond to your messages, you have to be engaging with the right candidates and selling the right value. There are a few other aspects to a message that are also critically important such as the right length of a message, how to structure it so it flows correctly, how to give a proper call to action. Subscribe to our channel and blog and you’ll get a first look on all of that information, your response rates for your messages will see drastic improvements.
