# Message a Recruiter or Hiring Manager

Three messages — to the hiring manager, to the recruiter, and to a potential referrer — each under the connection note limit where it needs to be.

- Version 1.0, updated 18 September 2026
- Works with: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or any capable assistant
- Source: https://www.linkediz.com/prompts/recruiter-message

## Use when

- You found the role and the hiring manager and are about to write "I would love to connect".
- You want a referral from someone who barely knows you.
- A recruiter messaged you about the wrong role and you want to redirect them.

## Variables to replace

- `{{ROLE}}` — Your role. Your job title and what you are accountable for.
  Example: Founder, doing my own outbound until the first AE starts
- `{{OBJECTIVE}}` — Objective. The single outcome this run should produce. One outcome, not three.
  Example: Twelve accepted connections a week from in-ICP finance directors
- `{{PROOF}}` — Proof you can cite. Named customers, numbers you are allowed to publish, or "none yet" — which is a valid answer.
  Example: Two logistics customers of similar size. One cut close from nine days to three. Named reference available under NDA; numbers publishable without the name.
- `{{TONE}}` — Tone. How you actually write. Name a person or a publication if it helps.
  Example: Plain, short sentences, no exclamation marks, no "hope this finds you well"
- `{{JOB_TITLE}}` — Role you are hiring for. The title as you advertise it.
  Example: Senior Backend Engineer (Go)
- `{{JOB_DESCRIPTION}}` — Job description. Paste the whole thing. The model needs the requirements, not your summary of them.
  Example: Senior Backend Engineer, Go and Postgres, payments domain preferred, hybrid London 2 days, £95–115k, reporting to the VP Engineering.
- `{{PROSPECT_NAME}}` — Prospect name. As it appears on their profile.
  Example: Dana Whitfield
- `{{PROSPECT_ROLE}}` — Prospect job title. Their current title, verbatim.
  Example: Group Finance Director
- `{{PROSPECT_COMPANY}}` — Prospect company. Company name and size, if you have it.
  Example: Northbeam Logistics, ~900 staff, 5 countries
- `{{PROSPECT_PROFILE}}` — Profile and activity. Paste the About section, current role description, and anything they posted or commented on recently.
  Example: "12 years in finance ops, currently consolidating five ERPs into one." Posted last week about the pain of a five-week close after an acquisition.

## How to use

1. Write to the hiring manager before you apply, not after. After is when your name is already in a stack.
2. Use the forwardable sentence in the referral ask. It is the difference between a yes and a "sure, send me your CV" that goes nowhere.
3. Send the follow-up once. Then stop — a third message to a stranger about a job costs you the fourth conversation, later.

## Context files this expects

- `JOB-SEARCH.md` — https://www.linkediz.com/ai/files/job-search

---

## The prompt

You write short messages that make it easy for a busy person to help.

## Me
{{ROLE}} — what I want next: {{OBJECTIVE}}
My relevant evidence: {{PROOF}}
Tone: {{TONE}}

## The role and the company
{{JOB_TITLE}} at {{PROSPECT_COMPANY}}
{{JOB_DESCRIPTION}}

## The person
{{PROSPECT_NAME}}, {{PROSPECT_ROLE}}
What I know about them: {{PROSPECT_PROFILE}}
My connection to them: [none / second degree via X / we met at Y / they posted about Z]

## Method
1. Establish the strongest true link between me and this person. If there is none, say so — a message with no link has to be shorter and more direct, not longer and more elaborate.
2. Write to the hiring manager: one line on why this role specifically, one line of evidence that maps to their actual requirement, one small ask. Never attach a CV unasked.
3. Write to the recruiter: same shape, but the evidence should be the one that makes screening me easy, because that is their job.
4. Write the referral ask: the version that costs the referrer thirty seconds. Give them the exact sentence they could forward. People say yes to forwarding a sentence and no to "having a chat about my background".
5. Keep the connection-note version under 300 characters — that is the field limit — and mark clearly which version is which.

## Hard rules
- Never write "I would love to connect", "I am reaching out because", "I hope you are well", or "I am very passionate about".
- Do not restate your CV. One piece of evidence.
- Do not ask for "advice" when you want a referral. It reads as a manoeuvre because it usually is.
- Do not apologise for writing.
- The ask must be answerable in one line.

## Output format

### The link
What connects me to this person, honestly. Or "none — direct version below".

### To the hiring manager
Text, then (n characters).

### To the recruiter
Text, then (n characters).

### Referral ask
Text, plus the forwardable sentence, then (n characters).

### Connection note version
Under 300 characters, with the count.

### If no reply after a week
One follow-up, and then the instruction to stop.

---

## Notes

Written to a fixed structure and run through Claude and ChatGPT to confirm each one returns the output format it declares. That is not the same as a measured reply-rate benchmark, and nothing here claims one — if you run these at volume and have numbers, we want them.

---

Linkediz LinkedIn AI Toolkit — v1.0, 18 September 2026
Source and updates: https://www.linkediz.com/prompts/recruiter-message
LinkedIn plan limits and prices in this file: https://www.linkediz.com/linkedin-limits