MightyRecruiterOnce you’ve finally found a candidate that you feel is a perfect fit for a vacancy, it’s standard practice to write a contract letter that formalizes the offer of employment and outlines details about the terms of the job. Often, this document is sent as a follow-up to an initial verbal or email offer, and once signed, the deal is considered done.
In a nutshell, just as jobseekers use it to make in-roads with key people who could ultimately recommend them for a job, hiring professionals can use it to connect with key candidates who could ultimately be the right fit for a current or future open role.
Beyond sourcing these candidates and actually interviewing them, recruiters and hiring leaders must overcome the challenge of getting these candidates to agree to participate in these kinds of interviews. For this, you need to know how to send a strong informational interview request email.
This message not only needs to cut through the chaos of a recipient’s inbox with a super engaging, unique subject line; it also needs to convince the candidate that you’re someone who genuinely finds their skills and experiences interesting and who has their needs and wants top of mind.
This may sound difficult, but you can use the informational interview request email below to get an idea of how to move forward with your own strong message.
Informational Interview Request Email
Subject Line: Dom, I heard you can cook a mean burger
To: dominiquer765@gmail.com
Hi Dom,
My name is Brenda Fossy, and I’m a senior hiring manager at Crosby Restaurants. Jackson Roach recommended that I reach out to you regarding one particularly mean hamburger. Needless to say, your chef-ing skills come highly recommended, and as we’re always on the lookout for someone who can make magic behind the grill, I was hoping we could link up for a quick 15-minute chat.
Crosby Restaurants is a family-owned chain that’s committed to supporting small farmers and real ingredients, and based on my conversation with Jackson, these seem to be two points that are very important to you as well.
I’d love to hear more about your food philosophy and to get to know you in general – as well as to introduce you to a few of our opportunities.
Are you available this Wednesday, June 22 at 11am, or next week on Tuesday, June 28 at 12pm? If not, feel free to suggest a time and day that better suits your schedule.
I’m looking forward to our conversation.
Sincerely,
Brenda Fossy
978-445-1288
bfossy@crosbyrestaurants.com
Want to use this letter?
The first thing that likely jumps out at you in the above informational interview request email is the subject line. It doesn’t mention job opportunities, or a company, or even an interview request. Rather, it includes the candidate’s name and some uniquely personal information: two elements that are far more likely to convince a candidate who already has a job to open the email.
While there’s no right way to write an engaging subject line, you do want to think like a marketer when you put this together and make sure it’s attention grabbing and personalized.
Similarly, your overall message should imply that you’ve taken some time to learn about the candidate’s experiences, skills, and interests and have thought about how these align with your company’s opportunities and mission.
In the case above, the hiring manager had the benefit of asking a mutual contact about this candidate’s strong suits, which is something you should definitely do if writing a letter to a referral. But if you aren’t so lucky, have a look at the candidate’s social media profile or ask people in a similar role what kind of experiences and skills someone in this role/field would likely have.
Finally, the letter closes with a strong, decisive call to action. The recipient knows exactly how to move the conversation forward if they’re interested, and the hiring manager’s contact information is clearly displayed.