MightyRecruiterYou and your colleagues may have just conducted first round interviews, but your work is far from over. Now you must write a smart second interview letter to ensure that the best candidates will accept and move forward in your hiring process.
It’s this question that you need to give some careful thought to when writing the job proposal letter, which is a message aimed at convincing a prospective employee who’s working elsewhere to take interest in your business and your open position.
The key benefit for the recipient is that they learn of another opportunity that might be better than their current one, a position in which they could earn more, get more free time, or advance their career. So naturally, the correspondence should focus on the perks of the role and why it would genuinely lend itself to the recipient’s advancement.
It should also speak directly to the person and their interests and objectives, and it should ideally include a single, specific call to action that’s not intimidating – rather than asking the person to send multiple documents and complete an assessment, just start off by requesting a simple meeting over coffee at a suggested time and place. If you find written communication doesn’t elicit a response, you can always follow up with a call after a few days.
See how the job proposal letter template below incorporates the above practices.
Job Proposal Letter Template for Sourcing Passive Candidates
{Date}
{Candidate’s Name}
{Candidate’s Street Address}
{City, State Zip Code}
Dear {Candidate’s Name},
No doubt, this is not the first letter you’ve received from a recruiter, nor will it be the last. But it might just be the one that takes your career as an already very successful {Current Job Title} to new heights. And we think it could have huge impact for us too.
We saw your profile on/heard about you from {Source Name} and were immediately struck by your experience and capabilities. Not to mention, the fact that you’ve {name one of their achievements – an award they’ve won, a paper they’ve published} is very impressive.
Here’s the thing: we at {Company Name} are looking for someone who can play a pivotal role in shaping our future. This is an opportunity for you to really make a difference, and you’ll gather some incredible learnings and benefits along the way. For example, we offer {name various unique benefits, like a more competitive salary than other companies, a flexible working schedule, free lunch every day, and so on}.
All we’re asking at this stage is that you allow us to steal 15 minutes of your time for a quick discussion. Does {date} at {time} work for you?
We can’t wait to explore this further.
Sincerely,
{Your Name}
{Your Job Title}
{Company Name}
Want to use this letter?
Of course, this job proposal letter template will need to be tweaked to include the particulars, but it showcases various good practices. For one, it starts off strong by highlighting how this letter is different from others, and by making the candidate want to read on to find out how it will advance their career, as proposed.
Various personal details are also included – the person’s current job title and achievements – so that the candidate knows the letter is not just generic mass communication and feels specifically chosen and valued.
What’s more, this template is short and concise – there’s no lengthy description of the company or position, just a taste of the positives of jumping ship. So, it’s more likely the candidate will read to the end and respond.
The letter removes pressure at the end by mentioning that the candidate need only give 15 minutes of their time. This communicates that no decision has to be made yet, and the candidate is likely to think, “Well, what do I have to lose?”.
How casual or formal the tone of the correspondence is will depend on your brand identity, but as is the case in this job proposal letter template, it’s a good idea to keep the feel relaxed and warm.