Purpose
Produce a warm, employer-brand-aligned outreach message that opens with a genuine, specific hook tied to the candidate's actual background — then pitches the role and asks for a low-commitment reply. Solves the biggest sourcing problem: templated messages that read as mass blasts and get ignored.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Write an InMail or cold email to a passive candidate
- Personalize outreach for a specific engineer, designer, PM, or other candidate
- Draft a sourcing message for an open role
- Improve reply rates on recruiting outreach
- Create a follow-up message for a candidate who didn't respond
- Write outreach that matches their company's voice and employer brand
Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- Role: Title, level, and 1–2 sentences on what makes it interesting (scope, team, tech, mission)
- Candidate background: Current title/company, notable projects, skills, or anything from their profile worth referencing
- Company & employer brand: Company name, what it does, and 2–3 words for the desired tone (e.g., mission-driven, scrappy, prestigious)
- Selling points: Top 2–3 reasons a great candidate would want this role (comp band, growth, remote, impact, team)
- Channel: LinkedIn InMail / email / other
- Recruiter identity: Sender's name and title for the sign-off
If a personalization detail is thin, use the strongest available signal from the candidate background and note where a manual specific detail should be inserted before sending.
Instructions
Step 1: Find the Personalization Hook
Identify the single most specific, genuine reason to reach out to this candidate. Rank hook types by strength:
- Specific work/project — a repo, talk, launch, or accomplishment tied to the role's needs
- Career trajectory — a move or progression that maps naturally to this next step
- Skill/stack match — a specific technology or specialty the role requires
- Company/mission overlap — shared domain, values, or problem space
Choose the highest-ranked hook that's actually supported by the input. Never fabricate a detail; if only a stack match exists, use that honestly.
Step 2: Write the Subject Line
Craft one subject line (under 8 words) that feels human, not automated. Avoid "Exciting opportunity," "We're hiring," and the candidate's name jammed in for false familiarity. Lead with the hook or the specific role + company.
Step 3: Draft the Body (4-Beat Structure)
- Hook (1–2 sentences): Open with the personalization from Step 1. Show you actually looked. No generic "I came across your profile."
- Bridge to role (1–2 sentences): Connect what they do now to why this role fits them specifically.
- The pitch (2–3 sentences): Name the company, the role, and the top 1–2 selling points. Concrete over vague ("own the payments platform" beats "impactful work").
- Low-friction CTA (1 sentence): Ask for a small yes — a quick chat, a reply of interest, or openness to hearing more. Never demand a résumé or full application.
Keep the entire body between 70 and 130 words. Match the tone to the employer brand words provided. Warm and human throughout — no corporate filler, no hype.
Step 4: Write the Follow-Up
Draft one short follow-up (under 60 words) for a non-responder. Add a new angle or detail — never "just bumping this." Reference a fresh selling point or a light, respectful nudge that assumes they're busy.
Step 5: Flag Insert Points
Mark any spot where the recruiter should add a manual specific detail (e.g., a link to the candidate's exact talk) so the final message never ships with a vague placeholder.
Output Format
- Structure: Subject line, then the primary message body, then the follow-up message, then any insert-point notes
- Length: Primary body 70–130 words; follow-up under 60 words
- Format: Ready-to-send message text — no brackets in the customer-visible copy, presented as clean paste-ready blocks
- Sections: Subject Line → Outreach Message → Follow-Up Message → Notes (only if insert points exist)
- Tone: Warm, human, and confident — like a smart peer reaching out, aligned to the stated employer brand; never salesy or corporate
Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] The opening hook references a real detail from the candidate background — not a generic profile mention
- [ ] The body is between 70 and 130 words (count it)
- [ ] The CTA asks for a small, low-commitment yes — not a résumé or application
- [ ] No hype phrases ("exciting opportunity," "rockstar," "world-class") appear anywhere
- [ ] The follow-up introduces a new angle, not a repeat of the first message
- [ ] The sender sign-off uses the provided recruiter name and title
Notes
- Reply rates rise most when the first sentence proves the recruiter did real research — invest the most effort there
- If the candidate background is genuinely sparse, a stack/skill match plus an honest "your work at [current company] on [area] stood out" is stronger than a fabricated project reference
- Keep the pitch concrete: candidates discount vague claims like "great culture" and respond to specifics like scope, ownership, and who they'd work with
- Shorter almost always wins — if in doubt between 90 and 130 words, cut toward 90
How to use this skill
This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.
Installing in Claude Code:
~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)<your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)
Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.
Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:
- Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
- Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits
For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills