Top 6 Recruitment Email Templates to Engage Passive Candidates in 2024

You’ve found the perfect candidates and added them to your sourcing pipeline. They have the skills, experience and exposure you ideally want – such a fit that can get started with you from tomorrow. But wait, are they really looking for a job? Nine out of ten times, the qualified matches you come through would be passive candidates. In fact, around 87% of people in the entire workforce are open to new opportunities. Once you source passive candidates for your organization, it’s time to engage them for favorable results. In this blog, we will share the top 7 LinkedIn InMail templates that you can directly use to ace passive candidate engagement. 

Recruiting quality talent is only becoming more intricate amidst the growing competition. From tech to growth, marketing and sales roles – organizations are doing everything possible to source and hire top talent. A majority of recruitment today involves passive candidate hunting. Although it was a thing earlier too, fast-growing startups backed by heavy investments have scaled up this practice. 

It has clearly become a candidate-centric world. Amidst this sensitive era when you need to grow in order to sustain as a business entity, you cannot experiment with hiring talent. The ray of hope? 73% of the candidates are passive job seekers – you now know where to mine gold from. 

Now while sourcing passive candidates, your communication is a vital aspect that needs to be optimized. The emails that you draft, and messages that you send – should be convincing enough for the candidates to hit reply. 

If you get overwhelmed every time you hear recruitment emails - you’re not alone. And you don’t need to worry, we’ve got your back. Let’s dive straight into the blog, we discuss everything you need to know about engaging passive candidates along with tailored-for-you recruitment email templates! 

Why Candidate Engagement is Vital in Recruitment? 

Recruiting candidates is not just about sourcing and adding them to your talent pipeline. A lot goes into keeping the candidates actively involved during the entire hiring journey. Assisting them throughout the recruitment and ensuring a positive candidate experience is the key to driving top talent towards the end of the funnel and reducing the drop-off rate. As an employer, you need to establish a connection with candidates in the workforce. While recruiting passive candidates, consistent and clear communication through various channels lays down the foundation of efficient engagement.

89% of surveyed candidates say being contacted by their recruiter can make them accept a job offer faster. Here are the four core reasons why candidate engagement is critical for recruitment:

1. Establish a Positive Relationship

Hunting candidates for filling roles at your organization now involves building relationships steadily. Continuous engagement makes that possible. On the other hand, leaving your candidates in the dark after the first screening round would do more harm than good. The modern workforce wants to stay informed throughout the recruitment process.

2. Helps you Beat the Competition

Positive and timely engagement with candidates helps you overcome competitors by making them excited to work with you and delivering a great candidate experience. Remember that almost no candidate is involved only in your recruitment at a given time. Applying and interviewing with multiple employers simultaneously is a common practice. A consistent and effective engagement process helps you win the recruitment race.

3. Faster Recruitment

The most underrated advantage of proactive candidate engagement is the pace at which the recruitment cycle gets completed. Top candidates are available in the market for only 10 days, your recruiting journey needs to comply with that requirement for optimal results. Apart from keeping candidates happy, the speed of recruitment often multiplies with effective candidate engagement.

4. Boosts Employer Brand

The way you engage with candidates and the recruitment experience that you serve directly impact your organization’s brand as an employer. Your candidates, no matter if they get selected or not, will share their recruitment experience with their network. In fact, 35% of candidates share it publicly online.

Strategies to Engage Passive Candidates 

Contrary to popular opinion, engaging candidates is not only about setting up communication templates. It should be a well-rounded approach toward representing your employer's brand and delivering a seamless candidate experience. Here are the top five strategies you should keep in mind while engaging passive candidates.

#1 Screen Candidates Rapidly

The first thing that recruiters need to optimize is the time taken to review candidate profiles. The slow screening also costs them quality candidates, as multiple organizations are approaching them at any given time. There shouldn’t be any obligations for reviewing a certain number of candidates together. The moment your sourcing pipeline starts filling, screening and filtering of candidates must begin too. Replying to your candidates at the right time helps in boosting their interest and hence, they would be more aligned to work with you.

#2 Practice Omni-Channel Communication 

A majority of modern candidates do not actively open their emails. Even if they do, there are high chances of them not replying because emails involve the highest effort among all communication mediums. Alternatively, if candidates are engaged through multiple channels like WhatsApp, SMS, and LinkedIn messages – the odds of them opening your messages and replying significantly increase. 

#3 Follow a Strict Hiring Timeline

A major chunk of the organizations today do not follow a strict hiring timeline. While this wasn’t too important earlier, it’s a vital factor defining your success in recruitment today. Preplanning all the stages of your hiring and sharing a chronological sequence of events ensures great candidate engagement. With an inclusive and dedicated approach, you can leave a mark in their mind which will further impact their employment decision. 

#4 Ensure Feedback Exchange

One of the most underrated parts of effective candidate engagement is giving and collecting feedback. 52% of candidates who were given feedback were more likely to have a positive relationship with the company. No matter if a candidate successfully moves forward to the next round or not, a brief review of their approach is immensely helpful.

Additionally, collecting feedback for your recruitment would also help in identifying and further filling the gaps. And it’s not a step involving huge efforts. You just need to create feedback forms once and share them with candidates after each round of interviews.  

#5 Update Candidates on Each Step

The biggest mistake done by recruiters traditionally is not updating your candidates about their recruitment journey further. When a candidate doesn’t qualify for the screening or interview, you and the recruitment need to inform them. If a candidate does qualify through the assessment, a detailed brief on the next steps along should be shared timely. Reaching out and sourcing passive candidates, and then keeping them uninformed leaves a negative impression of your organization.

Recruitment Email Templates for Passive Candidate Engagement

No recruiter ideally wants to dig through applications and filter among thousands of candidates. More importantly, quality candidates don’t usually apply to job boards. The only way to recruit them is by reaching out directly. 

We have tailored 7 recruitment email and LinkedIn Inmail templates that you can instantly use to engage passive candidates. Each of the templates can be used in dedicated scenarios with respect to how you source your candidates.

1. Engage Candidates Sourced from Job Boards

Subject Line: Invitation: Recruitment drive for the position of [Job Title] at [Company Name] 

Hi [First Name],  

I came across your CV on [Job Board] and it instantly clicked on me that you may be a great fit for a [Job Title] opening we’re currently hiring for at [Company Name].  

Here’s the link to access the job description: [JD Link] 

We at [Company Name] are passionately solving problems in the [industry] space. Our objective is to [Company Mission] and we’re building a world-class team for the same. 

I am sure you would love the company culture, employee benefits, projects, workplace and the learning opportunities that our organization offers.

If this excites you, let’s schedule an interview this week – any working day is fine.  

Do you have any questions? Just reply to this email and I’ll be happy to answer them.

Looking forward to hearing from you,  

Best,

[Your Name] 

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2. Past Colleague 

Subject Line: Opportunity for the role of  [Job Title] at [Your Company] 

Hi [First Name],  

If you don’t remember, we worked together at [Your Past Company] when I was working as [Your Past Job Title] there.

I hope you’re keeping well and having a good time there. I just wanted to quickly check if you’re ready to consider another exciting opportunity right now. A [Job Title] position is open at my current company, [Your Company], and I think you may be an excellent fit based on your experience.  

I’ve worked at [Your Company] for [Length of Time] now, and it has been a pleasing experience here. You would probably appreciate the work culture, job perks, growth opportunities and inclusive environment of our organization.

For more details, check out the job description here: [JD Link] 

If this draws your attention, let’s schedule a conversation for this week or next. I would be happy to answer your questions if you have any of them.

Let me know! 

Best,

[Your Name]

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3. Past Applicants

Subject Line: [Job Title] position at [Company Name] 

Hi [First Name],  

I hope you’re doing well. 

I along with my team was impressed by the efforts you put in the last time you applied for a role at [Your Company]. Let me know if you’re ready to consider another opportunity right now. 

The [Job Title] position is open here at [Your Company]. I strongly feel you may be a perfect fit for the role. Based on your previous application for the [Previous Application Job Title] role, and your experience, I would love to schedule an interview with you this week or next.  

You can find the job description here: [JD Link] 

Reply to this email if you’re ready for this. I would be happy to answer your questions if any. 

Hope to hear from you soon,  

Regards,

[Your Name]

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4. Recommendations from Your Network

Subject Line: You were recommended for the role of [Job Title] 

Hi [First Name],  

My team at [Company Name] is currently looking for a talented professional for the [Job Title] position, and [Referrer Name] recommended us your profile. I completely trust his/her experience and hence, I want to interview you to find out if you’re a good fit for the role. 

I am sure you would be excited about the opportunity after reading the job description: [JD link].

If interested in taking this forward, kindly book an interview slot here: [Scheduling Link]

Let me know if you have any questions. I am looking forward to having a conversation with you!

Best,  

[Your Name] 

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5. Engage Candidates Sourced from Social Media

Subject Line: An opportunity you don’t want to miss

Hi [First Name],

You probably heard this a dozen times, but your profile caught my eye, it truly reflects your passion. 

I’m from the hiring team at [Company Name] and I along with my team believe your experience, would be a prolific fit for the role of [Job Title] at our organization.

Can we have a quick chat?

Looking forward to your response. 

Regards,

[Your Name] 

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6. LinkedIn Inmail Template for Following Up Passive Candidates 

Subject Line: Recruitment for [Job Title] job at [Company Name] 

Hi [First Name],  

I hope you’re doing well.

A few days ago, I reached out to you for an exciting opportunity – [Job Title] opening at [Your Company]. I sincerely believe you may be a great fit for our team as a professional.

Just wanted to quickly check again if you’re interested in interviewing for the role.

We’re willing to begin the recruitment process soon. 

If interested, please choose an interview slot over here: [Schedule link]. Please reply to this email with your queries, if you have any. We would be delighted to have a conversation with you.

You may read the job description here, if not checked already: [JD Link].

Looking forward to hearing from you! 

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Best,

[Your Name]

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Automate Your Passive Candidate Sourcing with Nurturebox

Seeking passive candidates for hiring at your organization is a justified objective given the fact that a majority of applicants usually do not qualify your requirements. However, initiating, managing and consistently practicing passive candidate recruitment can be overwhelming for you. Especially, while scaling up your business – the hiring also needs to be scaled up and at a high pace. Reaching out to candidates, engaging them and keeping your candidate sourcing pipeline updated – Nurturebox helps you automate all of these and streamlines your recruitment journey.

It’s now easier than ever to scale your outreach and engage candidates with minimal manual intervention. Here’s how Nurturebox enables passive candidate sourcing automation and contributes to your organization’s growth:

• Find prospects on social channels: Leverage platforms like LinkedIn to find, identify and add candidates to your sourcing pipeline using Nurturebox’s Chrome extension. All it takes is a couple of clicks to find the contact details of candidates using dedicated plugins. Add them directly to your sourcing campaign and link to your ATS. The system ensures you never reach out to a candidate twice and no candidate is left out in the background.

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• Perform multi-channel outreach: Modern candidates prefer to be communicated via channels they are mostly active on. Be it LinkedIn chat messages, Whatsapp or emails – Nurturebox allows you to execute effective multi-channel outreach. Integrate your sourcing pipeline with automated engagement via plugins like recruitee, and automate the entire candidate engagement sequence. Additionally, you can also save templates in the plugin and use them instantly to send personalized engagement messages. 

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• Automate pipeline management while collaborating with your team: All your mundane tasks like updating the recruitment status for each candidate after each round of recruitment, and numerous others can be easily automated with Nurturebox. It allows you to get rid of all the admin chores so that you can focus on the more important part – efficiently interviewing candidates.

• Track and analyze your performance: Nurturebox enables dynamic performance analytics. You can know which engagement campaign worked well for any given candidate. For example – if you found out that a majority of the prospects replied to the engagement message when it was sent just after lunchtime, then you can capitalize on the factor and schedule your further outreach campaigns accordingly. Additionally, you can track the performance of various subject lines and templates.

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