How to Best Respond to Bulk Emails from Recruiters

My colleague Michael Pietrack pointed out that one of the necessary evils of the recruiting business is bulk emailing. We discussed how most recruiters try their very best to pin-point the types of roles that would be of interest to every candidate that is in their niche area. This information is usually based on previous conversations, where each candidate gives the recruiter specific direction on what types of roles would be of interest. If you and I (or the recruiter of your choice) haven’t had a call like that, it would be mutually beneficial to do so.
So, once you get an obvious bulk email from me or from another firm, here are a couple “do” and “don’t” suggestions that Michael developed to help you improve your success rate of getting a reply.
What to Do:
-Respond in a professional way. For example, the one sentence response or a fragment sentence is not a professional email. I get so many email responses that if you read them, you would be embarrassed for the person.
-Demonstrate strong writing skills. With so much of our daily lives done over email, your recruiter is evaluating whether or not you can communicate clearly and with intelligence through email. This will definitely give your recruiter confidence to present you to their client.
-Read the person’s email all the way through. I get many emails where people ask questions that are in the body of the original email. That tells me they didn’t read it, and it’s an immediate red flag (usually followed by a deletion of the message).
-Follow the directions in the email. If the person doesn’t follow the directions, I assume they will do the same when my client sends them action items that must be completed.
-Be self-critical. If you meet 1 of the 5 must haves for the role, then you’re not likely to get the job or even an interview. If the recruiter sent you an email that isn’t appropriate for your skills, help that person course-correct so that future emails will be more effective for them and not annoying to you.
What NOT to Do:
-Don’t ask who the company is. If the recruiter wanted to freely say who the company was, they would have put it in the original email. When you show them that you are a fit for the job, they should be able to tell you over the phone who the company is.
-Don’t ask about salary. Our clients pay us to find people who are interested in the job and who will bring them value. The way to engage a recruiter is to talk about the value you can bring before you find out if you just hit the lottery. Imagine if your friend was setting you up on a date, and your first question was, “Is he rich?”. Get my point?
-Don’t request more information over email. Recruiters run a phone based business, and they want to talk to you about the role. They don’t want an email to do the selling, especially a job description. The amount of information that recruiters want to share over email was certainly in the original email. If you want more information, show the recruiter you’re qualified, and then request a time to talk.
-Don’t send fragmented sentences or one-line sentences. Some of my favorites are: “Am interested, submit me” (This person is confused about what recruiters do for a living); “Could be interested if money is right” (Automatic delete); “Who’s the company?” (Again, the information the recruiter wants out there is in the email); and “I’m a perfect fit!” (In my career, no one who has said this has gotten the job. Again, be able to self-critique.).
Here is an example of what your response should look like:
Hi Dave,
Thanks for contacting me. I think I might be a fit for this role since I have X, Y, Z in my background. Remember though that I’m earning $1,000,000 base, and if you think that wouldn’t deter your client, then I’m open to talking. Can we set up a time to talk further about this position?
Thanks for your time,
Awesome Candidate
I hope these suggestions are helpful. If you have further questions, please respond to me privately via email: dave@alpinesearch.net