Working in recruitment and HR demands quick-typing fingers. There’s a lot to prepare, organize, and communicate. But you don’t need to do all the day-to-day stuff manually. Having a few recruitment email templates at your fingertips can make all the difference.
Let’s take a look at what a recruitment template is, tips you need to keep in mind when you draw one up, and some practical examples that you can use (and tweak) for your own hiring.
What is a recruitment template?
A recruitment email template is a personalized (this is important) email that is standardized in parts to streamline the process. Having templates in place can help you to work quicker and more effectively, freeing up your time to focus on some of the more intricate aspects of hiring people—things like running interviews.
Note: Magical is an app that helps recruiters insert large portions of standard copy and personalize their messaging. More on this in a minute.
9 recruiting letter samples
First, let’s take a look at a few samples you can use. We’ve categorized these recruiter emails to candidates according to a few different recruitment needs you may have.
1. Cold recruitment email
Coming in cold can be tough—but if your email is sharp, succinct, and captivating, you have every chance of grabbing your candidate’s attention.
Remember:
- Be brief
- Position the opportunity as unique and exciting
- A little bit of flattery (but not too much!) can help
2. Referral template
This template is useful if a candidate has been referred to you by someone else.
Remember:
- Mention your mutual contact upfront, or your reader may lose interest
- Describe how you know the mutual contact as a way of establishing trust
- State what you know about the recipient’s skills and relevance to the job
3. Internal recruitment email template
If you’d like to advertise a position to your existing employees first, you might find this template useful.
Remember:
- Since you’re speaking to a captivated audience, this email can be slightly longer
- Use it as an opportunity to educate your employees on some of your company's HR and hiring practices
- Let your employees know if you are advertising externally simultaneously, or if you will only be advertising externally if your internal attempts are unsuccessful
4. New opportunity for previous applicant
If someone piqued your interest before, but they didn’t get the job at the time, let them know about a new opportunity with this template.
Remember:
- Remind the applicant about the role they applied for previously
- Offer an explanation as to why they didn’t get the job last time, and why they might be better suited to this new position
- Give them some background context so that they can assess upfront if they’re interested
5. Interview invitation email template
Found someone who looks strong enough to interview? Invite them to an in-person or virtual interview with this template.
Remember:
- Include the position that you’re interviewing them for, it’s possible that your applicant has applied for several positions at your company
- Let them know who they’ll be speaking to and how long the interview will be, so that they can prepare accordingly
- Remind the applicant of anything you’d like them to bring with them
6. Interview confirmation email template
As the date of the interview draws near, send out this email.
Remember:
- Provide the candidate with all the essential information they need
- If the interview is in-person, you can also include directions to your office
- Be clear and concise
7. Follow-up email template
Once the interview has taken place, and if the candidate still has a chance at the position, follow up with them using the following template so that they’re not left in the dark.
Remember:
- Managing your candidate's expectations is a polite and considerate thing to do
- Be share to let them know when you’ll get back to them, and stick to that date
- Don’t lead them on—there’s still the chance that you won’t hire them
8. Job offer email template
A job offer is an exciting email to send!
Remember:
- Be enthusiastic—this is an exciting moment for your company and your candidate
- You can provide a fair amount of information here if you wish, but it might be better to most of the more formal details in one or more attachments
- Set a timeframe by which your candidate should get back to you
9. Rejection email template
If your candidate is not successful, here is a short and straightforward template to use.
Remember:
- Be short and to the point, especially if you haven’t interviewed the candidate
- If you have conducted an interview, you may choose to provide a bit more feedback
- If you think they might be suited for another opening in the future, encourage them to keep in touch with your business through your vacancy advertising channels
How do I write a recruiter template?
As you go about writing recruiter templates, keep the following points in mind:
- Focus on building a relationship. Don’t assume that the person you’re contacting will immediately be interested in the position you’re offering. Be warm and inviting, rather than forceful. Remember that you’re trying to build a new relationship—this could take time.
- Represent your company appropriately. This might be the first time that a potential candidate has come across your company—make sure that you’re giving them the right impression. This not only means that you should be professional and polite, but also that you should use this opportunity to showcase your company culture. Whether you’re young and funky, or formal and established, let it shine through.
- Get to the point. Keep your emails short and snappy. Don’t provide all the information you have to share at once. This is just the starting point. There will be plenty of time for you and your candidate to ask questions about each other once they respond and the ball gets properly rolling. For now, stick to between 75 and 100 words—that’s it.
- Make it enticing. Why should someone be interested in the position you’re offering? What makes it unique and enticing? Be sure to draw them in with a promising hook.
- Personalize. We’ve mentioned it already, but we’ll say it again: personalizing your emails is critical. This includes your subject line. Research suggests that emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened. In the body of your email, show that you know exactly who you’re talking to, and why you think they’re great for the position.
- Triple-check your work. The last thing you want is for any grammatical errors or typos to creep in or, worst of all, some placeholder copy or content meant for another candidate. We know that recruitment is fast-paced and time-consuming work (it’s why Magical is designed to save you 7 hours a week), but take a moment to read your email before you send it.
Make your recruitment process magical 🪄
Recruitment involves a lot of writing. Fortunately, with Magical, you can save perfectly-crafted messages as shortcuts. With just two keystrokes, you can insert your message template and fill it with your candidate's details, automatically. You can also insert chunks of text, which can save you almost a whole working day’s worth of work every week.
As a browser extension, Magical works wherever you need it on the web. You don’t have to do any complex setup—just download it and save hours every week.
Using Magical, recruiters have saved over 8 years of time. 😲
“Magical has made my job significantly easier. As a recruiter, I use it daily in communications with candidates, hiring teams, and even within our ATS. Seriously, this is a MUST HAVE for any recruiter's toolkit.” — Stefanie Ramsey, Senior Corporate Recruiter at Salesforce
