Get a Response from a Recruiter in Just Three Steps

Should You Cold Email for a Job?

Imagine you’re sending out your CV and resume to every contact you know; you’re applying to jobs and monitoring online job boards on a daily basis; you track your responses and regularly send out follow-up emails, but despite all that, you still haven’t landed a job. You’re now desperate and need to find a job, fast. And that’s when you realize, that instead of waiting for online job boards to refresh, you could instead send out your CV to companies who aren’t necessarily looking for someone with your expertise—or in other, simpler words, “cold-emailing.”

The reason why this is (and should be) used as a last resort is that you have no clue who you’re up against, or at least not entirely. You’re sending out a CV to someone who doesn’t have an urgent need for your services, so the chances of someone opening an email by an un-labeled account, are already quite low. If you don’t hook the attention of the person you’re addressing in the email right from the moment they read your subject line, then they’ll instantly ignore your email.

How to Send a Cold-Email (Successfully)

Step (1): Study the recipient, make it personal

So since open rates for unlabelled accounts are already low (and bounce rates, even lower), you can boost your chances of your email being read and actioned by making your emails personal. You do this by reading up on the person in question.

Make the email feel like it’s tailored to them and only them. Look up their LinkedIn accounts and see if both of you have a mutual contact, maybe a school you both have gone to, or anything else that is similar and relevant that you both share that can serve as a good talking point. This builds a sense of familiarity that might make the recipient more inclined to read the rest of your email.

Another thing that helps make an email personal is by making a point to mention why you’ve gone to the recipient and not anybody else. Maybe they wrote an article on an interesting topic you care about? Maybe you’ve worked for a company whose industry is similar to theirs, and so you’re familiar with the industry-specific problems they might be facing? All of these can serve as ways to make your email more personalized without it being too “salesy” or reading like a sales pitch. 

The more research you do and relevant information you gather about the recipient, the better the quality of your cold email. Once you sit and write the email, it’ll feel like you’re writing to someone you know on a personal level, which is exactly the attitude and approach you need to make this a successful cold-emailing attempt.

Step (2): Hook them in from start to finish

When you come across an email, where do your eyes fall first? The account or email address of the sender, and then what? The subject line. And the subject line has to be the most important part of the email; if your subject line sparks their curiosity, they’ll open it, but if it doesn’t? They’ll scroll past it at best, and delete it at worst. 

Even Judith Humphrey, former CEO and founder of The Humphrey Group Inc., actually commented on cold-emailing in specific in her article, explicitly stating, “if the first line fails to draw me in, I hit delete.” Subject lines are important, but the first line of the actual email should not be taken lightly either. 

Many people are under the wrong impression that CEOs and managers like it “short and snappy.” While it’s true that you should keep your emails short, people take it to the extreme and jump right into the heart of the matter from the get-go. Usually, senders immediately talk about what they want and their motivation for sending the email. Remember, you email will most likely be read by somebody with a busy schedule, so you’re taking from the recipient’s valuable time. And since their time is so valuable to them, you need to give them something of value; a reason for them to read on and want to respond to you. So instead of talking about your wants and needs; talk about their wants and needs.

You can do this by utilizing the information you found on the recipient from step (1) of this article and use that as the focal point of your email. Did you find an article pointing to their drop in sales? Address that (if a sales job is what you’re after). Did you notice their lack of a strong social media marketing campaign? Mention that and how you can help (if you’re wanting to work a marketing position). Have you found a case study that proves your methods could help an evident problem they’re facing? Make mention of it.

And then, of course, you wrap it all up with a nice call-to-action. Ask if you could both set up a Skype call or schedule a phone call? Leave you phone number in the email to make it easier for them to reach out to you immediately if they’re interested.

Step (3): Appreciation can go a long way

When sending out cold-emails, it’s sometimes easy to forget why that can be such a vulnerable move—you’re sending an email to someone who doesn’t know you. And not only that but, in a way, you’re not just sending a regular email, you’re asking someone you don’t know for a favor.

When you look at it from that lens, it might help give you some perspective on how to handle the email appropriately, and in a way that doesn’t come off as entitled to the recipient. This shouldn’t worry you, because there’s a simple fix for it: just show appreciation and gratitude, even if just a little. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), simply saying a genuine, thoughtful “thank you” can actually evoke a more positive response and willingness to help from the person on the other end of the email. 

If you’ve come across a recent achievement of theirs, very briefly congratulate them on it in your email. If there’s a book or article they wrote that you really liked, don’t hesitate to show your appreciation for their work. 

Conclusion: Follow-ups are important!

Sending a cold-email doesn’t stop there; there’s a follow-up process afterwards. One of the biggest mistakes most people make is that they don’t send a follow-up email to their cold-email, expecting that one email is enough to get their message across. The open rate of a cold-email is already low, so following up with another email the week or two after you send your first email might just be what will land you the job you wanted. Follow up emails should be more of a reiteration of the benefits you will bring to their team, and not just a simple reminder. 

But what if you can skip the cold-emailing process all together? We’re always on the lookout for consultants and industry experts interested in seeking a consulting position at top-ranking organizations in the GCC and across the MENA region. Submit your CV or follow our LinkedIn page for job updates and career tips.