Around 205 billion emails are sent each day around the world according to Radicati Group research. That is almost 2.4 million emails sent every second.
How is a recruiter supposed to get noticed via email with so much noise? While there are a variety of email optimization tools available, to really boost click rates, a new strategy is gaining traction: hyper-personalization.
Recruitment emails often get deleted because the reader thinks they are junk. Mass generic communication does nothing to catch the eye of top talent! Too many recruiters are going after too few candidates, and unless you stand out, your emails are going to fade into the deep abyss of the garbage folder.
We always advise candidates to customize their resume and cover letter for each job in which they apply. Generic, mass communication will get ignored, we warn. So why can’t we follow our own advice when reversed? Why are we surprised when we can’t catch the candidate’s attention through a blanket email sent to 200 other people?
Hyper-personalization can dramatically improve email response rates, but it’s going to take time. This means carefully crafting each email before sending it out to individual candidates. You may need to dedicate 15 minutes or more creating an email that gets flagged and inspires a response.
What are some ways you can customize your email to perfectly fit the candidate’s persona? You’ll start by doing some online digging. Explore social media and authored articles by the professional you’re hoping to strike a conversation with. These are treasure troves of information that can be used to craft a killer email.
A person’s public persona is fair game for information, and many welcome engagement on information posted. For example, if a professional often tweets about her love for amazing donuts, why not use that information in your email? Perhaps request a meeting at a local donut shop to try out the town’s newest trendy pastry.This is also a great place to align culture and share stories. If someone posts nature photos often on their Instagram, maybe you’ll want to share your CEO’s love of outdoors or how your company donates to a local charity that strives to protect endangered forests.
This type of insightful information is great for email copy and for creating can’t-be-ignored subject lines. Just remember to skip the hard job pitch. Try to open a conversation perhaps by closing the email with “We’re curious to learn more about what makes you tick” or “Can we meet to hear stories about your professional passions and how they might benefit our company?”
You want to say just enough to keep them interested, but not so much that they feel like they’re being sold to. Sharing a formal job description will come soon enough, once you both feel you’re on the same page.
Don’t think you have time for all this candidate courting? You may not have a choice. As companies face tough competition for top talent, the smart ones are stepping up their game. What’s more, when you receive higher response rates, you ultimately save time. You’re spending more time on hyper-personalization, but you’re eliminating a significant chunk of time wasted via dated outbound strategies.
