Recruiting cold outreach
got a 2.4% reply rate in 2024.
Of an estimated ~18M cold messages sent in the recruiting sector last year, ~17.5M went unanswered. Here is why, what the top accounts do differently, and where your own outreach sits in the distribution.
Source: Lemlist 2024 staffing-vertical cold email. Conservative midpoint of cited range.
Recruiting outbound competes against three other recruiters reaching the same candidate the same week. Candidates filter aggressively. The 'role fit' angle is the only thing that breaks through, and most templated outbound doesn't carry it in the first line.
- Generic 'great opportunity' subject lines that get ignored by the second sweep of the inbox.
- No salary anchor in touch 1, so qualified candidates assume the role is under-paid and skip the reply.
Salary band in touch 1 (a number, not a range), plus one specific reason their LinkedIn profile fits the role. Recruiters who add a number to touch 1 see reply rate jump from 2-3% to 8-12%.
Where does your own account sit?
60-second diagnostic, no signup to see your score. We tell you your reply rate vs the recruiting band above + the top gaps on your account.
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