Here is a LinkedIn InMail template recruiters can paste into Recruiter or Recruiter Lite today, along with a very short version and one for senior candidates. Each recruiting InMail on this page is free to copy and edit. Because you usually get one shot per person, the page also covers how InMail credits and reminders work, so you know what a reply, or a polite no, is worth.
LinkedIn InMail template
When to use it
InMail fits when LinkedIn is the only verified way to reach someone and their profile gives you a real reason to write. It works best for passive candidates whose experience matches a role closely, not for wide nets. If you have a work email you're allowed to use, the recruiting outreach email gives you more room.
LinkedIn's help center says you can't send a second InMail to someone until they respond to the first, and the platform sends them an automatic reminder within three days. So write this message as if it's the only one they'll ever get from you, because on LinkedIn it may be.
How to customize it
- Open with something from their profile that a template could never guess, like a project, a career switch or a post they wrote. Their job title alone isn't personal.
- Write the subject about them, not the job. "Your payments work + a staff role question" gets read; "Amazing opportunity" gets skipped in a crowded inbox.
- Name the hiring manager. Candidates take an InMail more seriously when they know who they'd work for, and it gives them someone to look up.
- Give a "why now". A real reason the role exists (new product, new region, backfill for a promotion) answers the silent question of whether the job is real.
- Invite the no. LinkedIn credits back InMail that is accepted, declined or answered within 90 days, so a clean decline costs you nothing and keeps the door open.
- Build the list before the message. Search filters and a careful string from the Boolean search string generator keep you from spending credits on weak matches.
Variations
Short version (under 60 words)
Senior or executive version
Mistakes to avoid
- Pasting the job description into the message. It pushes your question out of view on a phone and reads like a broadcast.
- Messaging people whose profiles don't fit. LinkedIn's community policies bar untargeted, irrelevant or repetitive messages, and a poor match wastes a credit anyway.
- Leaving out pay and location to "start a conversation". In a single-shot channel, missing basics give a good candidate an easy reason to ignore the message.
- Copying a former colleague's InMail without changing the opening. If two recruiters at the same company send near-identical notes, candidates notice and both lose credibility.
- Describing the ideal person by age, energy or "culture fit" instead of skills, which the EEOC warns can discourage protected groups from applying.
Automating this with Carolina
NTRVSTA connects to LinkedIn Recruiter as part of the stack you already use (see the LinkedIn Recruiter integration). Carolina sources for the open role, then runs the follow-on outreach by email, SMS and WhatsApp once a candidate has given you a way to reach them. Every resume it surfaces is scored and ranked against the job, with the reasoning shown, so you spend InMail on the people at the top.
Set each step to suggest, ask first or auto; offers and compensation changes always wait for a person. The free Starter plan covers one open role, and the paid plans are on our pricing section.
Questions
How long should a recruiting InMail be?
Keep the body to roughly 60 to 120 words. Most people read InMail on a phone, so the specific reason you chose them and your question should both show without scrolling. Put details like pay and process in a short list, and link the job description for everything else.
Can I send a second InMail if the candidate doesn't reply?
Not to the same member. LinkedIn's help center says you can't send another InMail until the person responds to the first one, and LinkedIn sends the recipient an automatic reminder within three days. If they stay quiet, follow up once by email if you have permission to use it, or let it go.
Do I get my InMail credit back?
According to LinkedIn, an InMail that is accepted, declined or answered within 90 days of being sent is credited back. A message still pending isn't counted either way. That means a polite decline costs you nothing, so make it easy for people to say no.
Curious how an agent picks who deserves an InMail and who doesn't? Book a 20-minute demo and bring a live role. For the next touch, see the follow-up email template, or browse every recruiting template.
