The Best Recruiting Email Subject Lines

Posted by Jonathan Kidder on April 16, 2020December 5, 2020

The right subject line is the secret to an effective recruiting email, so why do most people spend just mere seconds writing one when they can spend an hour or more creating the email itself? If you’re doing things right, you’ll spend at least as much time considering your subject line as you do your email’s content because, after all, if the subject line isn’t an attention-grabber, the rest of the email will never be seen anyway.

Of course, it can be tough to come up with a succinct and engaging subject line, especially for recruiting emails. To help you out, here are some ideas you can use, ranging from funny to those that provoke curiosity or a fear of missing out (FOMO) so that you can get more opens and, ultimately, more responses.

Here’s the Best Recruiting Email Subject Lines I have found online:

Make Them Laugh

A clever subject line can certainly grab a candidate’s attention. Take these, for example…

Seeking a Tiger King Carole Baskin need not Apply
I tried calling earlier but got crickets
Re:re:re:re:re:re:re:My Last Follow Up
We’re Still Hiring During the Apocalypse

Provoke FOMO

“Fear of Missing Out” comes from a candidate realizing how great an opportunity is. These subject lines help provoke this sensation…

Matthew, I’m Building An Avengers Marketing Team
This Job Is Better Than a Friday Night at [Popular Bar Near Prospect’s College]
Let me introduce you to a better opportunity, Matthew.
How’s 2020 Starting at [Company]?
We have Zoom Parties on Fridays

Entice Curiosity

Get them thinking about a position’s potential with one of these enticing subject line examples…

Matthew, Picture Yourself Creating [product] at [company name]
Have you heard about [company name]’s upcoming launch?
Your resume caught my interest, Matthew!
Who’s the worst boss you ever worked for, Matthew?
What’s the best job you ever had, Matthew?

Be Friendly for Your Follow-Up

Follow-up requires unique personalization to spark a conversation. Take a look at these examples.

How’s your job at [current company] going?
Can we talk about your boring job, Matthew?
Let’s have a convo about your future
Want to grab a coffee with me next week?
Do you have time for a chat about your career?
I Just Left you a Voicemail

Dealing with a Crisis

What are their current needs? What are their current circumstances? Are your prospects stuck at home? Are they dealing with taking care of their children or finding ways to continue their education during quarantine? Are they trying to provide for family members at high risk? It’s good to factor in these thoughts into your subject line when reaching out to passive applicants.

Matthew, I’m just checking in with you
How’s work been at [company]?
We’re GROWING under uncertainty

Best Practices

As you read through these examples and search for inspiration to craft your own recruiting subject lines, don’t forget about the best practices surrounding writing the best subject lines.

In general, the most engaging subject lines are between 61 and 70 characters long. You should tweak your subject line until you get it to this range, always remembering to keep things succinct. Every word counts in such a short string of letters, so come up with multiple versions and pick the one you think gets your point across best.

Remember, your subject line is only the introduction to your email. You don’t have to say it all in the subject line, and there’s no way you could. Rather, try to get the most important idea across in your subject line so that the person actually cares to open up the email and see what it’s all about.

Finally, make sure that your subject line ties into the rest of the email. The first one or two lines of the email need to capture their attention just like the subject line did in order to pull them in so they read the whole thing. Your subject line should be relevant to what you’re saying in the email–no click baiting!

If you follow these tips, you can definitely create effect subject lines for any recruiting email, so give it a go!

Bonus: I’ve compiled a list of Recruiter Email templates (here) ←

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Jonathan Kidder

With more than 12 years of recruitment experience, Jonathan has helped startups and small businesses find the talent they need. He runs the blog WizardSourcer, which explores the latest trends in talent sourcing, provides reviews of recruitment tools, and features interviews with prominent figures in the industry.