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How to cold email a recruiter or hiring manager

How to write a cold email to a recruiter or hiring manager when there is no posting: who to contact, what to say in under 120 words, and when to follow up.

Nov 14, 2026 · 5 min read

A cold email to a recruiter or hiring manager works when it is short, specific to them, and asks for something small. Say who you are in one line, why you are writing to this person, what you have done that is relevant, and make one modest request. Keep it under 120 words. Most cold emails fail because they are long, generic and ask for a job.

When a cold email makes sense

• A company you admire has no suitable opening listed.
• You have seen a role and want to reach the team as well as apply.
• You were referred, or share a connection or background.
• You are changing field and want advice more than a job.

It is not a way round an application process. If a posting says "apply through this form", apply through the form first. Then write.

Who to write to

A recruiter is paid to find candidates. Writing to one is normal and expected. They care about fit with roles they are filling now.

A hiring manager leads the team you would join. They care about whether you can do the work. They are busier and less used to being contacted, so the email has to be better.

Choose the manager when you have something specific to say about their team's work. Choose the recruiter when you match a kind of role the company hires for.

Use addresses people have made public for work: a careers page, a posting, a company site. Do not guess personal addresses.

The structure

1. Subject: specific and plain.
2. Who you are: one line.
3. Why them: one line that could only be written to this person or company.
4. Your relevance: one or two facts.
5. A small ask: a question, or a pointer to the right person.
6. Thanks and your name.

Example: no open role

Subject: Data engineer interested in your platform team

Hi Rohan,

I am a data engineer with five years on streaming pipelines, most recently at a logistics company.

I read your team's article on moving from batch to real-time, and I have just finished the same migration, including the part about late-arriving events that you described.

I do not see an opening on your careers page. If the team expects to hire this year, I would be glad to send my CV, or to be pointed to the right person.

Thank you for your time.

Kavya Iyer

Eighty-odd words. It shows she did the reading, proves relevance with one detail, and asks for very little.

Example: alongside an application

Subject: Applied for Product Designer – a short note

Hi Anjali,

I applied today for the Product Designer role on your careers page, and wanted to add one thing the form had no room for.

Your posting mentions redesigning onboarding. I led that at my current company last year: we cut the steps from nine to four.

I would welcome the chance to talk it through. Thank you for considering my application.

Vikram Shah

Example: asking for advice

Subject: A question about moving from QA into product

Hi Deepa,

I am a QA lead thinking about a move into product management, and I saw that you made the same change.

Would you be willing to answer two questions by email about what helped most in your first year?

I know your time is limited, so no worries at all if not.

Thank you, Nikhil Rao

Asking for advice is often more effective than asking for a job, and it is a more honest start to a relationship.

What makes them work

• One specific detail that proves you looked at their work.
• A small request. A reply, a pointer, two questions. Not "a quick call".
• Proof in a sentence, not a paragraph.
• An easy way to say no. People answer more readily when declining is comfortable.

What gets them deleted

• "I am passionate about your company." Everyone says it.
• A list of everything you have done.
• An attachment in the first email. Offer the CV; send it when asked.
• A request for a job. They cannot grant that by email.
• A template with the name swapped. It shows.
• Pressure: "I will call you on Thursday."

Following up

One follow-up is reasonable after about a week. Keep it shorter than the original and add something if you can.

Hi Rohan, I wrote last week about your platform team. I know inboxes fill up, so I am sending this once more in case it is useful. Either way, thank you for the article. It was a help.

After that, stop. Two unanswered emails is an answer. More in how to follow up after a job application.

Do your homework

Ten minutes before you write:

• Read the company's careers page and recent news.
• Read something the person has written or said in public.
• Find the one thing you have in common with their work.

If you cannot find anything specific to say, you are not ready to write to that person.

Keep track

Cold outreach is easy to lose track of. Record who you wrote to, when, and what they said. A simple job search tracker prevents writing to the same person twice, or forgetting to reply to the one who answered.

Make sure they can look you up

The first thing a recipient does is search your name. A clear LinkedIn profile and a few recent, thoughtful posts do quiet work for you here. See how a personal brand helps your job search.

Where Job Scout fits, and where it does not

Job Scout is built for applying to real postings: it finds roles, scores them against your CV, and drafts a short application for you to review and send. It can also prepare cited research notes on a company from public pages you choose, which is useful homework before you write.

It does not send cold emails for you, and it does not look up people's addresses. Cold outreach depends on a detail that only you can supply, so it should come from you.

Frequently asked questions

Is it acceptable to email a hiring manager directly?

Yes, when you use a work address they have made public and you have something specific and relevant to say. Keep it brief and make it easy to decline.

How long should a cold email be?

Under 120 words. If it needs scrolling on a phone, it is too long.

Should I attach my CV to a cold email?

Usually not in the first message. Offer it. Attachments from strangers are often filtered, and an offer gives the person an easy reason to reply.