Sourcing emails: The introductory email

3 mins, 7 secs read time

Writing an introductory email that piques a prospect’s interest can be challenging, especially as it’s setting the tone for the rest of the conversation. The introductory email is your first touchpoint with the prospect so it’s important to be intentional in your approach so you can make a great first impression.

So how can you get started? In our Sourcing emails series, we’re diving into how to craft compelling introductory emails with examples you can use to engage prospects.

Before you start crafting your introductory email, think about the goal you want to accomplish with this initial email. Is it to have the prospect schedule a call to learn more about an open role, or to start building a relationship for future opportunities? Having a clear goal from the beginning can help you navigate the conversation in the rest of your email outreach campaign.

Since this is your first interaction with the prospect, you’ll want to capture their attention with an intriguing introduction so they’ll read beyond the first few lines. This is your chance to show the prospect you’ve done your research on them and highlight why they’d be a great fit for the open role or your company.

A good general rule is to keep your email clear and concise to be considerate of the prospect’s time so focus on key points in your introductory email. Below are some key points to include to craft an intriguing introduction:

• Briefly introduce yourself and your company using an opening line like, “My name is [your first name] and I’m part of the [your team name (recruiting, talent, etc.)] team at [your company].”
• Tell the prospect how you found them – via LinkedIn, a referral, or another sourcing method.
• Emphasize why you're contacting the prospect early on, especially since this is your first interaction. This is your opportunity to share relevant and important details about the open role and your company and how they would be a great addition.
• Include a clear call to action about what the next steps are, whether that’s connecting on LinkedIn or scheduling a call.

Here’s an introductory email example you can start using in your outreach campaigns:

"Hi [first_name],

Hello from [your company]! I hope this message stands out from the recruitment messages you're receiving because I'm impressed by your experience at [their company]. Your background caught my eye and I had to reach out.

I’m thrilled to be hiring a [job title] for the growing [department/team] team at [your company]. Based on your experience [highlight a relevant responsibility they held at their current or previous role], it feels like this opportunity would be a great match.

In this role, you'll be responsible for:

- [highlight a key responsibility of the job]
- [highlight a 2nd key responsibility of the job]
- [highlight a 3rd key responsibility of the job]

Sound interesting? I'd love to share more details with you about the position and where [your company] is headed. Please feel free to add some time to my calendar.

Cheers,
[your first name]"

If the prospect doesn’t respond or take any action from the introductory email, the next step is to send a follow-up email a few days later to continue engaging the prospect. It’s possible that your initial email got lost in their inbox, so sending a follow-up is an effective way to share more details about the opportunity with them.


Read the full series overview, as well as each post on introductory and follow-up to nurture and breakup emails, on the Greenhouse blog.