You've found the right person on the CV database. Now everything depends on one short message. Most outreach fails for the same three reasons: it's obviously a template, it hides the pay, and it asks for too much too soon.
The four-line structure
- Proof you read the CV. One specific detail — their current employer, a ticket they hold, the shift pattern they've been working.
- The role, in one sentence. Job title, location, and why it might suit them specifically.
- The money and the hours. Say it. Vague pay is the single biggest reason good candidates don't reply.
- A tiny ask. "Worth a five-minute call this week?" beats "please send your availability for a formal interview".
Example: warehouse team leader
"Hi Daniel — I saw you've been supervising a night shift team at a 3PL site in Coventry. I'm recruiting a Warehouse Team Leader for a distribution site in Nuneaton, days only, £32,000 plus overtime. Given the commute and the shift change, I thought it might be worth a look. Any good for a quick call this week?"
Example: management accountant
"Hi Priya — your CV shows you're part-qualified CIMA and running month end for a manufacturing business. I'm hiring a Management Accountant in Leeds, hybrid two days in, £45,000 with study support to finish your qualification. Happy to send the full brief if it's of interest."
Small things that lift reply rates
- Contact CVs updated in the last two weeks first.
- Keep it under 120 words. Nobody reads a wall of text on a phone.
- Send between 8am and 9am, or after 5pm. Not mid-shift.
- Follow up once, politely, after three days. Then stop.
- Never send the same message to 200 people. It reads exactly like what it is.
Measure two numbers
Track your reply rate and your conversion from reply to interview. If replies are low, the message is wrong. If replies are good but interviews aren't, your targeting is wrong — which usually means going back to your search technique.