Recruiting
Recruiting Passive Candidate Cold Email Example
Passive candidate recruiting email example that gets responses. Shows how to stand out from recruiter spam with personalization and transparency.
The Scenario
A tech recruiter reaches out to a senior software engineer who isn't actively job hunting. The recruiter found them through their open source contributions on GitHub.
The Email
SUBJECT LINE
Your Kubernetes contributions - thought of you for something
Hi Marcus, I came across your contributions to the Kubernetes project - your work on the scheduler optimization was impressive, especially the performance improvements in the v1.26 release. We're building something at DataStream that I think would interest you: a distributed data processing platform that handles 10x the throughput of Spark with real-time capabilities. The engineering team is small (12 people) and you'd own the infrastructure layer. Why I thought of you specifically: we need someone who deeply understands scheduler design and can think at both the systems level and the product level. Your OSS work shows both. Comp range: $280-320k base + meaningful equity (0.15-0.25%). I know you're probably not actively looking, but would you be open to a quick chat to learn more? Even if it's just to give me feedback on what we're building. Sarah Engineering Recruiter, DataStream
Why It Works
- 1References specific technical contribution (scheduler optimization, v1.26)
- 2Explains the technical challenge that makes the role interesting
- 3Clear about why they specifically are a fit
- 4Transparent about compensation upfront
- 5Acknowledges they're not actively looking
- 6Offers value even if they're not interested (feedback)
Key Elements Breakdown
OPENING
Specific reference to their actual technical work
VALUE PROPOSITION
Own the infrastructure layer at a company solving interesting problems
SOCIAL PROOF
Team size and technical challenge (10x Spark throughput)
CALL TO ACTION
Low-pressure - just learn more or give feedback
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Generic: "I found your profile and thought you'd be a great fit"
- No technical understanding of their work
- Hiding compensation until later in the process
- Mass email that could apply to anyone
- Treating passive candidates like active job seekers
Variations to Try
- Reference a specific talk or blog post they wrote
- Connect through a mutual open source community
- Lead with the technical challenge before the company
Related Templates
More Examples
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