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Pratibha was feeling lost in her job search. She had no idea how to approach hiring managers because she didn’t know any of them personally. None of her friends could help her as they were working in different fields.
As a last resort, Pratibha finally decided to try cold emailing, hoping to get a response. Some emails later, she finally heard from a hiring manager who was interested in her profile!
Let’s see how you can write cold emails that get responses from interested hiring managers. Sending a cold email may appear daunting or even spammy, but don’t worry, it can work as long as you know how and what to write.
How To Write Cold Emails
The first step in writing a cold email is to find and identify the right contacts. You have to know who you want to reach out to. There are several ways to do this such as going on LinkedIn or other social media to find people you can connect with. It may be hiring managers or someone who works in the same field.
Here’s how you can write cold emails for jobs:
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Start With A Compelling Subject Line
You must try to engage your audience right from the start. Using the Pyramid Principle, where ideas are presented under a single thought, where you can create a compelling subject line targeted at the right audience. You should be as specific and concise as possible to save the reader’s time. An ideal subject line states exactly what you want from the reader. Your purpose should be articulated clearly in one line to get your point across.
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Address The Person Directly
When you’re creating your contact list, it’s important to add names of each person you’ll be cold emailing. When you start your cold email, start by addressing the person by name—“Dear Mr/Ms [XYZ]”. Instead of writing “Hi/Hello”, addressing the person will personalize the email. Additionally, you can start by writing how much you appreciate their line of work or something you admire about the organization.
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State Your Business
The recipient of the email is probably running short on time—or has other emails to read, so state your business right in the beginning. Write your purpose as concisely as possible to keep them engaged. You can even add something like a call to action to prompt them to contact you, either to ask for more information or to set up a call. You can ask to connect online to build a long-term relationship. Strengthening your professional network can help you at various stages of your career.
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Stick To Your Strategy
You should always start with a strategy. Use a spreadsheet to track where you’re sending a cold email. This way when you do get responses, you know where it’s from and its context. Whether you send out cold emails daily or weekly, you should always be consistent. If you follow a cold emailing strategy, you can monitor how many responses you’ve received and where you need to follow up.
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Follow-Up
Following up is critical when you’re sending emails to strangers. Sometimes, you may think they don’t want to respond when, in fact, they may have missed your email. Sending them a follow-up email at the right time will get you better results. Most emails may go unread but there will be one that works. So, keep all your options open and do remember to wait between each follow-up email.
The best cold email will be persuasive, concise and addressed directly to the receiver, not the organization in general. It’s important not to feel discouraged if there aren’t immediate responses. It can take longer as you’re cold emailing people who don’t really know who you are. But with consistent effort and superbly crafted emails, you can definitely achieve your goal.
Learn how to write compelling and impactful cold emails with Harappa’s Writing Proficiently course. With frameworks such as the Pyramid Principle, you’ll learn how to structure your writing and present key points. By the end of this course, you’ll be able to write emails flawlessly so that everyone takes notice.
Explore topics such as What are Written Communication Skills, How to Write an Email, How to Write a Follow-Up Email & Different Types of Writing Styles and learn to draft well-crafted messages to convey your ideas and intentions.
