Good candidates receive a lot of recruiter messages. Most are read in the notification preview and never opened. The ones that get answered have a few things in common, and none of them involve clever subject lines.
Lead with why them
The first sentence should show that you looked at their work. "I saw you led the move to event-driven billing at your last company" earns a second sentence. "I came across your impressive profile" does not.
Say what the role is, plainly
Title, team, location or remote policy, and salary range. Candidates want to know within ten seconds whether it's worth their time. Holding back the basics until a call feels like a sales tactic.
Keep it short
Four to six sentences is enough. A first message has one job: to get a reply. The details can follow.
Make the ask small
"Would you be open to a 15-minute call next week?" is easier to answer than "Let me know if you're interested." Offering two concrete time slots works even better.
Follow up once or twice, then stop
Many replies come after a follow-up, because the first message arrived at a bad moment. One or two short, polite follow-ups are reasonable. After that, stop and record it, so nobody on your team contacts the same person next week.
Cruit drafts each first message from the evidence Search found, in your tone of voice. You read and edit every draft before it is sent by email, WhatsApp or LinkedIn.