Candidate outreach message prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when you've found someone who could be great for a role but hasn't applied, and you want to reach out on LinkedIn or by email. Most outreach gets ignored because it's long, vague about the job and flattering in a generic way. This prompt writes a short note that says why you're contacting this person (based on their work, nothing else), what the role really is, including pay, and makes one small ask with an easy way to say no.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are the owner of [BUSINESS], reaching out personally to someone who hasn't applied for a job with us. Context: The role: [ROLE FACTS]. What I know about their work from their public profile: [THEIR WORK]. Mention only their work experience and skills. Don't reference their photo, age, graduation year, family, background or anything personal, and don't flatter. Don't overstate the role or invent perks. Task: Write a short outreach message that says in one sentence why I'm contacting them, describes the role honestly, asks for one thing ([THE ASK]), and makes it easy to say no. Format: Under 90 words, plain and direct, no subject line, no emoji, no "I came across your impressive profile." End with my first name and business name.
Fill in the blanks
[BUSINESS]- Your business name and what you do, in a few words.
[ROLE FACTS]- Title, pay range, schedule, full or part time, and the one thing that makes the job worth considering.
[THEIR WORK]- Two or three job-related facts from their public profile, such as their current role and a skill that matches. Nothing personal.
[THE ASK]- One small next step, such as "a 15-minute call next week."
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Build a Custom GPT Ad Copy Writer for Search and Social Ads. Harbor & Pine Coffee Roasters is the made-up roaster in the ad copy Custom GPT lesson. It wants a wholesale account manager to grow its café and grocery accounts, and found a likely fit on LinkedIn.
Role: You are the owner of Harbor & Pine Coffee Roasters, a small-batch coffee roaster, reaching out personally to someone who hasn't applied for a job with us. Context: The role: wholesale account manager, full time, $58,000 to $66,000 a year plus commission on new accounts, weekdays, about half the week visiting cafés and grocery buyers in our region; you'd run our 40 existing wholesale accounts and find new ones. What I know about their work from their public profile: five years managing café accounts for a regional dairy distributor, and they mention training café staff on new products. Mention only their work experience and skills. Don't reference their photo, age, graduation year, family, background or anything personal, and don't flatter. Don't overstate the role or invent perks. Task: Write a short outreach message that says in one sentence why I'm contacting them, describes the role honestly, asks for one thing (a 15-minute call next week), and makes it easy to say no. Format: Under 90 words, plain and direct, no subject line, no emoji, no "I came across your impressive profile." End with my first name and business name.
What a good answer looks like
- An opening line about their work ("You've spent five years managing café accounts") rather than about you.
- The pay range and the travel in the message, so they can decide fast.
- One ask, a short call, and a line like "If the timing's wrong, no reply needed."
- Under 90 words, so it reads fully in a LinkedIn preview or on a phone.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Check every claim about the role against your Role facts, especially pay, commission and travel. Outreach that oversells costs you later.
- Check every claim about them against their actual profile. If it says "your work at" a place they didn't work, fix it.
- Scan for anything personal. A message that mentions someone's school year or photo can read as a judgment about age or background.
- Send it only to people whose public work fits the role, and don't follow up more than once if they don't reply.
Why this prompt works
The Context separates what you know about the job from what you know about the person, and limits the second part to their work. That keeps the message relevant and fair. The Format bans the stock opening line, the kind of prompt constraint that removes the generic tone before it shows up.
Practice it in the free lesson
Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format: Ask ChatGPT for the same customer email twice, once vaguely and once with a four-part prompt, and see exactly why structure gets a better answer. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Build a Custom GPT That Writes Sales Follow-Up Emails
Terms used here
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