How to DM a recruiter

I talk a lot about how you need to DM people on LinkedIn. DMs are how you get jobs, but not when you directly ask for a job. There is an art to sliding into someone’s DMs.

If you’re DMing a recruiter for the first time, these are the three things you need in your message:

1) Flattery: flattery isn’t just about trying to win them over. If you show you appreciate someone’s work, it shows you’re not just in this for yourself and you care about what they do.

2) A specific ask: you wouldn’t just send “hey” to someone you want to date, so don’t do that to a recruiter. There needs to be something specific you want to talk about. Again, don’t ask for a job, ask for a conversation.

3) A time frame: don’t just say “can we have a zoom call?” Set a specific time limit. And for the record, asking for 5 or 15 minutes usually means way more than that, so try suggesting a very specific number, like 7 or 12 minutes.

So DM you send might look something like this: “Hello Recruiter. I saw that you were involved in the EdTech industry and you did X Y Z. That’s awesome! I’m interested in that myself and would love to more about what you did. Do you have 8 minutes to chat this week?”