Email template · Sourcing and outreach
Candidate nurture email
In short
A candidate nurture email is a periodic message to people in your talent pool who aren't in an active hiring process: past applicants, event sign-ups, silver medalists. It keeps your company familiar with useful content and relevant openings so they apply when the timing is right. Templates below cover a welcome, a newsletter and a job alert.
When to send it: Start with a welcome message within a day of someone joining your talent community, then send one useful email every two to four weeks. Send a targeted job alert whenever a role opens that matches their stated interests.
Candidate nurture email: 3 versions
Talent community welcome
SubjectYou're on the list for [Job Family] roles at [Company]
Hi [First Name], Thanks for joining our talent community. You told us you're interested in [Job Family] roles in [Location], so that's what we'll send you: new openings as they're posted and a short update about once a month. Nothing else. A few things people usually want to know: - Pay for [Job Family] roles here typically starts at [Pay Range]. - Our next hiring push for [Location] is planned for [Month]. - Here's what a typical day looks like, from someone on the team: [Link to Story or Video] If your interests change, you can update them here: [Preferences Link]. [Your Name] [Title], [Company] [Unsubscribe Link]
Monthly recruitment newsletter
Subject[Month] at [Company]: [Headline Item]
Hi [First Name], Here's what's new this month. **Hiring now:** [Number] openings in [Job Family], including [Job Title] in [Location]. See them here: [Jobs Link]. **Inside the team:** [Employee Name], who started as a [Starting Role] two years ago, now runs [Team]. [One-sentence story with a link.] **Something useful:** [Tip or resource relevant to their field, e.g. how our assessment works and how to prepare.] **Coming up:** [Hiring event or open house] on [Date] at [Location / online]. Reply if you'd like a spot. That's it. See you next month. [Your Name] [Company] Recruiting [Preferences Link] | [Unsubscribe Link]
Targeted job alert
SubjectA [Job Title] role just opened in [Location]
Hi [First Name], You said you'd like to hear about [Job Family] roles, and one just opened that looks like a match: [Job Title] at our [Location] [site / office]. - Pay: [Pay Range] - Schedule: [Schedule] - Start: [Start Date or Class Date] You can apply in a few minutes here: [Application Link]. Since you're already in our system, most of your details will be filled in. Want a quick call first? Reply and I'll set one up. [Your Name] [Title], [Company] [Unsubscribe Link]
Subject line ideas
- You're on the list for [Job Family] roles at [Company]
- [Month] at [Company]: [Headline Item]
- A [Job Title] role just opened in [Location]
- New [Job Family] openings this month
- What it's really like to work on our [Team] team
- Hiring event on [Date]: save your spot
- [First Name], still interested in [Job Family] roles?
SMS and WhatsApp version
Hi [First Name], it's [Your Name] at [Company]. A [Job Title] role just opened in [Location], [Pay Range]. You're in our talent community, so you can apply in a few minutes: [Application Link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
Placeholders to replace: [First Name], [Job Family], [Job Title], [Location], [Pay Range], [Month], [Headline Item], [Jobs Link], [Application Link], [Preferences Link], [Unsubscribe Link], [Your Name], [Title], [Company]
Nurture is about relevance, not frequency
The fastest way to kill a talent pool is to email everyone about everything. A software engineer who applied once doesn't want your warehouse openings; a forklift operator in Ohio doesn't care about the new office in Austin. Segment by at least job family and location, and let people set their own preferences in the welcome email. Even two segments outperform one list.
The goal isn't to get a click every month. It's to make sure that when someone is ready to move, your company is the one they think of and your email is the one they open. That's why the content should be mostly useful (pay information, what the work is really like, upcoming hiring dates) and only partly promotional. The candidate nurturing guide on our blog walks through building segments in more detail.
A simple drip sequence that works
For a new talent community member or a past applicant, a sequence like this works well:
- Day 0: welcome email confirming what they'll receive and asking for preferences.
- Day 7: a story from an employee in their job family, with a realistic view of the work.
- Day 21: current openings matching their segment.
- Then monthly: the newsletter, plus job alerts as roles open.
After six months with no opens, send one re-permission email asking if they still want to hear from you, and remove them if they don't respond. For people who reached late stages and were declined, use the more personal re-engage past candidates email instead of the general newsletter. Automated journeys can run the sequence and stop it as soon as someone applies, so nobody gets a "we'd love you to apply" email after they've already started an application.
High-volume hiring: nurture as a pipeline
Employers that hire in waves, such as contact centers opening a new class every month or retailers ramping up for the holidays, get the most out of nurture. A 400-seat center that needs 40 agents a month can't build a fresh pipeline each time. If it keeps a segmented pool of past applicants who passed the screen, plus event sign-ups, a job alert two weeks before each class can fill a meaningful share of seats before any paid ads go live.
Track it like any other source: alerts sent, applications started, hires. If a segment produces nothing for three months, change the content or the targeting. The glossary entry on talent community covers how these pools are typically set up.
Consent, opt-outs and data retention
Every nurture email needs a clear unsubscribe link, and opt-outs should take effect quickly. Text messages carry stricter rules: under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, automated texts generally need the recipient's prior consent, and you must honor STOP replies. For candidates in the EU or UK, GDPR requires a lawful basis for keeping their data in your talent pool and for how long; many employers ask for explicit consent at the point of application and set a retention period. Several US states have their own privacy rules for applicant data. Check your obligations with counsel; this is general information, and rules vary by country and state.
Mistakes to avoid
- One list for everyone, which guarantees most people get irrelevant jobs.
- No pay information. It's the first thing candidates look for.
- Sending from a no-reply address. Nurture works when people can reply to a person.
- Never cleaning the list. Bounces and years of non-opens hurt deliverability for all your recruiting email.
- Treating it as a campaign, sent once and forgotten. Consistency is what builds familiarity.
Frequently asked questions
What is a candidate nurture email?
It's an ongoing email to people in your talent pool who aren't currently in a hiring process. It shares relevant openings, pay information and stories about the work so they think of you when they're ready to apply.
How often should I send a recruitment newsletter?
Monthly is a good default, with separate job alerts when a matching role opens. More than every two weeks tends to raise unsubscribe rates unless the content is very targeted.
What should a talent community newsletter include?
Current openings for the reader's segment, one employee story, one useful piece of information such as pay ranges or how the interview works, and upcoming hiring events. Keep it scannable.
What is a candidate drip email?
It's one message in an automated sequence sent over days or weeks after someone joins your pool, for example a welcome, an employee story and then current openings.
Do I need consent to send nurture emails to past applicants?
Always include an unsubscribe link and honor opt-outs. In the EU and UK you need a lawful basis under GDPR, often consent, and texts in the US generally need prior consent. Requirements vary by location.
How do I measure whether candidate nurturing works?
Track opens and clicks, but focus on applications started and hires attributed to the nurture source, and compare cost per hire with paid channels.