# Passive candidate email: worksheet and writing examples

Metix AI editorial design, October 22, 2026. Use this file in any editor. It does not send messages or connect to a recruiting product.

## Fill this in for one actual vacancy

- Approved role / requisition / hiring owner:
- What the person would work on:
- Location, work model and other material constraints:
- Approved compensation details, or unknown:
- Sender identity, employer and authority to recruit:
- Candidate's relevant professional source URL and observation date:
- Exact work you observed; what it does and does not establish:
- Existing relationship or referral, only if true:
- Material information still missing; owner who can answer:
- Proposed first message, version and employer approver:
- Who will read and answer replies:
- Contact preferences / existing contact / stop status:

Keep the evidence record with your own recruiting records. The worksheet is not an integration or an assertion that Metix imports this file.

## Check each sentence

For every claim, identify a role fact, a professional source, a statement from the person, or an editorial choice. Remove unsupported claims. An absent fact stays unknown. Public work can explain why you chose to contact someone; it does not establish that they want to leave their employer or meet every requirement.

Use the companion CSV for blank fields and four worked revision tests. The CSV separates actual inputs you must supply from the illustrative exercise below.

## Worked revision: an illustrative exercise

All people, work samples and role details in this exercise are invented for teaching. These messages have not been sent, and no response or recruiting result is claimed.

Assume the hiring owner has approved a backend engineer role focused on ingestion reliability, with two office days per week in Boston. Compensation has not been approved. An invented public technical note distinguishes retryable timeouts from permanent failures. It provides no evidence about the writer's job search or responsibility for a production system.

### Draft to reject

Subject: Your next big career move

Hi Alex,

You must be ready for a new challenge. You're a perfect fit for our fully remote team, and we can offer you higher pay. Book a call with me tomorrow.

### Review

1. The candidate has not said they want a change. Remove that assumption.
2. One technical note does not establish complete role fit. Describe the actual observation.
3. The role is hybrid in Boston. Correct the material constraint.
4. Pay is unknown, as is the candidate's current compensation. Remove the comparison.
5. Offer information the recipient can assess before asking them to schedule.

### Revised initial message

Subject: Backend role focused on ingestion reliability

Hi Alex,

I'm [sender], recruiting for [company]. Your note on retry handling caught my attention, especially the distinction between timeouts and failures that should not be retried.

We're hiring a backend engineer to work on ingestion reliability. The role involves two office days a week in Boston. I don't know whether you're considering a move; would it be useful if I sent the role brief?

[Sender's name, role, employer and verifiable contact details]

For real use, replace every invented detail with your approved role and an actual professional observation. If compensation is material to the recipient's decision, obtain the approved information rather than using the missing range to push for a call.

## When you have a relevant profile but no work sample

Subject: [Role] at [company], [location/work model]

Hi [name],

I'm [sender], hiring for [role] at [company]. Your public profile lists [specific relevant experience, with its actual date/context]. The role involves [approved work] and [material location/work constraint].

I haven't established your fit or availability. Would you like the role details?

[Signature]

Use this only when the profile actually supports the statement. If you cannot explain a relevant reason for contact, return to the search and role brief instead of adding generic praise.

## An optional follow-up that adds information

Subject: Re: [original clear subject]

Hi [name],

One detail I can add about [role]: [new, approved information that could affect the decision]. Here's [a useful public role/team link].

If you'd like the brief, reply here. If this isn't relevant, I'll close this outreach after this note.

[Signature]

This is an editorial example, not a proven send cadence. Choose timing and any follow-up limit with your hiring owner and existing contact preferences. Do not send a follow-up while a candidate's question is waiting for an answer. Honor a stop request; do not put the same person into a fresh sequence.

## Reply and stop log

| Actual reply/state | Record | Action and owner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Requests role details | Date and the information requested | Named recruiter sends the approved brief; this is not yet confirmed interest or a booking |
| Asks about compensation or work model | Question, current answer, missing information | Hiring owner supplies approved facts; recruiter answers before pushing a meeting |
| Says the location is unsuitable | Stated constraint | Close this role or clarify a genuinely approved alternative; do not promise an exception |
| Asks for no further contact | Stop request and scope | Stop outreach and honor the preference in the team's records |
| No reply | Last contact and chosen limit | Remains unknown; review the limit instead of labeling the person uninterested or qualified |

## Use a product only when you need the continuing workflow

A manual message and a reply owner can be enough for occasional outreach. For ongoing hiring, begin with an approved real role, verify candidate evidence, review the proposed message and approve outreach before anything sends. Metix AI's published workflow carries sourcing through interest screening and interview booking; your team conducts interviews and makes hiring decisions. Self-serve does not include Metix staff reviewing the shortlist. Staff-run Delivery is a separate quoted service.

Downloads, messages sent and registrations are not hiring results. Track actual role activation, candidate interest, interviews booked and held, and hires separately. There is no response-rate claim attached to these examples.