# LinkedIn message to a recruiter template: the shape, three examples, what to leave out > LinkedIn message to a recruiter template, with the four-line shape, three worked examples and what to leave out, then how a HeyLead campaign writes the same message from the person’s profile and the voice of your own LinkedIn posts. This is the Markdown twin of https://heylead.dev/templates/linkedin-message-to-a-recruiter (the page, in text). Index for agents: https://heylead.dev/llms.txt Last updated 28 September 2026 A message to a recruiter on LinkedIn says which role, that you have applied, one proof point and one question, in under 80 words and without a CV. This page gives the shape, three examples and what to leave out, then how a HeyLead job-search campaign writes it in your voice with every reply held for you. ## The shape 1. **The role and the fact.** "I applied for X on Monday." Recruiters run many roles; name yours. 2. **One proof point.** The closest true thing to what the posting asks for. A number only if it is yours. 3. **One question.** Timeline, the team, or whether the role is still open. Answerable in a sentence. 4. **No CV.** They have the application; the message is for what the form cannot say. ## Three examples ### After applying > Hi Sam, I applied for the Head of Payments Engineering role at Northwind on Monday. I took a payments stack through two audits at a 200-person fintech, which looks like the core of the posting. Is the role still open, and when does the team start shortlisting? ### An agency recruiter who posted the role > Hi Sam, you posted a payments engineering lead role for a London fintech last week. I run that function at a company the same size and am looking. Is the client still hiring, and what is the reporting line? ### After a recruiter reached out first > Thanks for reaching out, Sam. Payments engineering is where I have spent the last six years, most recently taking a stack through two audits. Which company is this for, and what is the range? ## Leave out - The CV, as an attachment or as a list of skills. - "I am passionate about". Show the proof point instead. - Asking for a call in the first message. Ask the question the call would have answered. - A second message inside a week. ## How a HeyLead campaign writes it A HeyLead job-search campaign finds the recruiter on the posting, the hiring manager and the leads on the team, and writes the invitation note and the first message in the voice of your own LinkedIn posts, naming the company and the role, with at most one proof point and never a CV. Every reply is held for you. Nothing answers, books or negotiates on your behalf. `Set up HeyLead using https://heylead.dev/llms.txt` HeyLead sends from your own LinkedIn account at a human pace: at most 20 invitations a day and 100 a week on a free LinkedIn account (more on Premium or Sales Navigator), Monday to Friday 08:00 to 22:00 in your time zone, minutes apart. It backs off when LinkedIn pushes back and resumes on its own. You can pause any campaign at any time. HeyLead is not affiliated with LinkedIn. It reaches LinkedIn through Unipile, which is also not affiliated. ## Questions people ask ### What should I write to a recruiter on LinkedIn? The role and that you have applied, one proof point close to what the posting asks for, and one question they can answer in a sentence. Under 80 words, no CV. ### Should I message the recruiter or the hiring manager? Both, once each. The recruiter answers timeline and process; the hiring manager decides the shortlist. See how to reach a hiring manager on LinkedIn. ### Does HeyLead write messages to recruiters? A job-search campaign writes the invitation note and the first message in your voice, naming the company and the role, with at most one proof point and never a CV. Every reply is held for you to answer. Related: [All templates](https://heylead.dev/templates) · [How the campaign runs](https://heylead.dev/use-cases/job-search) · [How to reach a hiring manager](https://heylead.dev/answers/how-to-reach-a-hiring-manager-on-linkedin)