Job search · 5 min read
How do I cold email someone about a job?
How to cold email for a job: find the right person, write a short email around their problem, make a small ask, and follow up once. With three templates.
The short answer
A cold email works when it's short, specific and about the reader. Write to the person who'd manage you or lead the team, not a general inbox. In four or five sentences: say who you are in one line, show you know something specific about their team or a challenge they have, give one result that shows you could help, and make a small ask, such as a 15-minute call or whether they'd consider you for a named role. Attach nothing on the first email unless asked; link to a portfolio instead. Follow up once after about a week. Most cold emails get no reply, so send them in batches and track what works.
Key takeaways
- Email the hiring manager or team lead, not a generic address.
- Make it about their team: one specific detail shows you're not mass-mailing.
- One result and one small ask; under 120 words.
- Follow up once after a week, then move on.
On this pageWho to email
Who to email
- The person who'd manage you: a team lead or head of the function.
- At small companies, a founder or the head of the relevant area.
- For an advertised role, the hiring manager named in the post, or found on LinkedIn.
- Not a general careers address, which mostly sends you back to the job board.
The structure
| Sentence | Job | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Who you are | I'm a data analyst at a retail chain, focused on pricing. |
| 2 | Something specific about them | I saw your team is rolling out dynamic pricing in your Manchester stores. |
| 3 | Your proof | Last year I built the model that cut our markdown losses by 9%. |
| 4 | The ask | Would you be open to a 15-minute call about how your team works? |
| 5 | Easy out | No worries if the timing's not right. |
Three templates
- For an advertised role: "Hi Dan, I've just applied for the senior buyer role and wanted to reach out directly. I've spent four years buying for a 60-store chain and cut supplier costs 12% last year. I'd love to talk about what you need most from the role. Thanks, Priya."
- For a company that isn't hiring: "Hi Leah, I've followed your growth since the Series A. I run customer onboarding at a payroll software firm, where I halved time-to-first-payroll. If you're building out onboarding this year, I'd love a short chat. Thanks, Max."
- For a career change: "Hi Oli, I'm a nurse moving into health tech product roles, and I've read your posts on clinician-led design. Would you have 15 minutes to tell me what your team looks for? I'm happy to share the prototype I built for a ward handover tool. Thanks, Grace."
Following up
Wait a week, then reply to your own email with one line: "Just bumping this in case it got buried. Happy to work around your diary." If there's still no reply, stop. Make a note to reconnect in a few months if something relevant happens, such as a new role posted or news about the company.
Running cold email as a campaign
Treat it like any outreach: send ten a week, track who you emailed, when and whether they replied. After 20 to 30, look at which subject lines and openings got replies and use more of them. A reply rate of 10 to 20% for well-targeted emails is good; much lower suggests the emails are too generic or going to the wrong people.
What happens to the gaps
Applying shows you what employers want that you can't show yet: a must-have your CV doesn't mention, or a question you couldn't answer well. Hand the job from OffLadder CV to Laddie, our AI coach, and it turns each one into three steps:
- Learn the skill: a short lesson on what the post asks for, starting from the basics.
- Try the work: a 15-minute task taken from the job itself, so you have a real example to talk about.
- Practise the interview: a five-question mock interview for that role, weighted to the parts you're least sure of.
The conversation stays in your OffLadder account. Once you've done the work, add it to your CV in your own words, and the next post you tailor for can point to it.
Questions people ask
- How do I find someone's email address?
- Check the company website, press releases and LinkedIn for a contact. Many companies use a standard format, such as first.last@company.com, which you can infer from any published address. If you can't find it, a LinkedIn message works too. Don't use tools that scrape personal data in ways the person wouldn't expect.
- Should I attach my CV to a cold email?
- Usually not on the first email. Attachments from strangers often get filtered or ignored. Put a link to your LinkedIn or portfolio in your signature, and offer to send your CV. If you're replying to a role they've advertised, attaching it is fine.
- What's a good subject line?
- Specific and short: "Question about your data team", "Former Ocado analyst, interested in your pricing role", or "Idea for your onboarding emails". Avoid "Job enquiry" or anything that looks like marketing.
- Is cold emailing for a job unprofessional?
- Not when it's respectful and relevant. Many managers have hired people who reached out directly. It becomes unprofessional when it's long, generic, pushy or repeated many times. One email and one follow-up is the right limit.
Exercises are practice, not evidence of career fit or a qualification. How to read our guides and report a correction.
Sources
- Future of Recruiting · LinkedIn Talent Solutions
- Create a job search plan · CareerOneStop, US Department of Labor
How this page is written
Sources support the factual background, not a guarantee that an exercise predicts career fit. Fictional practice material is labelled. Dates record content updates; no independent expert review is implied. More about OffLadder.