Tips to Improve your Recruiting Cold Calls

Posted by Jonathan Kidder on February 11, 2020January 27, 2023

Something that I’ve discovered with working with other millennial recruiters is that they don’t like cold calling candidates. They find it to be awkward and uncomfortable when reaching out to someone they don’t have a previous engagement with. Cold calling is the best way to connect with a new lead. I’ve connected with so many leads just by directly calling their cell number. Maybe you’re new to recruiting or just haven’t cold called in awhile that fine! Below I’ve included some tips and tricks on how to successfully engage candidates over a cold call.

Dealing with the fear of rejection

No one likes to feel rejection during a call. But, the more you can face the realization that rejecting your job opportunity really has nothing to do with you personally. The worst-case scenario is that the applicant will just say no to our suggestion and you can just move onward. I’ve done thousands of cold-calls within my career and I do value and appreciate when a candidate tells me the truth and declines my message. I would rather have that happen versus getting ghosted during the process or before an onsite.

Prime Time Hours

There are three prime time hours to cold call. Before work, the lunch hour, and after work hours these three areas are the perfect time to connect with a lead over the phone. Make sure to understand the various time zones based on the candidates’ location.

Planning your Call

In order to be successful during the call you will need to plan a script:

Identify the object of the call – what are you trying to accomplish?
Walk through the call in your head – make sure to read into their reaction?
Did you catch them at a good time? If not, ask if you can call back at a different time.
Make sure to dive right in. Ask them how much time they have for the call.
Sell, sell, sell — Talk about the culture, team, project, or hiring manager’s goals.
Location and commute times are important. Make sure to cover this right away.
Covering the salary expectations — are they closely aligned to their expectations?
Make sure to take notes — cover the basic requirements of the role.
Ask if they have any pending offers and gauge if they are active or passive.
Finish by setting realistic expectations on the next steps.

Other things to consider

Are you pleasant over the phone? Do you sound kind?
If you have a lower voice. Make sure to stand this helps you sound more exciting etc.
Focus on what they want. Let them drive the conversations!!
Ask if they have any questions and then cover those topics.
Did the mention an exciting event? Make sure to follow up on it!
Practice makes perfect! The more you practice the better you will become at it.

Cold Calling Script Templates:

Hi (Name), did I catch you at a good time? My name is (Jonathan) and I’m a recruiter with (Company) and I wanted to see if you might be opening to learning more about our openings?

In the process of conducting my search, your name has surfaced as a leader in this (skilled) space. You have the skills that would fit well at our (company). Are you open to discussing further?

Hi (name), we’ve connected several years back on and I wanted to follow up and see if you might be interested in pursuing a new opportunity now?

As a recruiter in this (tech skilled) space, I wanted to take the opportunity to connect over the phone with you. You may not be looking to make a current change but it’s good to network and plan your future goals.

We’ve connected on LinkedIn a while back and that’s how I got your number. I noticed that you selected to hearing about new opportunities. Would you be open to learning more about my openings at (company A)?

My hiring manager (name) was impressed by your experience at (company A). They wanted me to reach out to you directly to see if you might be open to exploring some roles at our company.

Hi (name), you’ve applied for positions in the past and I wanted to connect and see if you might be still open to exploring roles at our (Company A)?

So when you’ve completed some cold calls in a day make sure to reflect on the good and bad ones! Overall, the more practice you do with cold calling the better you will be in the long term.

The Best People Search Tools for Recruiters in 2020

Time Management Best Practices for Recruiters

Follow me

Jonathan Kidder

With more than 12 years of recruitment experience, Jonathan has helped startups and small businesses find the talent they need. He runs the blog WizardSourcer, which explores the latest trends in talent sourcing, provides reviews of recruitment tools, and features interviews with prominent figures in the industry.