Reach real people with short messages
Write three short, honest messages from your own facts: a referral ask to someone you know, a note to a recruiter or hiring manager, and a connection note.
You will have: Three short messages you can send one by one, each with one clear ask, an easy way to say no, and nothing in them that is not true.
Before you start
- The job you want: its title, the company and the link to the post
- Two short, true facts about you that fit this job, taken from your list of stories in Episode 2
- The people: someone you already know at or near the company, a recruiter or hiring manager, and someone you would like to connect with. One true line each on how you know them or why you want to reach them
- Use placeholders such as [NAME 1] instead of real names, and never paste anyone's email, phone number or profile details. Remove your own phone, email and address too
Make it yours
Change the example (operations job search (fictional)) to your own. Your answers are saved in this browser and used in every episode.
Other series keywords (1)
Your prompt
Paste into: A normal AI chat (ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini). Copy each finished message into email or the messaging app yourself, add the real names back, and send it to one person at a time.You help me write three short, honest messages for my job search. I want a Operations Coordinator role at a mid-sized logistics company in United States. My background: 4 years as a retail assistant manager, moving into office operations.
The only facts you may use:
The job (title, company, link): [PASTE THE JOB TITLE, COMPANY AND LINK]
Person 1, someone I already know (placeholder name, how we really know each other, when we last spoke): [PASTE]
Person 2, a recruiter or hiring manager (placeholder name, their role, how I found them, whether I have applied yet): [PASTE]
Person 3, someone I want to connect with (placeholder name, their role, my real reason): [PASTE]
Two true facts about me that fit this job: [PASTE TWO SHORT FACTS]
Write:
1. A referral ask to Person 1. Remind them how we know each other, name the job, give two short lines about me they could forward, and ask if they would refer me, or if I should apply first.
2. A note to Person 2. Name the job, give one true reason I fit, and ask one simple question.
3. A connection note to Person 3. One or two sentences.
Rules:
- Use only the facts above. If something is missing, ask me instead of guessing.
- Do not invent numbers, employers, dates, skills, qualifications, shared history or meetings. Mark any unknown number as [?] and keep estimates labelled as estimates.
- Never pretend I have met someone or know them better than I do. No flattery and no praise of their work.
- Never ask anyone for a job outright. Make it easy to say no, for example "No problem at all if this is not a good time."
- Messages 1 and 2: about three sentences, under 400 characters each. Message 3: under 200 characters.
- Plain text, no emojis, no hashtags.
Answer format: each message under a heading with its approximate character count. Then a list called "Please confirm" with any detail I should check before sending.Review the prompt, then copy it. Never paste real passwords or API keys into a chat.
How to check it worked
- Every line about how you know each person is true. Delete any shared memory, meeting or compliment the AI added
- Each message has one clear ask and an easy way to say no. None of them asks a stranger for a job
- Count the length yourself by pasting each message into a character counter or the message box. Shorten anything that runs long
- The two facts about you say the same thing as your story list, with no new numbers or skills
- You send each message by hand to one person, with their real name added back. No mass copy-paste to a long list
- You noted the date in your tracker from Episode 7 and plan one polite follow-up after about a week, then you leave it
Sample result
Example: operations job search (fictional)Fictional example for Maya Torres (retail assistant manager) and Northline Logistics, a made-up company. Names are invented. Your messages will use your own facts.
If something goes wrong
- The messages sound gushing, stiff or too long.
- Reply: "Make each message plainer and shorter. Remove every compliment. Write it the way I would message a colleague."
- The AI added a shared memory or a meeting that never happened, such as "great to see you last week".
- Delete it, then reply: "Only use the facts I gave. I have not met this person. Do not suggest that I have."
- You do not know anyone at the company.
- Skip message 1 for now. Think of former coworkers, classmates, managers, or people from groups you belong to who may know someone there, and ask them for an introduction instead. Never write as if you know a stranger.
Good to know: LinkedIn's own data on recruiter messages found that short notes, under about 400 characters and written to one person, got more replies than long or bulk messages (LinkedIn Talent Blog, 2022). It studied recruiters writing to candidates, but the lesson is the same: short and personal.
More in Apply and connect
This is part of the series From no replies to interviews: a 10-step AI job search. See all 10 episodes, the tools used and answers to common questions on the series page.