How to Get a Recruiter to Open Your Email (and Your Executive Resume)

You’ve put together a dynamite executive resume and are ready to dispatch it to a recruiter. Of course you’ve also included an attention-grabbing message in the body of your email. (Nowadays, this email message will often be your cover letter.). The third step which is extremely critical is to make sure you have an email subject line that will increase chances a recruiter will actually open and read your email and its attached resume.

I’ve received many resumes from prospective clients attached to emails that either have no subject line or say something generic like “resume.” Now for purposes of engaging an executive resume writer, this may not be so bad. But if those same people are sending out their resumes to companies and recruiters in this fashion, they are definitely doing themselves a disservice.

A site called “JobMob” recently did a survey of recruiters asking which of the emails they’ve received from job candidates had the best subject line. Here are a few of the subject lines recruiters most liked:

“Your Next Hire”

“I’ve done my research… You need me!”

“From the World’s Greatest Salesperson”

“You’ve won the lottery… I’m available immediately.”

“Award-winning HR pro seeking opportunities”

“9 reasons why you should move forward with me as your new talent manager”

“Hiring me will change your company because…”

“Confidentially, I work for your competitor.”

Some also stated that they appreciate clear and concise, a subject line that tells them what you do without having to click through the email. Here are some I have seen:

“IT Executive: Solving business problems through technology”

“John Doe: Turnaround CEO”

“Sales Pro: Results Guaranteed”

Do make sure that your subject line is ‘other’ rather than self oriented. That should put the kibosh on things like:

“Hire Me”

“Seeking Employment”

“Looking for opportunities”

The long and short of it is that you want your subject line to be descriptive, informative, and memorable. It can even have a bit of humor. The object is to pique the reader’s interest so that they will first OPEN your email and then keep reading.

For more examples that could help spark ideas, see the full article at:

Top Email Subject Lines