If you feel like your messages are getting lost in the void, you may be onto something.
Executives are often bombarded with many sales pitches and introductions every day — and that makes it difficult to stand out with a cold outreach.
Becca Millstein, cofounder and CEO of the trendy tinned seafood company Fishwife, said she misses many of the messages she receives on LinkedIn.
“I don’t respond to DMs because I don’t see them, or it’s just too much,” Millstein told Business Insider.
Millstein, who cofounded the company in 2020, said it’s become increasingly difficult for candidates to stand out by sending a direct message. Every so often, though, someone manages to break through. She said a prospective employee reached out several months ago. After seeing the message, she passed it on to the hiring manager, and they ultimately hired the candidate.
An anonymized version of the DM is below:
Hi Becca, I just applied for the ______ role at Fishwife and wanted to introduce myself. In ______ years at ______, I’ve scaled ______ from ______ to ______ M orders/year. I oversee end-to-end ______, including ______, while managing the corresponding budget of $______ M/year. In addition to leading ______, I’m responsible for our relationships and agreements with ______. I use data to forecast ______, and to optimize______. The best part of my role is the cross-functional collaboration with teams like ______. Would you be open to a conversation to discuss the role further? My résumé is attached for reference. Thanks!
Millstein said the candidate’s message got her attention because it was specific and direct. They explained which role they were interested in, summarized their relevant experience, and included numbers to make their case.
She added that the message was concise and made it clear they were “clearly not a robot,” which stands out in the flood of messages she receives.
The CEO said that after checking the candidate out, she sent the résumé to the hiring manager and said, “This person seems awesome.”
Most of the messages she receives “don’t have that kind of substance,” Millstein said.
The candidate also included their résumé in the message and said they had already applied for the job, which Millstein said was an important detail.
“Never just send a message if there’s a job application open,” Millstein said. “Apply for that job. You’ll get lost if you don’t.”
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