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Answer a recruiter's message briefly and confidently

Practice: Getting the tone right. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

A recruiter, Mei, messaged you on LinkedIn. Reply in LinkedIn chat in at most 4 sentences, plain text, calm and confident with no exclamation marks. Open by confirming the one call time that fits your week, then give your current salary range and answer her travel question, and end with your question about whether the role is fully remote or hybrid, with no sign-off after it. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Not saying how short. The AI writes a full cover-letter style email with a thank-you, a pitch and a sign-off paragraph. Try: Be exact: "At most 4 sentences, LinkedIn chat."
  • Opening with gushing thanks. AI starts recruiter replies with "Thank you so much for reaching out! I'm thrilled...", which sounds eager, not confident. Try: Add: "Open by confirming Thursday at 2 pm ET. No thank-you first, no exclamation marks."
  • Using the old salary range. Your notes list two ranges. Without being told, the AI may give the old one or dodge with "I'm flexible." Try: Say it: "Give my current range, $78,000-$85,000, and say up to 2 trips a year is fine."
  • Signing off like an email. The AI tacks on "Looking forward to it! Best, Sam" after your question, which buries what you asked. Try: Add: "End with my question: is the role fully remote or hybrid? Nothing after it."
  • Formatting a chat message. AI may add a subject line or bold text, which looks odd in LinkedIn chat. Try: Add: "Plain text, no subject line, no bold."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Limits the length
  • Sets the tone
  • Picks the right time
  • Uses the current range
  • Asks for plain text

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