Get weekly-ish tips on interviews, resumes, networking, salary negotiation, and how to break through the noise in a crowded market. I’ve worked in product, GTM, strategy and ops roles at Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce, hired and developed high-performing teams, coached 100s of job seekers (without insider connections) into roles that changed their lives. The problem is that most career advice is outdated and comes from folks who’ve never hired, survived an 11-round interview loop, or worked in the roles you’re applying to. I write the advice I needed, but couldn’t find. 👉🏾 Not another boring newsletter. 2,000+ job seekers are already reading, so join our community. Subscribe now.
So your cold outreach messages keep getting ignored. Now what?
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Here's part 2 of last week's “WTF happens to your job app after you hit submit?!” Today we'll cover the cold messages that cut through the noise — and the ones that flopped. (You probably know me from one of my freebies (resume templates, interview prep, questions to ask your interviewer), or maybe from social media. 👋🏾 Thanks for tuning in. When I was hiring recently, my inbox turned into a full-on traffic jam:
I replied to ~5 of those LinkedIn messages. Not because I’m anti-outreach... I'm all for scrappy. But I just couldn't reply to everyone. And honestly? Most messages just blended together. Here's what stood out:✅ Memorable opener ❌ I saw a lot of: “Hey Ratna, I came across your post and wanted to reach out…” ➡️ What stood out to me: "Hey Ratna, this is probably the 500th message you're seeing about your open role..." → It's okay to infuse a little humor into your hook to help break the scroll. ✅ They didn't ask me to chat before applying ❌ I saw a lot of: “I’m thinking of applying and wanted to chat first to learn more about the role…” ➡️ What stood out to me: "Just submitted my application and wanted to reach out directly...” → No wavering. Just a confident nudge saying, “Hey, I’m in the mix, and here’s why I'm worth a look.” ✅ They created an emotional connection (and I make it really easy to do that) ❌ I saw a lot of: "Saw you had an open role... I'm passionate about fostering collaboration and have worked at XYZ companies..." ➡️ What stood out to me: "Saw your reel about resume summaries — I reworked mine right before applying!” → I literally post job search advice across multiple platforms, yet only 1 person referenced it. It takes 30 seconds to find something about the hiring manager worth referencing — most people just don't. ✅ They didn't regurgitate their entire resume ❌ I saw a lot of: [long intro with no mention of how their skills actually relate to my open role] ➡️ What stood out to me: "I built dashboards that saved our teams a ton of manual work — sounds like that kind of automation is a big focus in this role.” → I didn’t have to do any guesswork. They showed me how their experience transfers, quickly and clearly. ✅ They kept it low-pressure ❌ I saw a lot of: "Do you have 15 minutes to chat?” ➡️ What stood out to me: “Happy to send over more detail if helpful — either way, thanks for reading.” → When I’m hiring, I can’t do calls with everyone. The strongest messages respected that. They gave me a reason to pay attention and left the door open. Job search in today's market is absolutely brutal — I know. You’re putting yourself out there, over and over again, and most of the time… crickets. But a thoughtful message does cut through the noise. A little more intention in your messaging can be the tweak that gets you noticed. And if no one’s told you lately... 💫You’re doing great 💫 If you’ve been second-guessing your cold messages, you’re not alone. Send me yours — I’ll review it and help you make it stronger. I read every reply!
P.S. If you need additional job search support — a few 1:1 coaching spots open up each month.
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Ratna | @jobwhisperer
Get weekly-ish tips on interviews, resumes, networking, salary negotiation, and how to break through the noise in a crowded market. I’ve worked in product, GTM, strategy and ops roles at Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce, hired and developed high-performing teams, coached 100s of job seekers (without insider connections) into roles that changed their lives. The problem is that most career advice is outdated and comes from folks who’ve never hired, survived an 11-round interview loop, or worked in the roles you’re applying to. I write the advice I needed, but couldn’t find. 👉🏾 Not another boring newsletter. 2,000+ job seekers are already reading, so join our community. Subscribe now.