The problem is the opening, not the role
Most outreach leads with the company, the funding round and the salary band. None of those answer the only question the reader has, which is whether the work is interesting.
The messages that get answered describe a problem. What the environment looks like, what is currently broken, what this person would actually own. That is a harder message to write, which is exactly why so few people write it.
Vague seniority reads as a red flag
'Senior security engineer' covers an enormous range. Someone reading it cannot tell whether they would be the third member of a team or the only one, whether they would be building or maintaining, whether there is anyone more experienced to learn from.
Being specific costs nothing and filters hard in the right direction. The people who would have been wrong for the role self-select out, and the people who fit recognise themselves in it.
Speed is part of the message
If someone replies and then waits nine days for a first conversation, they have learned something about how the company operates. In a market where they have options, that is often enough.
The single highest-leverage change most teams can make is not the salary band. It is getting the first conversation into the diary inside forty-eight hours.
- Lead with the problem, not the funding round
- Be specific about level, team size and ownership
- Say why the role is open
- Book the first conversation within two days of a reply
People who are not looking will read a message about interesting work. They will not read a message about a company.
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