Re-engage a Past Finalist
When to use it
Reach back out to someone you turned down, in a way that acknowledges the last process instead of pretending it never happened.
The prompt
Write a message re-engaging a candidate who reached {{stage}} for a different role {{X months}} ago and wasn't selected. WHY THEY WEREN'T SELECTED: {{the real reason, including "we hired someone slightly stronger" or "the role got frozen" — I won't send this line, but you need it}} WHAT WAS GENUINELY STRONG ABOUT THEM: {{specific, from the debrief if you have it}} HOW THE REJECTION WAS DELIVERED: {{a call, a template email, or silence}} THE NEW ROLE: {{Job Title}}, and how it actually differs from what they interviewed for WHAT HAS CHANGED ON OUR SIDE SINCE: {{team, scope, comp, process}} Give me: 1. The message, under 120 words. 2. A version for the case where the last rejection was handled badly, which acknowledges that directly without grovelling. 3. An honest answer to "why would I go through this again?", in the words I'd use if they ask it on a call. 4. What I must not say: anything implying they were second choice, or that this role is a consolation prize. Direct, a little warmer than a cold approach, and no pretending the history isn't there.
Tip
Candidates remember how their rejection was handled better than they remember the interview. Reference the last process yourself in the first two lines, because if you don't, they will, and it lands worse.
How to use it
Paste the prompt into ChatGPT, Claude or whichever assistant you use, then replace every {{bracketed}} part with your own detail. The more specific and messier your input, the better the output — a model given raw notes has more to work with than one given a tidy summary you wrote first.
More Outreach prompts
Open the full tool for all 87 prompts, the glossary, and the JD decoder.