Every recruiter has a pipeline they've stopped working: silver-medal candidates who came second last spring, hiring managers who took one call and went quiet, contractors whose assignments ended. They already know your name, which makes them easier to restart than any cold list, as long as you bring a reason to reply.
Updately's Re-engage past candidates and clients template, one of the Recruiters & HR templates, has no connection request at all. It opens with something new, follows up once with a voice note, and lets the AI agent answer candidates and clients differently.
Short answer: pick people you've genuinely worked with, open with one piece of news that matters to them (a new role, or a market update), and ask one question. If a candidate is interested, a recruiter takes over. If a hiring manager replies, ask whether their hiring plans have changed. If either says no, thank them and close the conversation.
Key Takeaways
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who is it for? | Recruiters with an existing pipeline of candidates and clients |
| Who does it message? | People you're already connected to: past candidates and hiring managers |
| Is there an invitation step? | No. It goes straight to a message |
| How long is the sequence? | Two steps over four days, then one follow-up after a reply |
| What's the opener? | A new role or market update from your Knowledge, never "just checking in" |
| What's the objective? | Restart the conversation with something new and relevant |
Why re-engaging old contacts beats starting cold
Cold outreach has to earn trust in a single message. A past contact already gave you that once. A candidate who interviewed with your client last year told you their skills, salary expectations and why they'd move. A hiring manager told you how their team works. That's the difference between warm and cold outbound: you don't have to explain who you are.
The risk is spending that goodwill. A vague "hope you're well, anything I can help with?" reads as bulk messaging, which is why every message in this template has to carry news.
Who belongs in a re-engagement list
Good fits:
- Silver medallists: candidates who reached the final stage for a role and narrowly missed out.
- Candidates who weren't ready to move last time, but whose circumstances may have changed.
- Hiring managers you've spoken with who didn't brief you on a role.
- Past clients you haven't heard from in a while.
Poor fits: people you've never spoken to, and candidates you placed recently.
Where to get the list
- CSV import from your ATS or CRM, filtered to "final stage" or "client, no live roles" before export.
- Network: your first-degree connections, filtered by keywords such as "Engineering Manager" or a skill you recruit for.
- Job-change signals: a past hiring manager at a new company is a new potential client. See how to find people who changed jobs.
- Profile viewers: an old contact looking at your profile is a natural moment to say hello.
With no invitation step, the template only reaches people you're connected to. If your export includes people you never connected with, filter them out or add an invitation step on the Workflow tab. More in the LinkedIn Network tab for warm outbound.
One template, two campaigns
The reply rules handle candidates and hiring managers, but the news differs. A new role interests a candidate; a skills shortage interests a hiring manager. Run two campaigns from the same template, each with its own Knowledge, so the opener fits the reader.
The sequence, day by day
There's no invitation to wait for, so day 0 is the day the person enters the campaign.
| Day | Step | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | AI message: something new | Opens with a new role or market update from Knowledge in one or two short lines, then asks one question |
| 4 | Voice note check-in | A short, warm, personal voice note written from the conversation so far |
The AI writes the first message for each person, knowing they're someone you've worked with: something new and relevant from Knowledge in one or two short lines, then one question. For a silver-medal product manager, that might be a new product role near where they live. For a past client, a note that a skill their team hires for has become harder to find.
The day 4 voice note from a recruiter they already know reads like a person picking up the phone. Set up Voice for voice notes first, or switch the step to text.
How the AI agent handles replies
With Reply autopilot on, the AI agent follows the template's rules:
- A candidate is interested in the new role. It must mark HUMAN INTERVENTION, so a recruiter picks it up straight away from the Needs you tab.
- A hiring manager replies. It asks whether the team's hiring plans have changed.
- They're not interested. It thanks them and ends the chat.
Every template also hands the chat to you if the AI can't answer from your offer or Knowledge, or if the person shares an email, phone number or calendar link. Once the objective is met, it ends the chat. With past contacts, quick hand-offs are the point: a recruiter should be talking to them directly. See the LinkedIn AI agent guide.
Following up with old clients and candidates who go quiet
If someone replies and then stops, the template sends one follow-up after 4 days: a friendly check-in with a market insight or a new role from Knowledge. One is enough: chasing past contacts hard is the quickest way to make them cold.
How to adapt it
- Knowledge. This template lives or dies here. For candidates, add live roles with location, level and why they're worth a look. For clients, add market updates you can stand behind, such as which skills are scarce. Refresh it for every batch.
- Files & Links. A salary guide or market report for clients, a role brief for candidates. Add a use when note, for example "when a hiring manager asks about salaries".
- Rules. Add a line for your own situations, for example: IF THEY SAY THEY'VE ALREADY MOVED JOBS, congratulate them and ask if they're hiring for their new team.
- Train the voice. Paste two or three messages you've sent to people you know well.
Common mistakes: launching with nothing new in Knowledge, one campaign for candidates and clients, including people you never spoke to, and re-engaging the same people too often.
How to launch it in Updately
- Create a campaign and check your LinkedIn account shows as Active.
- On the AI Agent tab, click Start from a template and pick Re-engage past candidates and clients under Recruiters & HR. It fills in the sequence, reply rules and follow-up, and keeps your voice, Knowledge, files and booking link.
- Add this batch's roles or market updates to Knowledge.
- In the simulator, switch to Connected leads and try an interested candidate, a hiring manager with a new role, "not right now" and someone who has changed jobs.
- Run Test Sequence on the Workflow tab with a real contact, then import your list and launch.
To reach new people as well, pair this with the candidate outreach template and the hiring managers template, or browse every campaign template.
FAQ
How do I re-engage past candidates on LinkedIn?
Message them with a specific new role or market update that fits what they told you before, and ask one question. If they're interested, hand them to a recruiter quickly.
How should a recruiter follow up with old clients?
Bring something useful, such as a market insight about their team's hiring, then ask whether their hiring plans have changed. Leave fees and new terms for a call.
Why doesn't this template send a connection request?
It's for people you've worked with, who are usually connected to you. Add an invitation step on the Workflow tab for anyone who isn't.
How many follow-ups does it send?
One, four days after a reply goes quiet, with a new role or market insight from your Knowledge.