Cold call script for recruiters calling hiring managers
A word-for-word cold call script for recruiters calling hiring managers, with replies to we don't use agencies, send me an email, go through HR and more.
By the Recruiting ATS team (How we write)Published 6 min read
A hiring manager who picks up an unknown number gives you about as long as it takes to say your name and why you're calling. If those first sentences sound like every other agency, the call is over, however polite the goodbye. A good cold call script for recruiters is short: one specific reason you're calling this person, then a small ask. Clever lines tend to get in the way.
Below is the full script, written as dialogue, with a branch for each objection that usually ends the call. Fee negotiation is a different conversation. If the fee comes up here, state your standard terms in one sentence and steer back to the next step.
Before you dial: find the hook
Don't call without one reason that applies to this person and not to the next name on your list. Hooks that work:
- A role they're advertising that you've filled before, or that has been open for weeks.
- A candidate you represent who fits their team, with the candidate's permission to mention them.
- Something you know about their market: a competitor hiring the same profile, a skill that's become hard to find in their city.
- A person you both know who suggested you call.
"We're a boutique agency specializing in tech" is not a hook. It describes you, and the hiring manager doesn't care about you yet.
If you're still deciding who to call, start with the warm names: how to win your first clients as a new recruiting agency covers building that list.
The script
Brackets are yours to fill. Say it out loud a few times until it sounds like you, then stop reading it.
Opener
You: Hi [first name], it's [your name] from [agency]. I'm a recruiter, so I'll be quick. Have you got two minutes, or is this a bad time?
Saying you're a recruiter up front feels risky. It isn't. They'll work it out in ten seconds anyway, and hiding it makes everything after it feel like a trick. If it's a bad time, ask when to call back, write it down and hang up.
Reason and hook
Role-led version:
You: I place [type of role] with [kind of company] in [region]. I noticed your [role title] opening has been up for a few weeks. I've filled that role at [similar company or sector], and I already know people who'd take the call.
Candidate-led version:
You: I'm representing a [role] who's leaving a [type of company]. She's [two specific facts: what she built, what she manages]. Your team looked like the right fit, so I wanted to ask you before anyone else.
Never name the candidate's current employer on a cold call. The hiring manager doesn't need it yet, and the candidate didn't agree to it.
The ask
Ask for one of two things, depending on what you've heard:
You: Is the role still open? If it is, I'd like to send you two profiles on my standard terms, and you tell me if I've got it wrong.
You: Would fifteen minutes next week make sense? I'd hear what you look for, and you'd decide whether I'm worth using.
Then stop talking. The silence after the ask is the hardest part of the call and the most useful.
When they push back
You'll hear the same five answers again and again. Most of them are a reflex, not a decision, so the reply under each one keeps the door open without arguing.
"We don't use agencies."
Them: We don't use agencies.
You: Fair enough. Most of your roles probably fill fine without one. What happens when one doesn't? The [role] that's been open a while, for example.
Them: We keep trying, I suppose.
You: That's usually where I'm useful. I'm not asking you to change anything. If that role is still open in three weeks, can I call you then?
What you want to find out is whether "we don't" means "we're not allowed" or "we haven't needed to". The first is a policy, so ask who owns it. The second is an opening.
"Send me an email."
Them: Just send me an email.
You: Happy to. So it's something useful and not a brochure: should it be about the [role], or is something else coming up?
Them: The [role], I guess.
You: Then I'll send two anonymized profiles today and call you Thursday to hear what you think. Morning or afternoon?
"Send me an email" is often a polite way out. Turning it into a specific email and a specific follow-up call shows you whether there's real interest. Get each candidate's OK before their profile goes anywhere, even anonymized.
"Go through HR."
Them: You'll need to go through HR.
You: Of course. Who's the right person there? And so I don't waste their time, can I ask you one thing: what's been hardest to find for this role?
Leave with a name and one piece of information only the hiring manager has. When you contact HR, say who sent you: "[Name] suggested I speak with you about the [role]." Then work through HR as agreed. Going around them later burns the account.
"We're not hiring."
Them: We're not hiring right now.
You: Understood. When you do hire on your team, which role is usually the hardest to fill?
Them: Senior people. Always.
You: Then I'll keep an eye out for senior [role] people and only call you if I meet someone exceptional. Is that all right?
You leave with a profile to watch for and permission to call back. Before you hang up, ask when they next plan headcount, and put your follow-up date just before it.
"We already have agencies."
Them: We already work with a couple of agencies.
You: Makes sense. Are they covering everything, or is there a role that's been slow?
Them: The [role] has dragged on.
You: I'm not asking to replace anyone. Give me that one role for two weeks and judge me on the shortlist.
Don't criticize their agencies. You don't know them, and the person on the phone chose them.
The voicemail
Under twenty seconds, with one reason to call back:
"Hi [first name], it's [your name] from [agency]. I'm calling about your [role] opening. I'm talking to someone who fits it closely. I'll try you again Thursday morning, or you can reach me on [number]."
Only say you're talking to someone who fits if you are. Then call on Thursday morning, as promised: half the value of the voicemail is that you did what you said.
Log every call in one line
Business development lives on follow-up dates, and nobody remembers them. After each call, add one row to a spreadsheet with these five columns:
| Who | Date | Outcome | Next step | Follow-up date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiring manager, logistics company (example) | 2026-11-02 | Asked for an email about the warehouse manager role | Send two anonymized profiles today | 2026-11-05 |
| CTO, payments startup (example) | 2026-11-02 | Not hiring until next quarter | Watch for senior backend profiles | 2027-01-12 |
Sort by follow-up date every morning and start with what's due. Forty names with dates will get you further than two hundred without them.
When the call turns into a search
The point of all this is a live role with terms agreed. When you get one, send your terms that day and set the search up properly: the client, the person you spoke to and the job, with the fee, payment terms and guarantee you agreed. Recruiting ATS keeps clients, contacts and jobs together, and each job carries its own fee, payment terms and guarantee, so what you agreed on the call doesn't live only in your sent folder.