How to reply to a recruiter when you are not looking

Reply within a few days, thank them, and say plainly where you stand: not now, open to the right thing, or no. Add one detail that would change your answer, so the next message you get is worth reading. A short, honest reply keeps the door open far better than silence.

Why it is worth replying at all

A recruiter who writes to you has done some work: they read your profile, matched it to a role and wrote to a stranger. Many of them remember the people who answered. The market moves, your situation moves, and the recruiter who got a kind two line reply in October is the one who thinks of you first in March.

Silence also teaches nothing. If you never answer, the next ten messages will look exactly like this one. If you answer with what you actually want, the good recruiters adjust, and the messages you get start to fit.

There is a practical side too. A reply takes two minutes. Leaving a message on read and then asking the same person for help a year later takes a lot more courage.

Three replies you can copy

Change the details in brackets, keep the shape. Each one is short on purpose: a recruiter reads dozens of these a day.

When the answer is not now

Example

Hi [Name], thanks for thinking of me. I’m happy where I am and not looking right now. If that changes, I’ll come back to you first. Feel free to check in after [month].

This works because it gives a date. "Check in after March" is a real door; "maybe later" is a polite wall.

When you are open to the right thing

Example

Hi [Name], thanks for the note. I’m not actively looking, but I would talk about a [role] if it is [fully remote / a product I can name / a day rate from X]. If this one fits that, send the details and the range, and I’ll reply this week.

This is the reply most people should send more often. It costs you nothing, it tells the recruiter how to qualify the role for you, and it asks for the range up front, so you never spend a call finding out the numbers don’t work.

When the answer is no

Example

Hi [Name], thank you, but this one isn’t for me, and I’d rather say so now than take up your time. [I design brands and don’t take engineering roles.] Good luck with the search.

A clear no, with one reason, is a kindness. It closes this role without closing you. Skip the reason if it is personal; "not for me" is enough.

What to put in your reply so the next message is better

The best replies teach the recruiter what a yes looks like. You don’t need all of these, but one or two make the difference between a reply and a filter:

The work you want. Not your job title: the kind of problem, the size of team, contract or full time.
The range. If you would rather not name a number, ask for theirs first. You never have to share your current salary to share the range you want.
Where and how. Remote, hybrid, the cities you would move to, or none.
When. "Not before March" saves both of you a conversation in December.
One or two deal breakers. No unpaid test projects, no on call, no roles without a published range.

A line like "I only look at roles with a published range and no unpaid test work" sounds blunt on the page and reads as professional in an inbox. Recruiters who can’t meet it will stop writing, which is the point.

How to keep the door open without promising anything

Keeping in touch is cheaper than starting over. A few habits do most of the work:

Connect, and note the date. Accept the connection if the recruiter is in your field, and write down when you said to check back.
Give them a reason to write again. "Check in after March" or "send me anything in fintech" gives a good recruiter a reason to come back with something better.
Pass on a good role. If the role fits someone you know, say so. A warm intro to the right person is the best favour you can do a recruiter, and they remember it.
Say no to the role, not the person. "Not this one" keeps the relationship. "Not interested" on its own often ends it.

LinkedIn also lets you signal quietly. Its Open to Work setting has three levels of visibility: all LinkedIn members, which adds the photo frame; recruiters only, meaning people who use LinkedIn Recruiter; and visible only to you, which only tunes your job recommendations. LinkedIn says it takes steps to hide your interest from recruiters at your current company, and that it can’t guarantee complete privacy (LinkedIn Help, checked October 2026).

Mistakes that close the door

Leaving every message on read for months, then writing to the same person when you need a job. Two lines now would have made that message easy.
A one word no. It reads as annoyance, even when it is only a busy morning.
Sharing your current salary when you don’t want to. Share the range you want instead, or ask for theirs.
A template that ignores their message. If they named a role, name it back. If they wrote in your language, reply in it.
Saying maybe to everything. Calls you never wanted cost you an hour and cost the recruiter a week. A clear no is better for both.

The same rules work with clients, by the way. If you sell your own time, our guide to saying no to a client politely uses the same shape: thanks, a clear answer, and one door left open.

When there are more messages than evenings

At some point the problem stops being the words and becomes the volume. Saved replies help. So does a short note in your headline about the work you want, so the wrong messages never arrive.

Another way is to let something answer for you. On Yume, you get your own link, like getyume.co/yourname, with an AI agent behind it that anyone can talk to in a browser, any hour. Tell it the kind of work you want and it says so to every recruiter who asks, turns down what doesn’t fit, and passes on the ones worth your time. It always says it is an AI agent, and it never pretends to be you. You can claim your link in the app, or see how it works for developers, who get more recruiter messages than most.

If you are on the other side of these messages, the same idea works for hiring: see how it works for recruiters.

Five questions before you send it

Before you hit send, read your reply once and ask:

Did I thank them, in one line?
Is my answer clear: not now, open to the right thing, or no?
Did I give one detail that would change my answer?
If it is not now, did I give a date?
Would I be glad to get this reply myself?

If all five are yes, send it. It took two minutes, and you will probably hear back from this person when it matters.