👋 Hello Friends!

Welcome to Never Finished — the newsletter for professionals who are done applying to 200+ jobs and getting ghosted.

Each week, I share 3 short ideas to help you land interviews on demand — no résumé roulette required.

Let’s get you moving again.

Yesterday morning.

You opened LinkedIn.

Saw a role that actually fit you.

Hiring manager was right there.

So you did the “right” thing.

You wrote a polite message.

You added context.

You hit send.

And then…

Nothing.

No reply.
No rejection.
Just silence.

You didn’t mess up the pitch.

You lost them before they even got to it.

In the first five words.

Most cold messages die for the same reason.

They ask the reader to work.

You start with politeness.

“Hi, hope you’re doing well…”

You explain who you are.

“I’m a product manager with 6 years of experience…”

You ask for time.

“Would love 15 minutes to connect…”

From your side, it feels respectful.

From their side?

It feels like homework.

Here’s what’s happening in their head.

They open LinkedIn between meetings.
Or while eating lunch.

Their inbox is already full.

Candidates.
Founders.
Spam pretending not to be spam.

And your message opens with…

Nothing useful.

No context.
No reason to keep reading.

So their brain does the fastest thing possible.

Ignore.

Not because you’re unqualified.

But because deciding to respond costs energy.

And your message didn’t earn that energy.

I see this every day.

Smart people.
Strong resumes.
Great experience.

All sending messages that sound like this:

“Hi, I hope you’re doing well. I came across your profile and wanted to introduce myself…”

That line doesn’t fail because it’s wrong.

It fails because it’s empty.

It could be sent to anyone.

Which means it feels like it was sent to no one.

A few weeks ago, Anaya reached out to me.

She’s five years into her career.
Growth marketing.
B2B SaaS.

The kind of background recruiters say they’re looking for.

But her inbox told a different story.

No recruiter calls.
No movement.

She was doing everything “right.”

Applying to roles that fit.
Messaging hiring managers.
Keeping her outreach polite and thoughtful.

And every message ended the same way.

Silence.

When I looked at what she was sending, nothing was obviously wrong.

That was the problem.

Her messages were well-written.
They were also doing too much work upfront.

They opened with politeness.
Then an explanation.
Then an ask.

Every line asked the recruiter to think.

So we didn’t rewrite her resume.
We didn’t change her experience.

We changed how the message started.

Instead of introducing herself, she pointed at their world.

Her new message was one line:

“Noticed this role seems more focused on lifecycle than top-of-funnel growth.”

That was it.

No greeting.
No pitch.

The recruiter replied the same day.

“Yes — retention and activation are the priorities.”

That reply changed everything.

Anaya responded with context.
The recruiter asked for her profile.
Calls started coming in.

Same person.
Same experience.

Different outcome.

Not because the message was clever.

Because it was easy to respond to.

This is the exact structure I use — and teach — to get replies without sounding salesy or desperate.

Three steps.

Simple.
Repeatable.
Human.

Your first five words decide everything.

If they’re generic, you’re done.

If they’re specific, you’re in.

Bad start:

“Hi, hope you’re doing well…”

Better start:

“Noticed the team is hiring…”
“Saw you’re leading X at Y…”
“Read the job post for…”

You’re not being rude.

You’re being relevant.

🧠 Try this:
Delete your greeting.
Replace it with the reason you’re here.

Don’t talk about yourself yet.

Point at something they recognize.

A role.
A post.
A team change.

Example:

“The role seems more focused on lifecycle than top-of-funnel growth.”

This works because it invites correction.

People love correcting.

It signals you paid attention.

And it gives them an easy out:

“Yes, exactly.”
“Close, but it’s actually more X.”

No pressure.
No commitment.

Just a reaction.

🧠 Try this:
Make one observation that could be wrong — but thoughtful.

Most people ask too early.

They ask before trust exists.

Instead, let the reply create momentum.

Once they respond, then you continue.

Now you can say:

“That helps — I’ve done X in a similar setup.”
“Appreciate the clarity. That’s exactly what I’ve been working on.”

Notice what you didn’t do.

You didn’t ask for time upfront.

You didn’t drop your resume.

You let the conversation breathe.

🧠 Try this:
If your message asks for something, cut it.
End with a statement, not a request.

If your cold messages aren’t getting replies, don’t rewrite the whole thing.

Rewrite the first line.

Better yet — the first five words.

That’s where attention is won or lost.

If this hit home, forward it to one friend who’s tired of being ignored in full inboxes.

And if you want more breakdowns like this — the kind you can actually use tomorrow — just reply to this email.

I read every response.

Keep going. You’re Never Finished.

— Ajay