Outreach
Sequences: multi-step outreach that runs itself
Build email + LinkedIn sequences with follow-ups, reply branching and automatic pipeline actions. Simple mode for speed, Advanced for full control.
7 min read
What a sequence is
A sequence is your outreach playbook: a series of touches (emails, LinkedIn connection requests, LinkedIn messages, waits) that runs automatically for every candidate you enroll, personalizes each message, watches for replies, and stops or branches the moment a human should take over.
Simple mode vs Advanced mode
Simple
A guided linear list: touch, wait, touch. Covers the classic patterns, including "chase only if they have not replied": tick Wait for reply on any wait step and the follow-up sends only to non-responders. Replies always stop the sequence for a human.
Advanced
A visual canvas where replies branch the flow: interested goes one way, not interested another, no response gets the chaser. Branches can trigger pipeline actions automatically, like sending an AI interview or moving the candidate to a stage.
Start Simple. A 3-touch sequence with one reply-aware follow-up covers most hiring outreach, and you can convert to Advanced later without rebuilding.
Personalization that cannot break
- Click-to-insert placeholders: first name, company, current job title, years of experience, location. They insert at the cursor, correctly formatted, so a typo like a half-written token never reaches a candidate.
- Ready-made templates with strong copy ship in the library, personalized with your name and org at pick time.
- LinkedIn connection notes show an estimated rendered length against the 300-character limit, computed on the filled-in message, not the raw template.
Enrolling candidates
- From a Talia shortlist plan: approve the plan and pick which of your sequences runs each channel. Your choice is remembered per role.
- From AI Screening: select rows and Add to sequence in bulk.
- From any profile: enroll one candidate, choosing the role and the mailbox to send from.
- Missing an email? It is revealed automatically at send time using a contact credit, only when needed.
Replies, branching and pipeline actions
- Replies are read from your connected mailbox, matched to the enrollment, and classified: interested, not interested, unsure.
- In Advanced mode each classification follows its own branch. A clear yes can automatically send an AI interview or move the candidate forward in the pipeline; a no can close them out politely.
- Vague acknowledgements ("sure", "ok") are deliberately routed to a human instead of triggering automated next steps.
- Every reply also lands in Tasks, where you can answer in-thread without leaving TalentGPT.
Anything a sequence cannot do safely on its own (a LinkedIn touch, an ambiguous reply, a missing prerequisite) becomes a Task in your inbox rather than a silent failure. The sequence pauses for you, then resumes.
Watching it run
- The Active tab on Sequences lists every live enrollment with its current step and status, with per-row stop.
- Analytics shows the outreach funnel: enrolled, contacted, replied, and the reply mix.
Frequently asked
Can a follow-up accidentally go to someone who already replied?
No. Reply-aware waits send the follow-up only when no reply has arrived; any reply pauses or branches the sequence immediately. This behavior is enforced by the sequence engine, not by the copy of your message.
What happens when a candidate replies something ambiguous?
The classifier deliberately treats bare acknowledgements and unclear answers as "unsure" and hands them to you as a Task, instead of letting an automation act on a message that committed to nothing.
Can outreach send AI interviews automatically?
Yes, in Advanced mode: an interested reply can trigger an AI interview invite, a stage move, or a polite close, per branch. Each automated action is also logged on the candidate timeline.