Create a Sequence

Overview

Gem Sequences allow you to automate your outreach to candidates. Each Sequence is comprised of at least one stage, which is a message template. The messaging in stages can be personalized via custom tokens.

For more information on how Sequences work, see Sequences overview.

Requirements

• Your team must use Gem Sourcing.
• You must be a Standard user in Gem, or have a custom role with permissions to create a Sequence. For more information, see Gem access types and permissions.

Create a Sequence

You can create a Sequence from the Sequences page or from the Gem Chrome extension.

Create a Sequence from the Sequences page

1. Select the Sequences option in the main menu under the Outreach header.
2. Select the + New Sequence button.
3. If prompted, select the Sign in with Google button to enable email access.

This process is continued in the Sequence fields section below.

Create a Sequence from the Chrome extension

You can start a Sequence directly from the Gem Chrome extension while viewing a prospective candidate’s profile.

1. Go to the prospect’s profile (on LinkedIn, GitHub, Indeed, or elsewhere) and open up the Gem extension.

2. At the bottom of the sidebar, select Message, then Create a new Sequence.

3. A blank template will open with that particular candidate as the Sequence’s first recipient.

This process is continued in the Sequence options section below.

Sequence fields

Here are the fields to be completed as you create your Gem Sequence.

Sequence name

In the top-left corner of the Sequence builder, enter a name for your Sequence. We suggest choosing a unique name to help you stay organized and easily locate the Sequence later as your team creates more outreach for different roles or scenarios.

Sequence type

Select the appropriate Sequence type: Sourcing, Event, or Nurture.

• Sourcing is for cold outreach related to currently-open roles.
• Event is for keeping your talent community informed about upcoming events.
• Nurture is for long-term drip campaigns that aren’t tied to specific positions.

Outreach channel

Gem will manage your email outreach and text messages automatically and prompt you for other (manual) actions, such as sending a LinkedIn invite or making a phone call. You can seamlessly incorporate multiple engagement channels into one Sequence.

Delivery time

Gem allows you to fine-tune the timing of each stage of your Sequence, enabling you to tailor your outreach based on factors like the candidate’s location or your own personal preferences. You can count on Gem to automatically send email follow-ups and to prompt you when it’s time to reach out manually.

Gem offers four options for scheduling the first stage of your Sequence, no matter the channel:

1. Send immediately.
2. Send at a specified date and time.
3. Send on the next business day at a specific time.
4. Send after a set duration (e.g., 6 months) at a specific time of day.

Subsequent stages can be scheduled to send a certain number of days or business days after the most recent stage. For example, you can schedule stage 2 to send 4 business days after stage 1, and stage 2 to send 3 business days after stage 2.

Subject line

The subject line is a crucial element of your Gem Sequence, as it helps capture recipients’ attention. Make sure to craft a compelling and personalized subject line for each stage to improve your chances of engagement. We’ve got some best practices for subject lines in our Recruiting email outreach benchmarks and best practices resource.

Sender

Email outreach can be sent from your account or ‘from’ a teammate’s inbox. Gem’s Send-On-Behalf-Of (SOBO) feature adds another level of personalization by having outreach messages appear as though they’re coming from an influential teammate. Sending messages from a C-level or department leader can capture candidates’ attention and increase reply rates.

You’ll need to enable SOBO individually for each teammate you’d like to send emails from. To do this, go to Sender Settings in your Gem profile settings (select your profile name in the bottom-left corner of your Gem instance, then Profile settings, then scroll down to Sender Settings under the General tab). Your teammate will receive a confirmation request, which they must approve before you can send messages on their behalf.

Email body

This is, of course, where you craft a compelling message that encourages prospects to respond with excitement and curiosity. Gem allows you to personalize outreach at scale by using custom tokens, which dynamically insert details like the candidate’s name, company, or current role to make each message feel tailored.

Include the prospect’s name, at a minimum, to increase engagement — but also experiment with different tokens to craft messages that feel uniquely relevant and irresistible to your audience.

Send multiple stages in Gem

We recommend creating Sequences with three to four stages and sending them over the course of two to three weeks, as this approach significantly improves candidate response rates. Gem allows you to schedule as many stages in a Sequence as you want. Timing matters — messages sent at the right time of day and on optimal days of the week can greatly impact response rates.

There are two ways to add the next stage as you build out your Sequence. In the Sequence builder, select + Add another stage in the left margin below the envelope icon/s, or select the Add another stage button at the bottom-left corner of your current message (just below the word and character count).

Send InMail Sequences in Gem

Gem supports multi-channel Sequences, meaning you can reach out to prospective candidates over email, InMail, and more — all within the same Sequence. If you’d like to include an InMail outreach in any of your Sequence stages, simply select InMail from the stage dropdown.

Remember, InMail stages are manual — by default, the Sequence will be paused until you mark this to-do as complete. Gem will send you an email reminder and add this to your to-do tab in Gem when it’s time to follow up.

No need to worry about logging into Gem to stop email follow-ups if a candidate replies via InMail — we’ll prompt you to confirm that no InMail responses were received before we send the next email in your Sequence.

Tips for creating a Sequence

• Name your Sequence. We always recommend using a unique name to make it easier to find and stay organized as you build out your collection of Sequences to use for different roles or unique scenarios.
• Schedule your stages. Gem has the ability to customize exactly when each stage of your Sequence gets sent. You can use this to adjust each Sequence depending on the candidate’s location, role, or yofur own personal preference. Rest assured, we’ll automatically send your Email stage followups and remind you to send InMail stage messages at the scheduled time(s).
• Create multiple Stages. We generally recommend creating Sequences with 3-4 Stages. This helps to really take advantage of Gem and we’ve seen increased candidate response rates by doing so.

Troubleshooting

If you scheduled a Sequence to send, but it’s taking a long time, it’s likely because many recruiters are trying to send a large number of Sequences at the same time.

If this persists for more than 10 minutes, feel free to send an email to support@gem.com and we’ll take a look.

Additional Resources

To learn more about Sequences, see the following resources.

Videos

• How to Create and Edit a New Sequence in Gem (3 minutes): This video covers how to create and edit a new Sequence in Gem.
• How to Review and Finalize a Sequence in Gem (2.5 minutes): This video covers how to review and finalize a new Sequence in Gem.
• Assign and Initiate an Email Sequence (1 minute): This video covers how to assign and initiate an email sequence in Gem.

Related Articles

• Sequences overview
• Send a Sequence
• Edit a Sequence
• Sending InMail Sequences in Gem
• Custom tokens overview

Have any issues or questions on this topic? Please feel free to contact your dedicated Gem Customer Success Manager directly or our Support team at support@gem.com.

• Overview
• Requirements
• Create a Sequence
• Create a Sequence from the Sequences page
• Create a Sequence from the Chrome extension
• Sequence fields
• Sequence name
• Sequence type
• Outreach channel
• Delivery time
• Subject line
• Sender
• Email body
• Send multiple stages in Gem
• Send InMail Sequences in Gem
• Tips for creating a Sequence
• Troubleshooting
• Additional Resources
• Videos
• Related Articles