What Day of the Week Should Recruiters Send Out Emails?

(Originally posted 9/17/2010, updated 6/14/2016)

It’s a problem many recruiters face when sending emails: Should you send your email at the beginning, middle, or end of the week? No matter which one you choose, the best day and ideal time to send an email is always changing.

Candidates, HR professionals, and hiring managers are flooded with more emails than ever before. As a result of this sea of emails, it’s important to identify when is the best time to get the attention of these busy people.

Emails: response rate and evaluation

There isn’t a perfect answer for which day is the best for sending. If that was the case, everybody would be sending on that day, which would then make it the worst day. Believe it or not, there are pros and cons for just about every day of the week. However, it still appears that there are some days that are better than others.

The bottom line, though, is that you have to decide which day works best for your audience. That starts with figuring out which day gets you the better response rate. This may take A/B testing and evaluation, but if you’re able to track response rates, that will help you determine which days works the best for those who you want to reach.

If you’re looking to increase open rate and engagement with your emails, below are the pros and cons of each day of the week:

Monday

Monday is overwhelming for everyone. Not only is there always a stack of work to get to from Friday, but inboxes are usually overflowing with unopened emails from the weekend. With that in mind, if you are going to send out an email on this day, it should be around lunchtime. This will make it as easy as possible to reach your audience on a busy day.

Tuesday

Generally, Tuesday is viewed as the best day to send an email because it has the highest open rate. In theory, people have slugged their way through the build-up of email from over the weekend, and their inbox has been trimmed down. As a result, your email has a better chance of standing out. However, the news about this popular day for sending emails is getting out; there are more emails sent on Tuesday than any other day.

Wednesday and Thursday

These days are slightly behind Tuesday as far as popularity goes (especially Thursday). People are already beginning to think of the weekend (humans are predictable). You might want to think about using emails that have a leisure theme, instead of reminding them of how you can help them do their work. After all, chances are that your recipients are already thinking about how much fun the weekend is going to be. Catch them in the moment.

Friday

If people are thinking about the weekend on Wednesday and Thursday, just wait until Friday. Not only are ready to mentally check out of work, but many people use Friday as an extension of the weekend and take time off. As such, you should treat this as a weekend day. However, there’s one bright spot here. If you choose to send an email out on Friday, you’re up against less competition. Those who still understand that Friday is a part of the work week are more likely to see your email.

Saturday/Sunday

Okay, it’s true that more people check their email on the weekend because of the rise of smart phones. However, it’s still the weekend, and many people are busy doing other things—like not working. As you might imagine, if you’re dead-set on sending an email over the weekend, focus on Saturday as opposed to Sunday. Avoid sending on Sunday, unless you cannot wait for Monday. On average, the open rate on Sunday falls more than 50 percent, in comparison to those sent Monday through Thursday.

Remember, it’s up to you which day to send out your emails. The key is to find a system that works the best for you and your audience.