04a Outreach: Discover Contact + Draft Email

The workflow JSON

Copy or download the full n8n JSON below. Paste it into a new n8n workflow, add your credentials, activate. Full import guide →

{
  "name": "04a Outreach: Discover Contact + Draft Email",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "parameters": {},
      "id": "trg-manual",
      "name": "Manual / After Scoring",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
      "typeVersion": 1,
      "position": [
        180,
        300
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "operation": "executeQuery",
        "query": "SELECT a.id AS app_id, a.resume_id, j.id AS job_id, j.title, j.company_name, j.url, coalesce(j.description,'') AS description, left(res.raw_text, 1500) AS resume_snippet FROM app.applications a JOIN app.jobs j ON j.id = a.job_id JOIN app.resumes res ON res.id = a.resume_id WHERE a.status = 'ready' AND NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM app.outreach o WHERE o.application_id = a.id) ORDER BY a.created_at ASC LIMIT 5;",
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "pg-ready",
      "name": "Get Ready Applications",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
      "typeVersion": 2.5,
      "position": [
        380,
        300
      ],
      "credentials": {
        "postgres": {
          "name": "<your credential>"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "method": "POST",
        "url": "=http://{{ $env.PLAYWRIGHT_HOST || 'playwright-service' }}:{{ $env.PLAYWRIGHT_PORT || '4000' }}/render",
        "sendHeaders": true,
        "headerParameters": {
          "parameters": [
            {
              "name": "X-Api-Key",
              "value": "={{ $env.PLAYWRIGHT_API_KEY }}"
            }
          ]
        },
        "sendBody": true,
        "specifyBody": "json",
        "jsonBody": "={{ JSON.stringify({ url: $json.url }) }}",
        "options": {
          "timeout": 60000,
          "response": {
            "response": {
              "neverError": true
            }
          }
        }
      },
      "id": "http-render",
      "name": "Render Posting Page",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "typeVersion": 4.2,
      "position": [
        600,
        300
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "method": "POST",
        "url": "=http://{{ $env.OLLAMA_HOST || 'ollama' }}:{{ $env.OLLAMA_PORT || '11434' }}/api/generate",
        "sendBody": true,
        "specifyBody": "json",
        "jsonBody": "={{ JSON.stringify({ model: $env.OLLAMA_MODEL_FAST || 'llama3.2:3b', stream: false, format: 'json', options: { temperature: 0 }, system: 'Extract a publicly listed recruiting/hiring contact email from the page text. Respond ONLY with JSON {\"email\": <string|null>, \"name\": <string|null>, \"title\": <string|null>}. Never guess or fabricate an address; if none is explicitly present, return null.', prompt: (($json.text || '').slice(0, 6000)) }) }}",
        "options": {
          "timeout": 60000
        }
      },
      "id": "http-extract",
      "name": "Extract Contact",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "typeVersion": 4.2,
      "position": [
        820,
        300
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "method": "POST",
        "url": "=http://{{ $env.OLLAMA_HOST || 'ollama' }}:{{ $env.OLLAMA_PORT || '11434' }}/api/generate",
        "sendBody": true,
        "specifyBody": "json",
        "jsonBody": "={{ JSON.stringify({ model: $env.OLLAMA_MODEL_REASONING || 'llama3.1:8b', stream: false, format: 'json', options: { temperature: 0.4 }, system: 'Write a short, respectful, personalized outreach email (<160 words) to a recruiter about a specific role. Truthful and specific to the resume highlights. No spammy or exaggerated language. Return ONLY JSON {\"subject\": \"...\", \"body\": \"...\"}.', prompt: 'ROLE: ' + $('Get Ready Applications').item.json.title + ' at ' + $('Get Ready Applications').item.json.company_name + '\\nJOB DESCRIPTION:\\n' + $('Get Ready Applications').item.json.description + '\\n\\nMY RESUME HIGHLIGHTS:\\n' + $('Get Ready Applications').item.json.resume_snippet }) }}",
        "options": {
          "timeout": 120000
        }
      },
      "id": "http-outreach",
      "name": "Generate Outreach",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "typeVersion": 4.2,
      "position": [
        1040,
        300
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "jsCode": "// Build one CTE that creates the recruiter, the pending outreach, and the\n// approval token atomically, returning the token for the notification email.\nfunction q(s){ return String(s==null?'':s).replace(/'/g, \"''\"); }\nconst app = $('Get Ready Applications').item.json;\nlet contact = {}; try { contact = JSON.parse($('Extract Contact').item.json.response || '{}'); } catch(e) {}\nlet mail = {}; const mr = $('Generate Outreach').item.json.response || '';\ntry { mail = JSON.parse(mr); } catch(e) { const m = mr.match(/\\{[\\s\\S]*\\}/); if (m) { try { mail = JSON.parse(m[0]); } catch(_){} } }\nconst email = (contact && contact.email && /.+@.+\\..+/.test(contact.email)) ? contact.email : null;\nconst subject = mail.subject || ('Interest in the ' + app.title + ' role');\nconst body = mail.body || '';\nconst conf = email ? 0.6 : 0.0;\nconst recVals = `(${contact && contact.name ? `'${q(contact.name)}'` : 'NULL'}, ${email ? `'${q(email)}'` : 'NULL'}, '${q(app.company_name)}', ${contact && contact.title ? `'${q(contact.title)}'` : 'NULL'}, 'public-page', ${conf})`;\nconst query = `WITH rec AS (INSERT INTO app.recruiters (full_name,email,company_name,title,source,confidence) VALUES ${recVals} RETURNING id), o AS (INSERT INTO app.outreach (application_id, recruiter_id, subject, body, status) SELECT '${app.app_id}', rec.id, '${q(subject)}', '${q(body)}', 'pending_approval' FROM rec RETURNING id), ap AS (INSERT INTO app.approvals (entity_type, entity_id, action, payload) SELECT 'outreach', o.id, 'send_email', '{}'::jsonb FROM o RETURNING entity_id, token) SELECT ap.token AS token, ap.entity_id AS outreach_id FROM ap;`;\nreturn [{ json: { query, subject, body, recruiter_email: email } }];"
      },
      "id": "code-buildsql",
      "name": "Build Outreach SQL",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
      "typeVersion": 2,
      "position": [
        1260,
        300
      ]
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "operation": "executeQuery",
        "query": "={{ $json.query }}",
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "pg-persist",
      "name": "Persist Outreach",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.postgres",
      "typeVersion": 2.5,
      "position": [
        1480,
        300
      ],
      "credentials": {
        "postgres": {
          "name": "<your credential>"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "parameters": {
        "fromEmail": "={{ $env.GMAIL_ADDRESS }}",
        "toEmail": "={{ $env.GMAIL_ADDRESS }}",
        "subject": "=[Approve?] Outreach: {{ $('Build Outreach SQL').item.json.subject }}",
        "emailFormat": "text",
        "text": "=A draft outreach email is waiting for your approval.\n\nTo (recruiter): {{ $('Build Outreach SQL').item.json.recruiter_email || 'NOT FOUND \u2014 add address in DB before approving' }}\nSubject: {{ $('Build Outreach SQL').item.json.subject }}\n\n---\n{{ $('Build Outreach SQL').item.json.body }}\n---\n\nAPPROVE: {{ $env.WEBHOOK_URL }}webhook/outreach-decision?token={{ $json.token }}&decision=approved\nREJECT:  {{ $env.WEBHOOK_URL }}webhook/outreach-decision?token={{ $json.token }}&decision=rejected",
        "options": {}
      },
      "id": "smtp-notify",
      "name": "Email Me For Approval",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.emailSend",
      "typeVersion": 2.1,
      "position": [
        1700,
        300
      ],
      "credentials": {
        "smtp": {
          "name": "<your credential>"
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "connections": {
    "Manual / After Scoring": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Get Ready Applications",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Get Ready Applications": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Render Posting Page",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Render Posting Page": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Extract Contact",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Extract Contact": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Generate Outreach",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Generate Outreach": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Build Outreach SQL",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Build Outreach SQL": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Persist Outreach",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    },
    "Persist Outreach": {
      "main": [
        [
          {
            "node": "Email Me For Approval",
            "type": "main",
            "index": 0
          }
        ]
      ]
    }
  },
  "active": false,
  "settings": {
    "executionOrder": "v1"
  }
}

Credentials you'll need

Each integration node will prompt for credentials when you import. We strip credential IDs before publishing — you'll add your own.

• postgres
• smtp

About this workflow

04a Outreach: Discover Contact + Draft Email. Uses postgres, httpRequest, emailSend. Event-driven trigger; 8 nodes.

Source: https://github.com/AskariJafri/job-search-os/blob/main/n8n/workflows/04-outreach/recruiter-and-outreach.json — original creator credit. Request a take-down →

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