Who does what
Three steps stay entirely with you: the target profile, the choice of profiles and the conversation after the first reply. TalentManager delivers search and list. ZingBot takes over the manual work in between: open each profile, paste the message, fix the salutation, chase the follow-up, for every person one by one.
| Step | Where | Who | What matters | ZingBot? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target profile and exclusions | Your process | Recruiter and hiring team | Must and nice-to-have criteria, region, exclusions in writing | No |
| Search and selection | XING TalentManager | Recruiter | Read the career path, not just the job title | No |
| List | XING TalentManager | Recruiter | No duplicates, no old contacts, one owner | Only the import |
| Message and follow-ups | ZingBot | Recruiter writes once | Tie to the role and exactly one ask | Yes, the sending |
| Reply and conversation | XING, ATS | Recruiter | Reply fast, keep the status current | No; ZingBot stops |
Searching in TalentManager
For serious sourcing you need it. According to XING, a Premium account may send five messages a month to non-contacts. TalentManager Core may send 200, Pro an unlimited number. Without TalentManager the contact request is left, and 100 of those may be open. The licence costs 4,390 € to 8,190 € a year; the tiers are in the TalentManager cost guide.
ZingBot changes nothing about the search. Set the criteria, look at the hits one by one, put only the people you really want to approach into the list. Never take all the search hits. Job titles are inconsistent, profiles go stale, and a fitting CV can still argue against the role. What you sort out before the import you do not have to pull out of a running list later.
The list
A list ready to start holds only profiles you have looked at one by one, a message for exactly this vacancy and a name for the replies. Settle that before the import. Otherwise the open questions land on you when the first candidates are already writing back.
Before the import
- Vacancy, region, must criteria and exclusions are written down.
- You have looked at every profile, with an eye on the career path.
- Old contacts, rejections, opt-outs and duplicates are sorted out; at import ZingBot leaves out profiles already contacted.
- One person owns the list and the replies.
- First message and follow-ups are written for this target group.
- The team knows: on a XING notice about the account, pause.
Start small. The first replies show you whether selection and message are right, before the next profiles inherit the same mistakes.
Message and follow-ups
You write the first message and the follow-ups once, with salutation, title and last name as placeholders. ZingBot then works the list in your own account and stops as soon as someone replies. From there you run the conversation yourself: questions, objections, a date, the ATS entry.
A good template names the role and the reason you are writing to this person in particular. It pretends no acquaintance. Every follow-up brings something new, such as the salary band, the team or the remote share, and does not repeat the first question. At the end stands exactly one ask: a short reply, a call or a question.
Stopping on reply does not take the inbox off your hands. It marks the handover. Whoever replies gets a personal answer from you. Whether the contact then goes into the talent pool, the ATS or nowhere is your call.
When you step in
On every reply, on an opt-out, on a profile that no longer fits, on a dropped connection and on every notice from XING about the account. The response is always the same: pause, look at the reason, record the status, then continue or stop.
| What happens | Effect on the list | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Someone replies | ZingBot stops for that person | Read the reply, respond personally, update the status |
| Someone wants no contact | Do not approach again | Note it in the ATS or the candidate list |
| XING reports a limit or asks for verification | Force nothing | Pause, read the notice, answer in XING |
| A profile no longer fits | ZingBot does not decide that | Take it off the list, sharpen the search criteria |
| The connection drops | Do not assume it was sent | Check the account connection and the list's state |
What XING limits
ZingBot works in your own XING account, the way you would yourself. So XING’s rules, your account’s limits and security checks apply exactly as when clicking by hand. XING caps open contact requests at 100, 500 with a TalentManager licence, and messages to non-contacts per month by package. XING publishes no daily figure. ZingBot lifts none of these limits. What else XING throttles and checks is in Is XING automation safe?; what to do when requests stop going out is in the contact request limit guide.
Promises like “unlimited” or “safe from bans” are no basis for your process. The account is yours, XING sets the limits. Decide before the start who watches the account and who may pause a list.
Costs
You pay for three things: XING TalentManager, 4,390 € to 8,190 € per licence and year; ZingBot at 135 € a month per seat; and your working time for search, selection and replies. ZingBot takes the sending off your hands, up to 12 hours a week per employee. Run your numbers in the ROI calculator; every XING price side by side is in the overview of XING recruiting costs.
The first list
Take a real vacancy and a small list checked by hand. Note beforehand how long search, selection, list upkeep, messages and replies take today. Without that baseline you will not know afterwards whether you saved time or merely moved it. Then count replies, misfits, duplicates and the time to your answer, not the number of messages sent.
If the profiles regularly do not fit or replies sit unanswered, the problem is in the search profile, the list or the ownership. Fix that first. Automation only makes an unclear process faster. How the workflow looks in ZingBot, import, message, follow-ups, is on Automate XING TalentManager.
Questions about active sourcing on XING
What is active sourcing on XING?
You find candidates who are not job-hunting and approach them directly instead of waiting for applications. On XING that means: search and list in TalentManager, then a personal message and one or two follow-ups from your account.
Do I need XING TalentManager for it?
For serious sourcing, yes. A Premium account may send five messages a month to non-contacts; TalentManager Core 200, Pro unlimited. Without TalentManager only the contact request is left, and 100 of those may be open.
How many people may I message a day?
XING publishes no daily figure. It limits open contact requests (100, with TalentManager 500) and messages to non-contacts per month by package. Click faster than XING likes and it throttles you; then pause.
What does ZingBot do in the workflow?
The sending: import the list from TalentManager, write the message and follow-ups once, ZingBot works the list in your account and stops as soon as someone replies. Search, selection and the conversation stay with you.
How many replies are normal?
That hangs on target group, role and message; there is no general rate. Measure your own on the first list and compare message variants against each other, not against numbers from the internet.
What does a good first message look like?
The role, the reason you are writing to this person in particular, and exactly one ask: a short reply, a call or a question. No pretended acquaintance, no essay. Follow-ups bring something new, such as the salary band, the team or the remote share.
What happens when someone replies?
ZingBot sends that person no further follow-up. The reply sits in your XING inbox, and from there you run the conversation: questions, objections, a date, the ATS entry.
What do I do about a notice from XING?
Pause, read the notice, respond directly in XING. A security check is answered by a person; ZingBot waits meanwhile. Force nothing, bypass nothing.
May I message candidates a colleague already contacted?
Better not; double contact is the most common cause of annoyed replies. At import into ZingBot you can skip profiles you or your team have already written to.
What does active sourcing on XING cost?
The TalentManager licence (4,390 € to 8,190 € a year), ZingBot at 135 € a month per seat if you automate the sending, and your working time for search, selection and replies. The ROI calculator turns that into an annual projection.