How to cold message recruiters on LinkedIn for off-campus tech roles (Templates that worked)

Most students send generic messages like "Hi sir, please refer me for SDE-1" with an attached resume. Recruiters ignore 99% of these. Here is the 3-paragraph template that got me 4 interview calls:

The High-Conversion Template:

Hi [Name],

I noticed [Company] is scaling the [Team/Product, e.g. payments infrastructure], and saw the recent opening for [Job Title / Job ID].

Over the past year, I built [Project Name with live link], which handles [specific feature, e.g. real-time WebSockets and automated PostgreSQL failover]. I also recently placed in the top 5% on LeetCode with 350+ solved problems across graphs and DP.

I have reviewed the role requirements and believe my background in [Your Stack, e.g. React & Go] aligns well with your team's goals. Would you be open to reviewing my one-page resume if you have 2 minutes?

Resume link: [Clean Google Drive link]
GitHub: [Your GitHub]

Best regards,
[Your Name]

3 Golden Rules:

1. Personalize line 1: Mention a real project or tech stack the company uses.
2. Include live links: No one downloads random ZIP or PDF files from strangers; link your portfolio and GitHub directly.
3. Follow up once after 4 business days: Keep it polite and brief.