A Word on Connecting with Recruiters

Welcome back to another newsletter! Let’s get right into it. ??

Who do you think job seekers should contact when they are interested in a role at a company? I’m not sure which stakeholder is most valuable in connecting with, specifically in a recruiting org. There are so many different titles, and I want to make sure I’m contacting the right person.

Anonymous

Do you have a recruiting or hiring question you’d like us to answer? Send questions here.

-------

Dear Anonymous,

It’s hard to know which person’s the right contact in a recruiting organization, and it depends on what information you’re looking for.?

If you’re simply looking for information on the role, your best bet is to message a manager or someone who oversees that department. These folks usually aren’t looking through resumes or applications, so this is not the person you want to contact if you want to know about your application.

If you’re looking to find out the status of your application, the best thing you can do is find a recruiter and send them a message like this:

Hi [Recruiter Name],

I recently applied for the role of [Role Name] and was hoping to connect with a [Company Name] recruiter to further express my interest and share my LinkedIn profile for further context into my experience.

I recognize there’s a good chance that this role is not something you are personally recruiting for, so if you are not the appropriate person, would you mind forwarding this message to the appropriate recruiter?

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Feel free to customize the above copy to fit your personality, and keep in mind:

• Don’t reach out if you haven’t applied. Follow the rules!
• Respect recruiters’ time. Keep requests simple and be gentle. (I’m more likely to respond when you’re not asking me to schedule time to talk or commit to something.)
• Don’t be wordy. Keep it easy-breezy. Recruiters get a sh*t ton of messages.

That’s that on that.

Signing off,

Sylvia Torres

-------

TL;DR

Reaching out to recruiting orgs may seem intimidating, but you’ll be golden if you follow these general rules:

1. Looking for information on the role? Message a manager or someone who oversees that department.
2. Looking to find out the status of your application? Message the recruiter.?
3. Don’t reach out to recruiters if you haven’t applied.
4. Keep your requests to recruiters simple.

Recruiter, Candidates, Hiring Managers: Do you have a recruiting or hiring question you’d like us to answer? Send questions for publication here.