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So I keep hearing the advice to follow up on job applications, but trying to find recruiters' E-mail addresses on company web sites is proving to be almost impossible in come cases. How do I follow up when it is so hard to figure out how to contact the right person? Sometimes I can't even figure out who the HR manager/director even is, but even when I am able to find who the person is, their contact info often seems to be hidden. I find it so frustrating when I feel like I've been given advice that is impossible to follow - what am I missing here?
Don't worry about following up. If you have the contact information handy then do so. But if not, then keep interviewing and interviewing. Don't stay in the past and just keep looking forward. After you have applied, companies may want to talk to you if you have what they are looking for. If so, then they will contact you.
So I keep hearing the advice to follow up on job applications, but trying to find recruiters' E-mail addresses on company web sites is proving to be almost impossible in come cases. How do I follow up when it is so hard to figure out how to contact the right person? Sometimes I can't even figure out who the HR manager/director even is, but even when I am able to find who the person is, their contact info often seems to be hidden. I find it so frustrating when I feel like I've been given advice that is impossible to follow - what am I missing here?
Get creative. Look for them on LinkedIn. Search for any email address for people with that company to take your best guess... some are first.last@domain, some are jsmith@domain, some are smithj@domain... Heck, worst case, send a thank-you to the generic HR / recruiting address. Worst thing that can happen, it just gets silently deleted. But maybe they forward it on?
Establish a quick excel log displaying contact information and dates of communication and prioritize. Be more aggressive with opportunities in which you have a higher chance of obtaining the role.
Get creative. Look for them on LinkedIn. Search for any email address for people with that company to take your best guess... some are first.last@domain, some are jsmith@domain, some are smithj@domain... Heck, worst case, send a thank-you to the generic HR / recruiting address. Worst thing that can happen, it just gets silently deleted. But maybe they forward it on?
I did jsmith@domain and the message sent! Thank you!
Good luck if you apply to a federal job for instance. You're only source "of contact' is the HR contact and if say you have been referred to the hiring manager, theres no following up with them. And the HR Person won't give you the name of the hiring manager. I tried, "Response was, Hiring manager has so and so date to complete the hiring process. " My response was, "Even if my resume landed on his desk, how do I know it wasn't thrown away, walked over, deleted on his/her computer by accident, burned or forgotten about. I'd like to follow up just to be sure he received it and give him my name" Just to show a little interest in the job. . The hoops you have to jump through now just to get employed is ridiculous.
And I know how the resumes can just get thrown into a black hole of dogturd after you apply. I do whatever I can to find a contact and if possible speak with them.
Bottom line, if you don't have contacts, you gotta somehow let them hear your voice. Let them know who you are and that you're interest. If not, you're just a piece of a paper stacked with other paper in Black Hole, Dogturd heaven.
You gotta beat them at their own game. How do you think the Friends/Relatives of the big shots get jobs so easy? They bypass all the NONSENSE. They don't have to go through the BS those of us without high-level connections have.
You have to make it as much of an even playing field as possible. At my current job, I called every day and followed up for 2-3 weeks until they got sick of hearing me. ROFLMAO. I don't want to have to do it, but theres no choice anymore. Its rigged system. And to counteract at it, you gotta beat them at their own game somehow.
Without connections who can expedite your process through all the BS today, you're already at a disadvantage who have that, so you gotta go "crazy" so to speak to get what you want.
Do people still get interviews by calling the employer many times each week? I have been told you have to call almost everyday until they get sick of hearing from you..I tried this technique a couple times but never got an interview. Just wondering if it does work for some. I find it hard to get through to an actual person and not voicemail.
Unless this is a small company or you have some reason to be contacting the manager/recruiter, I wouldn't recommend it. It makes you seem like a pest and unwilling to wait through the proper channels. In a small outfit, it might be a positive to get noticed again. In a large environment, the process is going to take priority.
I hate it when candidates do an end run around HR and our process and contact me directly. Multiple contacts from the same person simply serve to eliminate the person from consideration.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by fishbrains
I hate it when candidates do an end run around HR and our process and contact me directly. Multiple contacts from the same person simply serve to eliminate the person from consideration.
Yes, it's annoying and in my case, I would simply say "contact HR". There is an application process, and one measure of an applicant's suitability is their ability to read and follow directions. When our employment site says that they will be contacted within 7 days after the closing date, they should wait until after that day to contact us. They can confirm that their application/resume has been received by logging back in and seeing it there.
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