If you can’t get the email of an individual at a specific company, you can try to get an email for the department that takes care of recruiting at a company you are interested in working for.
For example, you can say something like: “Hi @microsoft, I’m interested in following up about a public relations job at your company. How can I best contact a recruiter?” The company may respond back with an email address you can contact, or they may tag a specific recruiter who has a Twitter. Either way, this is a good start to finding a recruiter to get in touch with.
For example, if an employee at a marketing agency is sharing content like blog posts or articles on the company’s group, then you could comment something like: “This was a great read! I am very interested in working on SEO and SEM projects like this and would love to learn about digital marketing careers at your agency. Who can get I get in touch with to discuss opportunities?”
For instance, if you want to work in public relations, you can join the Public Relations Society of America to try and find recruiters in the industry. If you work in project management, you could join the Project Management Institute. You don’t necessarily have to join an association to contact recruiters. Some of these websites have open job postings that you can apply to, sometimes by email which may put you in direct contact with a recruiter.
Use this method as a last resort. Most recruiters prefer to be contacted by email or via social media first, rather than being put on the spot during an unexpected phone call. Make sure to read the job description carefully if you are calling about a specific position. Many job descriptions state specifically not to call about the position and to only communicate via application portals or email.
For example, if you are applying for a marketing position, you could try to find some of the most recent marketing campaigns the company you want to work for has done. Then, you can mention a specific campaign you saw, state what you liked about it, and emphasize your interest in being part of a team that does such interesting work.
If you have any shared connections, you can even ask these people to send the recruiter a message beforehand to let them know that you plan on reaching out to them. This will help increase the odds that they read and respond to your message.
For example, you might say something like: “Hi Abel, my name is Sarah Wilkinson, and I found your email while searching for recruiters at Google. I have 2 years of digital marketing experience and I am currently looking for a new marketing coordinator role. I was wondering if you have a few minutes to chat about opportunities at Google this week? P. S. I noticed we both attended Washington State University and got degrees in Communication! Go Cougs!”
After your intro, say something along the lines of: “I currently work as a freelance graphic designer, and I am seeking to move into full-time employment as a graphic designer in a position that will allow me to grow as part of a bigger team. ”
For instance, you can say something like: “I’m writing because I saw that you recruit graphic designers for tech companies, so I wanted to introduce myself and see if you would have time for a quick chat to tell me a bit more about the types of companies you work with and any open roles you are currently looking to fill. ”
Long messages are much more likely to be opened and then left for later, which means that they will probably be forgotten and you won’t receive a reply. If your message can be read in under 2 minutes and is straight to the point, it is much easier for recruiters to send you a quick response to get the dialogue flowing.
For example, tell them something like: “I know you’re busy, but I was hoping you might have a few minutes to discuss the roles you are recruiting for over the phone this week. I am available all day tomorrow or on Thursday any time after 1 PM. Do you have any time open this week that lines up with my availability?”
