Applying for a Job

This is a show where will be talking about how to get to the back door, how to get the people who are the actual decision-makers, instead of being the foolish individual who is applying through the applicant tracking system, applying through human resources . . yadda, yadda, yadda.

Firms want you to do that because, from their standpoint, they’ve got government reporting to contend with and that doesn't help you. That's just their meatgrinder. They put their sausage meat on the top and they want to hand wring it. You come out the bottom predigested pre-chewed. It's awful.

And even the best applicant tracking system, at the end of the day, is going to be largely ineffective. So here is a couple ways to find the hiring manager and see if you can entrée to that person, instead of doing with the company want to do.

The 1st thing is, of course, you have a network, you’ve got friends . . . reach out and see if they might know the person or know anyone who works in that firm. Check Twitter. Check Facebook. Check LinkedIn. See if you have a 1st level connection and reach out and see if they might know anything about the job and see if they can supply you with the name, email address, phone number . . . something along those lines.

Next thing is LinkedIn, of course. You go to LinkedIn and there's a couple of tools that you can use for researching on LinkedIn beyond your 1st level connections. These days, LinkedIn is a lot more open about this sort of stuff. It generally gets your 1st, 2nd 3rd level connections on LinkedIn. Reach out to those folks any way you can.

You can also, on someone's page, that you might be connected with on LinkedIn, look along the right-hand column and what you will discover is people who look at this profile also look at such and such. And the result winds up being you get even more contacts to reach out to.

I want to remind you CALL THEM. How do you get their phone number? Real simple. Do what recruiters do. You pick up the phone, call the firm, you try to connect. They’ve got a voice response system? Okay, work your way through the voice response system. Is that so tough? You type in the letters of the person's name, see if it will give you an extension, then just connect through, and when you get through, simply say, “ Hi! My name is .. . I’m looking for a job at your firm. Would you happen to know so-and-so?” You do this if you're not going that person you just found on LinkedIn or for trying to get to the hiring manager. “Could you point me to the person who heads the function or heads up programming, accounting, engineering . . .What have you . Then, you go to that individual and see if you can network your way through the admin, through the individual, to the actual hiring manager.

If you get to that individual (CIO, CTO, CFO, . Whoever has that “C” designation) what you do is really very simple.

“Hi my name is . . . This is what I do. I understand your firm is trying to hire such and such. Is the person I would reach out to, not HR,, but the actual hiring manager?”

“Why don’t you want to talk to HR? That's the way we do things around here?”

“Well, all that is going to happen is they are going to be a filter, and maybe they will submit it to the hiring manager. They are busy; they have lots of things to do and miss resumes. I can send it to both. I am happy to do that. I'd like to get the name of the hiring manager and submit a resume. HR will see that I copied them on it. So, I am not trying to circumvent them in any way. I just want to communicate with the hiring manager.

The hiring manager is going to get your resume and respond or not. Your resume may stink for the job. Lord knows, most resumes I see are in no way shape or form qualified but this is the way you approach it if are actually qualified.

If you are just going to be sending out stupid resumes for sport because you think you want to work for this firm and have nothing relates to what they're looking for, you will be wasting your time and their time.

But, again, this is assuming that you have qualifications that will matter to this firm or they are trying to fill a position.

So, know what you’re trying to do is get to the c-level individual in an organization and have them direct you down and when you make that call to that hiring manager, you just simply say, “Jennifer so-and-so gave me your name and number,” or “Her office gave me your name and number. Or, in the case of a friend or family member, “I was referred by so-and-so who told me you were involved with hiring for this position,” and then you going to a quick commercial about your background and how it fits with what the organization is looking for.

Another way to circumvent the meat grinder or the sausage maker as some people refer to it is see if you can find your way through the corporate website to different people. In doing that, generally, you're going to get executives but, sometimes, it will look for a PR person. Sometimes you can find someone in investor relations and, through them, get to the right person period.

I know in work that I've done in the way of business development to develop client relationships with firms, one of the best tactics has always been to go to investor relations or public relations with the firm. But again, you're making phone calls. Don't send email. They usually do not respond.

Another way you can find out . . .This, again, depends on your level of seniority, think in terms of a school’s alumni association. You can reach out through the alumni Association, be told who went to your school and is working at that firm, but they may not be motivated and certainly not get back to you promptly. Think in terms of the importance of promptness because, all the while, people are applying for jobs and this person’s schedule is going to get full.

You have to act quickly and the easiest way to get is on LinkedIn. There is a drop-down box. Go across the ribbon along the top and I believe it's in the profile area or find people something along those lines.

Just go to the web and along the top some black with white print and you will find the drop them for your people who have gone to your school work at this organization and then reach out to them.

Begin making phone calls talk to people, try to do some networking, trying to find who the hiring manager is for this role. “Can you point me to this individual?”

Again, if you not getting through the person, always try alumni for the organization.