Who Should I Address My Cover Letter to When There Are Multiple Recruiters? | Job SearchTV.com

I'm Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. I'm the head coach for JobSearchCoachingHQ.com. Here is another question that someone sent to me. If you have a question for me, connect with me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/thebiggamehunter. Once we are connected, forward your question to me. The question reads, "Who should I address my cover letter to when there are multiple recruiters?" Again, "Who should I address my cover letter to when there are multiple recruiters?"

I have to pause for 2nd and ask why you are sending the same resume to multiple people? Are the jobs identical? No. But you think that one resume is going to get you the interview at all these places. This is the backdrop to this and my answer to the question.

People spam resumes to recruiters and get angry when they don't receive a response. You, as a job hunter, act as though these people owe you a phone call or owe you a contact when they don't. What they are attempting to do is fill a position and they are being paid by an employer to fill a position by finding talent that needs the requirements that their client has specified. They are not there to find a job for you; you are not paying them anything.Yes, you are a part of the equation, however, the person who is paying them is purchasing their time to do this.

If you're going to (I can only describe it this way because that's what you described is what your plan is) spam your resume To multiple people, it does not matter whether you have addressed to one person or another. That is because all you are doing is spamming your resume.

What you should be doing is sending individually tailored resumes to people because each individual job is different. By doing that, you are showing care and attempting to demonstrate your fit for each position. I want to be clear that I am not talking about major rewrites to your resume. That's because if your resume requires a major rewrite, it probably means you are not really a fit for this job.

Let's come back to reality for a second. If you or someone who is mass emailing your resume to a bunch of people and thinking your cover letter is going to matter, trust me. It doesn't.

What really matters is how you show your fit for the role and who it is addressed to is absolutely pointless. That's because unless you have the background, they are not going to talk to you. That is true whether is that agency recruiter or a corporate recruiter. Let me go to corporate recruiters for a second.

Let's say you are sending your resume to 5 different corporate recruiters at one company because you've decided this is a firm you want to work for. Thus, you are sending it to 5 people. Trust me. Those 5 different recruiters are not working on the same jobs.They may not even be working on the same type of jobs.I used to talk to people who did recruiting for software firms. There are people who work to fill positions in product management roles, in software development roles, people who worked on marketing roles, people who worked on administrative roles. My name for their and trust me,I can name the host of others that other people could be responsible for.

Sending a resume to 4 of them is a waste to at least 3 of their time's . . . And sometimes more. Minimally, find out the name of the recruiter who handles the rules you are specifically interested in.I am saying, "interested in because if you are spamming resumes, You are just flipping resumes over the transom. You don't know or care about anything other than, "I want to get my resume in front of you." You are not trying to help them fill a job. You're just trying to find anyone or anything that might possibly give you some traction. On to getting traction.

When I think of getting traction with the recruiter, I think of building a relationship over the course of time. People who did that with me when I did recruiting get very nicely in their careers. I will also say that people who don't do that complain that recruiters are "transactional." In point of fact, you, the job hunter, or transactional.

I will say to you that with agency recruiters, try to do things that will make you stand out with them in positive ways. Help them fill positions by referring people to them for jobs that they are trying to fill. If they ask if you know someone, actually give them a recommendation. Don't make it seem like a big deal saying, "I have to talk to them 1st." Just give them a recommendation. What is the big deal? Help them and let them help you.

Again, who should you address your cover letter to when there are multiple recruiters? NO ONE! You should not be sending out spam to people.

One last thing. I used to get so many emails from people that were addressed to 75 or 100 people.Really. All you are doing is showing that you are spamming your resume to the Western Hemisphere. you think the email providers will be delivering your stuff to inboxes or delivering it to spam? They are not going to deliver it to an inbox.

The least that you should be doing is worrying about who to address your cover letter to. Focus on having a tailored resume that you submit for each position and you will do much better.