I had a phone(1st interview)interview with a talent acquisition person with a company about a month ago. I felt it went well but she stated that the next round of interviews wouldn't take place til about a month later which we are approaching. As we were discussing the process she mentioned that the new director for this role was just taking over and she also mentioned this lady's first name. I did some investigating and was able to come up with her full name. The question I ask is it appropriate to reach out to this lady to congratulate her on her new role and express to her the desire to hopefully discuss the role with her as I proceed thru the interview process? Or should I just continue thru the process via the talent recruiter without making contact with the director? Thanks

- Do you wanna risk your potential position with their 'hiring process' , which in a sea of 100's of resumes might get lost, forgotten about , or just not circled back around too.

Or do you want to Follow-up and show initiative?



Hiring isn't easy and hiring processes aren't perfect. Stand out if you want the Job

I agree with ea1060. As a hiring manager I rely on talent acquisition to prescreen and bring me the right candidates. Someone circumventing that process isn't going to be any advantage. Best case, I forward your email back to TA so they know to follow up on my behalf. Likely I just delete the email.

In this case, there is no negative outcome from the applicant except an e-mail landing in the delete folder.

- might be better to send two follow-up e-mails in case on gets trashed in 3 sec.

Thanks so much for the replies. I really appreciate the advice

There's no bigger group with exaggerated self-importance than HR, "talent acquisition", or whatever buzzword bingo salad they want to call themselves. Those who can't do find the people who can. Today's job market is more competitive than it's ever been. You need to do what you have to do to stand out. As a hiring manager, I'd be impressed with someone who made the extra effort to stand out.

I always try to connect with and message the folks that I could be working with. I've never received negative feedback. Most of the responses say, "thanks for reaching out, I'm working with our hr team, and I'll forward your information directly to them to set up some time."

TA departments (like most depts) are hit or miss. Mine happens to be great and add huge value to my organization. They understand our business and the functions within our business. They meet with me before I post any req to talk about what I'm looking for in a candidate, provide thorough prescreening, and ultimately I only end up meeting with 2-3 candidates who end up being great candidates/hires. It's a huge time saver to me and value to the organization. But I get that's probably rare (unfortunately).

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In this case, there is no negative outcome from the applicant except an e-mail landing in the delete folder.

- might be better to send two follow-up e-mails in case on gets trashed in 3 sec.

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The negative outcome would be the director finds it off putting that a candidate she's never met before reaches out to her unprompted.

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- Then 4th step imo .. light up Linkedin and connect to the Boss / Mgmt.

If HR become a dead end, Why would one let HR stop you from getting the job you want? ( HR could have went to lunch after an interview and 100% forgot / or 100% might not care / or might be incompetent. The Applicant may never know.. The Unknown variables make it a sales game, Either "Sell or Be Sold")



The Boss/ Owner def care about hiring great people who stand out. HR is just a department paid for by the Owner / Boss. Don't let imaginary roadblocks stop ambition

I get you don't know anything other than what you do. If this is corporate or a larger company with HR running the hiring process, then it's for a reason. Most companies have specific policies on who can be contacted and how.

What's the upside here? You communicate you still really want the job you said you wanted by applying and recommunicated the same while interviewing?

There's a lot more down side than upside with this theory. It doesn't matter how good you are, needy or overbearing, or annoying are traits that will only cost you. You're purposely circumventing the process to take the 50/50 risk you're just going to annoy someone you've never met. Oh, and that HR person you're going to piss-off also probably has a say in the decision.

AgLA06 said:

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I get you don't know anything other than what you do. If this is corporate or a larger company with HR running the hiring process, then it's for a reason. Most companies have specific policies on who can be contacted and how.

What's the upside here? You communicate you still really want the job you said you wanted by applying and recommunicated the same while interviewing?

There's a lot more down side than upside with this theory. It doesn't matter how good you are, needy or overbearing, or annoying are traits that will only cost you. You're purposely circumventing the process to take the 50/50 risk you're just going to annoy someone you've never met. Oh, and that HR person you're going to piss-off also probably has a say in the decision.

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This.

I would understand reaching out to the director after you've interviewed with them, but not before. The director is busy enough as it is, and I doubt will have the time to read your LinkedIn congratulations message.

I understand that most hiring processes, no matter how large the company, aren't prefect and are often broken to some degree no matter the size. And the HR departments don't run companies, they are just a department that does as told.

A timid mindset, versus the ones of millennials reaching out to engage on LinkedIn to the people they want to work for is what will give an advantage to many.

The hungrier person with a lesser resume and experience will get noticed while the others wait for a promised phone call..




There is about to be an astronomical amount of resumes for jobs post covid.

Encouragement to do less to get noticed should be ill advised versus the one willing to buy a billboard to print his resume on next to the CEO's office.

ea1060 said:

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EcoZapp.BCS.Air.Roofing said:

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In this case, there is no negative outcome from the applicant except an e-mail landing in the delete folder.

- might be better to send two follow-up e-mails in case on gets trashed in 3 sec.

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The negative outcome would be the director finds it off putting that a candidate she's never met before reaches out to her unprompted.

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So what? That candidate is no worse off than he was before.

The upside is that the director is impressed by his initiative. I would be.

Wow, thanks for all the insight. Still not sure what I am going to do since it looks like there are very good arguments for each side. Appreciate all the comments

AgLA06 said:

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EcoZapp.BCS.Air.Roofing said:

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I understand that most hiring processes, no matter how large the company, aren't prefect and are often broken to some degree no matter the size. And the HR departments don't run companies, they are just a department that does as told.

A timid mindset, versus the ones of millennials reaching out to engage on LinkedIn to the people they want to work for is what will give an advantage to many.

The hungrier person with a lesser resume and experience will get noticed while the others wait for a promised phone call..




There is about to be an astronomical amount of resumes for jobs post covid.

Encouragement to do less to get noticed should be ill advised versus the one willing to buy a billboard to print his resume on next to the CEO's office.

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No. You don't understand at all.

Corporate America, especially a role that will report to a director is very different than peddling roofing/ AC repair services. You're looking for the most annoying, used car salesman like person for your business. Corporate America is looking for highly qualified individuals that match a very specific job description and requirements.

Feel free to respond if you want, but for the sake of the OP I'm walking away from this thread.

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- You're being biased on my opinion based on my username.. I have 1,000 resumes in my inbox to search thru and the ONLY ones that stand out are the ones that reach out multiple times.

It's 100% the Applicant's job to Sell Themselves & their Value to the Company, and that becomes difficult if they don't get noticed. Mom & Pop to Tesla; resumes and an interviews all get muddled together; ppl forget / have other things to worry about than X person's resume.


If you're that X person, do you wanna leave it to Chance or Take Action & Follow-up? ( again Linkedin was built just for this, one can simply E-mail the CEO / whoever of almost any company )




Corporate America wants to Hire Based on Culture not on Resumes, and Corporate American is as much of a Poo show as every level of business Post Covid-19 - Get off your High Horse and encourage ppl pursuing a job to do More Not less.

One can stand in line like the other ~20m unemployed by the end of the year , OR they can attempt get noticed.
Rules/ Imaginary Etiquette that applied in 2019 doesn't apply in 2020 going forward, just search indeed for how many ppl are competing for jobs right now.

a.froman said:

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Wow, thanks for all the insight. Still not sure what I am going to do since it looks like there are very good arguments for each side. Appreciate all the comments

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Yep. Pros and cons both ways. Only you can decide the best approach based on what you know of the situation, company, and people involved.

Good luck!