Career coaches suggest bypassing recruiters and reaching out directly to executives for tech jobs. They say recruiters’ inboxes are overflowing, making it difficult for candidates to stand out in the marketplace. This tactic is more effective in small businesses that are easy to contact. Executive Team and Director of Recruitment.
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Career consultants are pushing a bold new strategy for tech candidates to skip the recruiter’s direct mail and contact CEOs directly.
Sounds bold, and it is. But the important thing is to get in front of people who are in a position to hire you. Recruiters may grant interviews, but ultimately it’s the people at the top who make the final hiring decisions.
In today’s competitive technology job market, candidates are looking for ways to stand out and differentiate themselves during the application process. Sending a DM to a recruiter may sound like a good idea, but the reality is that almost everyone tries it.
While a cold DM from the CEO of Microsoft or Google probably won’t get you a response, career coaches generally recommend this tactic for small to medium-sized companies where it’s easier to get in front of upper management.
Business Insider spoke to career coaches in the technology industry to find out why candidates want to try this new strategy. Here’s what they had to say:
Recruiter DMs are saturated
Katie McIntyre is a career coach and co-owner of CareerSprout. CareerSprout helps technology professionals land jobs with salaries ranging from $200,000 to $500,000. She told BI that in today’s employer-driven market, applications have become largely “irrelevant” and outreach messages are the busiest CareerSprout has seen since its founding in 2016.
“If you reach out to a recruiter directly on LinkedIn, 400 other people will reach out to you,” McIntyre said. “So understanding that nuance is really important.”
So McIntyre suggested reaching out to executives and potential recruiters instead. She said this would likely significantly reduce executive DM traffic, thereby improving response rates.
McIntyre added that messages need to be carefully curated, but if done right can provide a better path to success.
Executives may have a more nuanced understanding of technical skills
Raj Sublameyer is a senior IT manager and certified coach who provides career coaching services to mid- to senior-level technology workers. He said recruiters receive too many messages from candidates and may lack the technical expertise to discern the nuances of applicants. Some technology experts say companies are increasingly looking for specialized skills and experience.
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Submeyer said candidates who stand in front of executives are more likely to be able to explain the nuances of the work they do. This also works well if the employee has never worked in an AI-specific role before, but has other experience that demonstrates the required skills.
For example, one employee at a technology company who studied English literature previously told BI that his first two jobs out of college were obtained by contacting company CEOs.
Her English background ended up being an advantage, but she might not have had as many opportunities as someone with a traditional tech background if she didn’t end up in front of a startup CEO. In both situations, she was able to get an introductory call with the CEO and received an offer after the call.
Not recommended for all jobs
Some career coaches expressed mixed feelings even though their clients approached them about this new tactic.
“If your chance at a company is to send a message to the CEO or hiring manager, you’re giving yourself a small chance to sell yourself with a single message,” says founder of technology career coaching platform Alza. Albano Gega told BI.
While this tactic may work for smaller startups, Gega likened it to trying to “hit the bullseye.” A better approach, Gega says, is to reach out to people close to the position you’re applying for. Talking to those types of employees can open up more room for conversation, he added.
There’s no magic formula for landing a tech job in this market, but it never hurts to think outside the box and take a creative approach.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Submeyer said. “So we have to think outside the box about how we can get noticed.”
