job-hunting struggles<\/a>, and I saw a few people saying they found success by reaching out to hiring managers directly.<\/p>\nSome people said they cold-called, which made me think, “Okay, that’s a little bit too far,” but the emphasis was just to reach out. The idea of emailing them seemed low-risk, so I decided to give it a shot.<\/p>\n
I started by researching on LinkedIn, trying to guess who the hiring manager or recruiter might be. Sometimes it was listed, but it wasn’t the best method. Then I came across a Reddit comment about Apollo AI, a free tool that can locate hiring manager emails. I found it to be pretty accurate, so I started reaching out with my r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and cover letter. It was a game changer.<\/p>\n
The CEO of Sweetgreen responded to my email<\/h2>\n
My messages showed initiative and, honestly, probably just made things easier for the hiring manager. I reached out to three people directly and got interviewed for two jobs.<\/p>\n
I even emailed the CEO of Sweetgreen directly, and he responded by putting me in touch with the hiring manager to schedule an interview.<\/p>\n
One of my email reachouts turned into my current job, a strategy lead role for a major retailer. This strategy made things more efficient because I already had a direct line of contact, so it was easy to follow up if there was a delay.<\/p>\n
I didn’t get any negative feedback about it and would do it again<\/h2>\n
I was wondering if anyone might be weirded out about me finding their emails, but no one said anything. They could find it creepy, but they could also find it resourceful.<\/p>\n
If I were back in the job market, I’d start with the email strategy<\/a>. The exercise of thinking through creative approaches like portfolios and video cover letters was fun and got me thinking about how to present my personality most effectively, but ultimately, getting in direct contact was the best way to be competitive.<\/p>\nDo you have a story to share about a unique job-finding hack? If so, please reach out to the reporter at tmartinelli@businessinsider.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n