KB_FarmerType

Strategic Sales

Valued Contributor

No really! HM do you hate candidates reaching you directly?

I felt everyone has been saying that blindly applying to jobs on portals really doesnt really work. So I connect , engage with hiring manager in a hope to get noticed on Linkedin

Recently , I have seen a few hiring managers respond to me that I should "apply" to the system if I am interested (ignoring all the small talk, all the tailoring I did on linkedin to get to them).

I thought hiring right candidate is still a hard problem and people passionate about building teams want to engage with Talent Pool.

Do you really want me to "apply" to the system and not care about my message here ? or you are asking me to F** off?

What is driving this behavior?

Genuinely, are companies telling Hiring managers to comply on Recruiter's process and hence they are redirecting you to their application mgmt system? or I rather stay away from hiring managers who are so process oriented and think that their recruiters have any incentive to pull my profile out of 10,000 stupid resume submitted?

Backdrop:

1.) I shortlisted few roles that are open on linkedin.

2.) Reached out to who I think this role reports to .

3.) They accept my connection request.

4.) I do small talk.. "Are you looking for this role? Would you have time to look at this profile of mine .. I see a match on these three bullet points, what do you think?"

5.) Their reply : "If you are interested in applying just go apply at our system" (which is a blakehole)

🧢 Sales Management

😄 Job Hiring

11

17 comments

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ZVRK

Politicker

10

Enterprise Account Executive

I was sort of a hiring manager at my last job, and I`m pretty close to my hiring manager right now so here`s what I think.

First, it all depends on the size of the companies you`re targeting. Your approach would work way better with 50-150 emps companies as opposed to the large enterprises, like 10k+ employees.

Here`s my advice if your applying to smaller, 50-150 emps companies: keep going at it :) your approach should work, sales managers, CRO even at these smaller companies are always interested to hire proactive sales people. I`m telling you this for a fact, I really appreciated people approaching me for a job in sales and I kno my hiring manager feels the same too.

If they hit you back with the "go through the process", sure maybe sometimes they want to shut you off, but more often than not, they`ll need HR/recruiting to do the basic diligence first so that they know they are talking to a legit candidate. Just have in mind hiring managers in small companies are pretty busy, they are pretty much hands on in actual sales calls with prospects all the time..

Hope this helps and good luck!

Gasty

Notable Contributor

2

War Room Community Manager

this !

KB_FarmerType

Opinionated

1

Strategic Sales

Thanks for this perspective, very helpful

SoccerandSales

Big Shot

1

Account Executive

This is spot on. HM's at huge organizations are likely slammed with messages like this so they likely are not as well received as someone who is hiring for a single role and doesn't have the 'clout' of a huge tech company

TennisandSales

Politicker

1

Head Of Sales

solid advice here.

I would also add that if you go through the website, and connect with HR reach back out to that hiring manager and let them know and see if they would be willing to chat again

antiASKHOLE

Tycoon

7

Bravado's Resident Asshole

I always apply first then reach out to them. It is a sense of proactivity that I learned at a young age.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

1

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Good advice!

Rallier

Politicker

3

SDR Manager and Consultant

It's absolutely a numbers game. Just like any sales role. There will be people that brush you off. Keep at it.

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

3

Sales Rep

I will say this, you do need to apply to be a candidate, there have been roles where I am meeting with the director and have not applied, but told I needed to at the end.

So maybe them telling you to, is more of them knowing you have to

SalesArmyKnife

Good Citizen

2

Sales Manager

Keep doing what you’re doing, you just haven’t found the right HM.

KB_FarmerType

Opinionated

2

Strategic Sales

I love you

CuriousFox

WR Officer

2

🦊

I love you more 🦊

Pachacuti

Politicker

1

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Despite your experience, you're still best off reaching out to the HM directly. Sure, they will make you submit your resume via the system, but you should still be sending them a copy directly.

This is what I have said in the past - "I'm happy to do that however its been my experience that even the most qualified resumes can easily get buried in the black hole of an applicant tracking system. Do you mind if I ALSO send you a copy directly?" 9/10 times I get an ok.

jefe

Arsonist

1

🍁

Hiring AE's I'll never balk at this.

BUT I think @ZVRKis absolutely correct - larger organizations will need you to go through the correct channels and will be stuck in their process.

ChumpChange

Politicker

0

Channel Manager

To answer your question bluntly, yes. Managers are one piece of the hiring motion. Typically, 3-5 different people/departments are involved, and each has a vote on who's DQ and who moves on to each round. If a manager is telling you to apply... it's because that is the process that they are adhering to. Does their opinion matter? Absolutely. Especially, if you make it to the final round this is where that rapport really starts to be impactful. Take your ego out of the equation and follow the process. If you're looking to reach out and IMMEDIATELY get an offer then more than likely it's either the Founder/CEO of a small company that's pulling rank. That comes with its own bag of bullshit that I won't even get into.

KB_FarmerType

Opinionated

0

Strategic Sales

Makes sense

ThatNewAE

Big Shot

0

Account Executive - Mid enterprise

I would HATE generic messages, before the interview date that just seem like ass-licking.

I don't mind a followup, personalised note after we have met already on a zoom call of sorts.

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