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Vent: A talk at the Denver tech meetup made me rethink my job search
Went to a local meetup here in Denver last Tuesday. A speaker talked about how many people just apply online and wait. He said he got his last role by messaging a hiring manager directly on LinkedIn. I tried it. Sent 15 messages over the past week. Got 3 replies already. One turned into a call next Monday. Way better than sending out 50 applications into the void. Has anyone else had luck with a direct approach like that?
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the_faith1mo ago
What did you actually say in those messages? Just a quick intro or did you tailor each one to their specific company?
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Oh man, that totally worked for me too! I was stuck in the same black hole of online applications a few years back. I started sending short, direct messages to hiring managers and team leads (not just HR) with a quick "hey, I love what your team is doing with X project" and a link to my portfolio. Got a response from maybe 1 out of 5, but those turned into actual interviews way faster than anything I'd submitted through a portal. The trick is to keep it super brief and show you actually know what they're working on, not just copy-paste the same thing to everyone. It feels weird at first but it's honestly the only thing that broke through for me.
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williamh481mo ago
That direct approach cuts through the automated filters that trash most online apps. It forces a human to at least glance at your profile, which is half the battle. The speaker was right about playing a different game.
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