Forum - Ask the Hiring Manager

QUESTION:

To whom should I address the cover letter when no contact person is given in the ads. I would call the personnel and ask, but many of these ads say "No phone calls please." Should I just address it to Human Resource or Personnel Dept?

Thank you for you help.

From: Teresa Brown


ANSWER FROM BRIAN KRUEGER:

Hi Theresa -

Ignore the "No phone calls please" request and call the company directly. And don't call HR/Personnel. Use the techniques in the book to find the actual hiring manager. Then ignore all the resume/cover letter/salary info requests and pick up the phone. You may eventually get steered back to HR and the resume request, but if and when that happens, it will be with the tacit "stamp of approval" from the true hiring manager. "Mrs. Jones asked me to contact you..." or "Mr. Smith asked me to contact you regarding setting up an interview for the _____ position." It requires extra effort to reach the real decision maker, but it pays off tenfold (or more) in terms of productivity.

Also, don't rely mostly upon passive job postings, either on the Net or in newspapers--use your direct contact skills to target specific companies. Build your network to include more employers. Bottom line is to be active, not reactive.

Make your own good luck in your search!

Do you have a question that you would like to have answered here in this forum? Send your question direct to Brian Krueger.

All job search information at this forum is provided by Brian Krueger, author of the book College Grad Job Hunter, the definitive guide for college grad job search. Used by permission of the author.