Goodbye Gatekeepers: Use Social Media To Target Hiring Managers

Use social media to directly reach the people who will want to hire you most.

This is a guest post by Peggy McKee. If you’d also like to guest post here on JobMob, follow these guest post guidelines.

Today’s job search is unlike any you’ve ever seen before.

In addition to the recession-fueled glut of workers, the explosion of web-based job searches and online social networking has turned the process into something entirely new.

That has resulted in candidates who previously, would have flooded the market with resumes, gotten several responses, a few interviews, and a couple of job offers, but now face online job applications that thousands of others have seen, too.

It’s all too easy to get lost in the shuffle, and never even get a “Dear John” letter. Instead of lamenting the cyberspace crush of candidates, you can use the same tools that work against you and turn them into aids in your job search strategy.

Use the same tools that work against you

What do I mean?

Candidates often ask me, “How do I go about this job hunt? Do I target companies, or is it better to go after individual jobs that are posted? Which way will get me the most bang for my buck here?”

And it is tempting to target companies.

It’s very easy now to extensively research companies online, find out everything you need to know, and target your search to 10 or so, and concentrate on the jobs that open up there.

It’s even more tempting to target jobs, partly because it’s just so obvious: you’re an XYZ kind of candidate, looking for an XYZ kind of job. What’s the problem with that?

The problem with those two approaches is that it limits your opportunities and puts you in the same boat with everyone else.

What should you do instead?

Target hiring managers

Here's why:

Find hiring managers who look like what your manager should look like and introduce yourself to enough of them that you get a significant opportunity.

So, in a normal economy, if you knew 20 hiring managers in your space, you’d probably have a job right there. But it’s not a normal economy. So you need to increase that to five or even ten times that number to get an opportunity—but it’s worth it.

That’s how you get an interview. You target hiring managers. They are the decision makers. You’re going straight to the source, instead of taking the much more clogged route through HR or getting lost in the online black hole.

How do you find them?

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Facebook is probably the least likely, but still shouldn’t be discounted: you probably know someone who knows someone, etc. Twitter is fantastic for following significant players and keeping up-to-the minute on job leads. But LinkedIn is king. You can absolutely use LinkedIn to research, target, and contact the hiring managers who can make something happen for you.

Finding a job is much more of a numbers game than it has ever been. Use the tools available to your advantage, and don’t give up. If you widen your scope enough, the right job is out there for you.

About the Author

Peggy McKee is the President of PHC Consulting, nationally recognized medical sales recruiting firm. She is, also, the Co-Founder of Career Confidential, an online resource for jobseekers. Peggy is a focused on providing cutting edge insight to those in the hiring/interviewing process.

This article is part of the 4th Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest, which was made possible thanks in large part to our Gold Sponsor, Jason Alba of JibberJobber. If you want Peggy McKee to win, share this article with your friends.

If you liked this article, you'll also enjoy Success Story: How I Used LinkedIn and Facebook to Find a Job During the Recession.

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