CareerFlip LLC · Updated
A job posting is a starting point for researching people who may help you understand the role and get your experience in front of the team. The hiring manager is one possible contact, but you cannot always identify them from public information. This guide follows the Job-to-Contact Playbook: research broadly, check each person's relevance, choose a small contact list, then write and track your outreach.
Read the posting for what the team needs done. Note the company, function, product or customers, location, reporting line and teams it works with. Write down your relevant experience and the gaps you would need to explain. The role needs to be worth the time you are about to spend researching it.
Search for people whose work sits closest to the opening. A manager or head of the function may be involved in the decision. Someone doing similar work may help you understand the job without having a say in hiring. You want to consider both.
Companies use different titles. Try Manager, Director, Head of and Lead, along with the team, product or territory from the posting. Vary the wording until the same names begin coming back. A search such as site:linkedin.com/in "Company Name" "Analytics" is a starting point. A matching title does not confirm who is hiring.
Include a recruiter when the posting names one, or when their work and seniority fit the role. Try terms such as talent sourcing and people operations if recruiter searches miss them.
Open each profile and check the common problems:
When professional profiles leave gaps, use the employer's website. Follow the department, office or institute named in the posting to its staff directory. Schools and similar employers may list people and email addresses there. Record the page and the date you checked it.
For each remaining person, write down what ties them to this opening: the team, function, product, territory or responsibility. Separate what you know from what you are guessing. Public information rarely confirms who makes the hiring decision.
Use a contact scorecard: name, current role, source, contact type, connection to the opportunity, useful reason to write, genuine shared background, priority and next action. A senior title, shared school or former employer alone does not show that someone is involved in this hire.
Put the strongest names side by side. Say why the first person is first and what each alternative adds. Keep a small, relevant list; put weak or outdated matches on hold. If you cannot identify a likely manager, a well-chosen colleague or recruiter can still be worth contacting.
Use an email address published by the employer where available. Otherwise, check the company's email domain and a published employee address before applying its format to your contact's name. An address built from a pattern is a guess. LinkedIn is another way to reach someone when you lack an email address.
Mention a shared employer or school only when it is genuine and useful. A cold message can still have a clear reason behind it. Keep following the employer's application instructions.
Hi [Name], I'm interested in the [role] opening at [Company]. Your work on [specific team or responsibility] made me think you would know the area. My background includes [brief relevant experience]. If this is in your area, would you be open to sharing [focused question]? If another team owns it, I'd be grateful for a pointer. Thanks, [Your name]
Fill every bracket with something specific. If you cannot explain why this person is relevant, return to the research. Read the message before sending it.
Give people time. If the role still matters, a short follow-up after about a week is reasonable, with at most one final note later. Stop if someone declines or asks you not to write again. Record each contact, message date, reply or context, next action and review date. Five people with an initial message and two possible follow-ups means 15 dates for one job.
CareerFlip assesses your fit, researches relevant people, checks their connection to the posting and ranks them with reasons. It uses public profiles and employer pages, looks for email addresses where possible, and drafts messages for the contacts you choose. You review and send them yourself. It cannot guarantee a hiring manager's identity. See how CareerFlip handles the research.
It also keeps your contacts in one Contact Book and organizes your outreach. Once you mark a message as sent, it schedules follow-up reminders on its outreach calendar for 7 days later and a week after that.
Turn a job posting into relevant contacts and organized outreach.
See how CareerFlip works