Send A ‘Pain Letter’ To Get Noticed By A Hiring Manager

Send A ‘Pain Letter’ To Get Noticed By A Hiring Manager

If you’ve ever applied for a corporate job and had to go through an online application process, you know it can be rather impersonal, and you’ll lose the ability to stand out among applicants. Try sending a letter directly to the hiring manager telling them you understand their challenges.

Picture by Wendy

On LinkedIn, Liz Ryan suggests sending a “pain letter” to a hiring manager instead of following the approved application process:

Ignore those instructions. You can find your hiring manager using LinkedIn, Google and the company’s own web sites, and write to him or her directly. You’ll write a Pain Letter, which is a little like a cover letter but much more specific to the hiring manager’s situation. It’s more friendly and human than a cover letter is, too.

You’ll send your Pain Letter in a white envelope along with your Human-Voiced Resume straight to the hiring manager’s desk through the postal service. You’ll avoid the Black Hole completely.

This tip could be risky depending on the job. You’re breaking the rules before you even start. You might send it through the normal application process and the hiring manager just to play it safe.

Check the link for other ways to break through the standardised application process so you’ll get noticed.

I’d Make a Great Employee — Trust Me [LinkedIn]


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