This post originally appeared as issue 222 of the Daily Job Hunt email. Sign up for kick-butt career hype in your inbox each morning.

The Daily Job Hunt

Who is the hiring manager, anyway?

We keep saying, email the hiring manager directly!

But who is that person exactly?

It can depend. A better way to frame it might be: find decision makers at companies.

Since you’re gonna skip the online application and crash the job hunt party, there are no exact rules here!

So think critically about your particular opportunity and who might be the best people to email.

Some job titles to look out for:

CEO
Head of Sales
VP of Marketing
Recruiter

If it’s a super small company, email the CEO directly.

Outside of that, do your best to figure out who you would be working closely with, who might be your supervisor, as it were.

Then email them your pitch. Even if they’re not the official “hiring manager,” if they like what they see they will expedite you to the interview process.

You could also email the recruiter your pitch, too. You could email multiple decision makers (just remember to follow up)!

Point is, stay in the driver’s seat of your job hunt and don’t assume you have to do things a certain way.

Create value, and stay empowered.