Direct Contact in Your Job Search Strategy: How to Effectively Reach Decision Makers
You have a clearly defined career goal and a list of companies you would like to work for. However, none of them are advertising positions that match your experience. Does this mean you have to wait until a suitable job opportunity appears?
At the level of experienced managers and executives, not every career opportunity starts with a published job ad. Companies develop new business areas, reorganize their structures, and plan investments or changes to their management teams. The need to hire the right person may therefore arise before an organization formally starts recruiting.
Direct contact allows you to approach such organizations on your own initiative. Instead of responding to a specific job ad, you select companies where your profile may match specific business needs, identify the right decision makers and reach out to them directly.
However, this requires more than preparing a list of email addresses and sending your CV. Your results depend primarily on which organizations you target, how you position your profile and the quality of your initial contact.
What Does the Latest Career Angels Data Tell Us?
Direct contact remains one of the four main job search channels, alongside job ads, networking and Executive Search firms.
For years, we have recommended using all four channels. However, in our Job Hunting Report 2025, we changed the way we present the results to better illustrate how the different channels currently complement one another.
According to our report, 37% of the job offers accepted by our clients came from direct contact supported primarily by networking. Another 27% resulted from applications to job ads supported by networking and direct contact. By comparison, applying to job ads alone accounted for 20% of accepted job offers.
Why Is It Worth Contacting Your Potential Future Boss?
Imagine a company planning to expand into a new market. The management board is considering ways to grow sales but hasn’t yet decided to create a new position.
The HR department is therefore not running a recruitment process. At the same time, the person responsible for this business area may already know what competencies the team will need and whether there are plans to strengthen it in the near future.
If a manager who has previously developed sales in similar markets contacts this person, their message may attract interest, even if a formal vacancy doesn’t exist yet.
This is why, in direct contact, we recommend reaching out primarily to your potential future boss rather than HR departments (unless, of course, your target role is in HR).
This won’t always be the CEO or another board member. If you are looking for a Plant Manager position, the right person might be the Regional Operations Director. For a Country Manager role, it could be the person managing that region. It all depends on the organizational structure and who actually influences hiring decisions for the position you are targeting.
Where Should You Start?
The first step is to prepare a list of companies that match your career goal and experience.
In addition to industry and location, it’s worth considering factors such as the scale of operations, the stage of development, the organizational model and the types of challenges the company is facing.
For example, if you specialize in operational transformations, you could focus on organizations undergoing restructuring, post-acquisition integration or rapid growth. Experience in managing international structures may, in turn, be particularly valuable to companies expanding their regional operations.
At Career Angels, we recommend preparing a list of at least 60-90 companies that match your career goal, taking into account the specifics of the market.
Next, you need to identify the right decision makers. LinkedIn, company websites, annual reports and press releases can be helpful sources of information. In international organizations, it’s also worth checking reporting structures, as hiring decisions may be made at a regional or global level.
The next step is to find the relevant contact details, specifically a business email address. You can use publicly available information and tools to find and verify email addresses.
How Should You Present Your Experience to Get a Decision Maker’s Attention?
Your message to a potential future boss should be short and specific, allowing the recipient to quickly assess whether your profile could meet the organization’s needs.
For example:
Dear Mr./Ms. [Last Name],
I am writing to ask whether [Company Name] is considering strengthening its [department/function].
If so, I would like to briefly introduce my profile: [Insert a short summary of what makes you stand out (your USP), the problems you solve and the business impact you deliver].
Please find attached my CV, which provides further details of my experience and achievements.
I would appreciate your feedback.
Kind regards,
[First Name Last Name]
The most important thing is to demonstrate your area of specialization, the scale of your responsibilities and the types of business problems you can solve. General statements such as “I am looking for new challenges” or “I am an experienced leader” don’t show what sets you apart from other candidates.
Sending the Message Is Just the Beginning
If you don’t receive a response, it’s worth following up after approximately 7-10 business days. A short reminder can increase the chances that the decision maker will read your message.
It’s also important to monitor your results. At Career Angels, we use two indicators for this purpose:
- Response Rate (RR): The percentage of contacts that result in a response. The market benchmark is approximately 30-50%.
- Interview Rate (IVR): The percentage of contacts that lead to a conversation with a potential employer. The market benchmark is approximately 5-10%.
If your results remain below these benchmarks, it’s worth analyzing the possible reasons. A low RR may indicate that you are targeting the wrong companies or decision makers, using outdated email addresses or sending an ineffective message. If you receive responses but few of them lead to conversations, the problem may lie in how well your profile matches the organization’s needs or how you present your USP.
Are You Reaching the Right Decision Makers?
If you are contacting potential employers but the results are below your expectations, it’s worth reviewing not only the content of your message but also your selection of companies, identification of decision makers and how you position your profile.
If you are a manager or executive with at least 10 years of experience and would like to review your job search strategy, send an email to Contact@CareerAngels.eu with “Career Consultation / Blog” in the subject line, attach your CV and schedule a free, confidential online Career Consultation.
Sometimes, an interesting career opportunity starts with a well-thought-out approach to the right person.
