Who to message about a job opening, and what to say

An application form puts you in a pile. A short message to the right person puts you in front of someone who can move you out of it. Most people skip this step because they don’t know who to write to or what to say. Both have straightforward answers.

Who to message, in order

Not every contact is equally useful. Work down this list and stop at the first person you can reach:

1. The hiring manager. The person the role reports to. They feel the vacancy most and can ask a recruiter to look at you.
2. Leadership above them. A director or head of the function. Short messages only; they forward rather than reply.
3. A chief of staff or executive assistant. Often overlooked, often the fastest route to a busy leader.
4. The recruiter for the role. Useful for process questions and timing, less so for making the case.
5. A current employee on the team. The right person for a referral, not a pitch.
6. A former employee. Honest context about the team, and sometimes still a good referrer.

Job titles in the posting (“reports to the Head of Operations”) and the company’s team pages usually tell you who the hiring manager is.

Two kinds of message

A direct pitch goes to the hiring manager, leadership, or a recruiter. It says: here’s the one thing I’ve done that matters for this role, can we talk.

A referral ask goes to current or former employees. It says: I’m applying for this role, here’s why I think I fit, would you be comfortable referring me or telling me about the team.

Mixing them up is the most common mistake. Don’t ask a hiring manager for a referral, and don’t pitch a peer like they’re making the decision.

A message structure that works

Keep it under 100 words. Four parts:

1. Why them: the role you saw and why you’re writing to this person specifically.
2. One proof point: your strongest result that matches the job, with a number if you have one.
3. The bridge: one sentence connecting that result to what they need.
4. A small ask: fifteen minutes, or whether they’d pass your application along.

For example:

Hi Priya, I saw the Operations Manager opening on your team. At Fieldstone I moved purchasing to two suppliers and cut annual spend 18% without hurting delivery times. Northwind’s posting mentions vendor consolidation, so I think that work transfers directly. Would you have 15 minutes this week?

Follow up, but not forever

People are busy, not uninterested. Send a short follow-up after a few business days, add something new (a relevant link, a second proof point), and stop after three or four messages in total.

How Appyl does this

For each job you apply to, Appyl finds the hiring manager, leadership, recruiters, and current or former employees, ranks them in the order above, and writes a referral or direct-pitch sequence using your own results. You copy each message, send it yourself, and mark it as sent so follow-ups land on schedule. Your messages stay attached to the application in your tracker.