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Features Column 19 A face in the crowd: Personalizing applications, even to strangers

Hi Cathy,
Many job postings give no contact person's name so I end up addressing my applications "to whom it may concern," but it feels really impersonal. What's your opinion about sending materials in without knowing to whom you're sending them?
Thanks,
Bill in Seattle

When I first entered the job market about 15 years ago, few job postings listed a specific contact's name and it was considered standard operating procedure to use generic greetings such as "To Whom It May Concern." Indeed, it often wasn't necessary to customize the rest of your cover letter or resume either and candidates usually weren't expected to know a lot of details about potential employers prior to an interview. However, that's far from the case today—the internet has exponentially increased access to information on just about everything, so most organizations assume candidates will customize their applications and come into the interview knowing quite a bit about them.

Given this trend toward personalizing the entire job search process, you may be scratching your head right about now, wondering why in the heck so many postings don't provide a specific contact? Well, sometimes, it's because organizations are worried that applicants will deluge them with questions, and as someone who works on the front lines of recruiting, I can say that worry is based in some reality. Indeed, I've received quite a few queries from anxious or just plain old curious candidates. Still, I personally prefer to list my name when recruiting because I see it as one more way (albeit a small one) to jumpstart the relationship-building process. However, some organizations may not have the organizational capacity to risk getting inundated with questions, or they may utilize more than one staff person to recruit for positions, use an outside recruiter, or simply prefer not to include a specific name. So what's a guy or gal to do?

Well, while the internet actually may make it possible for you to find out who the search coordinator is, I definitely don't recommend going on a search coordinator reconnaissance mission! As always, you want to follow the application instructions as closely as possible, which means that, as impersonal as it feels, when you don't have a particular name, it's best to use a generic greeting such as, "To Whom It May Concern." The real trick is to get yourself in the mindset of writing a very customized cover letter and resume, even without specific contact information. A few key steps in doing so include:

As silly as it may seem, actually imagining a living, breathing person reading your application can help you to infuse it with more of a personal and real tone. So, before you begin writing, imagine you're having a conversation with the recruiter about how your skills and experience can serve and add value to their work. Include in your visualization whatever details make the interaction real for you and be sensitive to what I call the "glaze-over factor," or how engaged the other person seems to be in what you're saying. Indeed, even when we're the script writer, we often can sense when we're losing someone and their eyes are glazing over with boredom! At these times, you need to become a script doctor and tinker with what you're saying until you feel that your listener is more interested.

It may be helpful to check in with both the tone and content of what you're conveying:

In terms of tone, make sure that you're not taking a "hard sell" angle and using language that attempts to prove you're right for the position. For example, I don't recommend saying anything along the lines of "I know I am the best person for the job." It's much more effective to matter-of-factly describe the skills and experience that you have while also not underplaying your talents; in this way, your strengths do the "talking" for you.

In terms of content, bear in mind that part of what allows you to really engage a recruiter is to reference important details of their organization's mission and why and how you're passionate about their work. It's crucial to do lots of research on the organization—know their mission, programs, and organizational structure as well as you possibly can. These days, organizations' websites are frequently good sources for kind of information. (You'll also find more tips on gathering data on potential employers later in this column.)

To further build your content, it's important to carefully review the job announcement and make sure you understand exactly what skills, experience, and background are being sought. Think about what a "day in the life" of the job would look like and "test drive" the job. Imagine yourself doing every aspect of it and see how it feels and fits with your experience. If something feels really uncomfortable, it may not be the right job for you. If you're having trouble test driving, it may be that the announcement was bare-boned, so try imagining as best as you can what someone in the position would be doing on a daily basis.

You may also feel like you can't get out of first gear on your test drive because you don't have a thorough understanding of your own expertise, strengths, and challenges. In this case, it's crucial to spend some time really inventorying what your specific expertise and skills are, even if this means holding off on sending in the application for a few days. Indeed, my experience has shown that it's well worth the investment of time because without knowing exactly what you have to offer an organization, it's almost impossible for them to know either!

Next, connect all of your skills and experience with every single qualification they are looking for. If you can't make a connection to something significant which they are seeking, you may need to acknowledge this gap in your cover letter, explaining how you have different, but comparable experience—if that's the case. If it's not the case, it may not be the right position for you. Without acknowledging a gap, you may leave the employer with a lot of questions, from which they could jump to the wrong conclusion and dismiss your application without further inquiry.
Continue returning to the imaginary conversation with the recruiter and checking in on how they are receiving you. If you really want the job, it's worth the time and effort of being a dedicated script doctor!

In addition to personalizing your application, you may want to check in with your network to see if anyone knows the organization and/or the search coordinator; a personal connection can go a long way in off-setting the impersonal tone that comes with addressing a cover letter with "To Whom It May Concern." If someone you know is connected, find out what the quality and content of their relationship with the organization and/or the recruiter is and use your best judgement in deciding whether to activate their connection. If you have any question at all about the quality of your contact's relationship with the organization, I don't recommend referencing them. Guilty by association is still, unfortunately, guilty! And, if your contact's connection is relatively fleeting, it's not usually helpful to mention them because it might end up confusing the person reading your application, rather than helping to build a relationship.

However, if it seems like your contact is on the up-and-up with the organization, find out first whether they think you would be a good fit for the position (if they think not, you may want to reconsider, depending upon the details of what they say) and whether you can mention that they recommended you apply for the position in your cover letter. If they answer you in the affirmative, I recommend mentioning your mutual contact up-front in the first paragraph of your cover letter and saying something like:

Carly Connector, a mutual colleague (or friend or contact) suggested that I may be a good fit with the Program Director position at your organization and after carefully reviewing the job announcement, I am very excited about the possibility of putting my ten years of expertise in designing community-based domestic violence programs for teens of color to use for your innovative "Teen Turnaround" program.

As always, you never want to say anything that is untrue, so it's important to customize how you mention your contact to fit the details of your specific situation, but always try to link any mention of a contact with a brief explanation of how your skills can be of service to the position and the organization. If you feel comfortable, you may also want to ask your contact whether they would be willing to call the person they know at the organization and very briefly mention that they know and like you and think you may be a good fit with the position, and then convey that you're extremely interested in the position and will be sending in your application soon.

The important point to remember when thinking about jumpstarting your connection to a potential employer with a mutual contact is that, generally, applicants who are somehow connected to someone on the inside of an organization tend to get looked at with a bit more attention. It's not so much about nepotism as it is about the fact that there is a reserve of trust and familiarity between people who already know and like each other, and that often extends to contacts of contacts and friends of friends.

A last note on maximizing the benefit of contacts: I also recommend asking them some key questions about the organization to build the database of knowledge you can call on when customizing your materials. Questions such as "What characterizes the organization's culture?", "What programs and projects is the organization most excited about?", and "What are the organization's immediate and more long-term strategic directions?" are good places to start.

The bottom line is that you shouldn't let not knowing the name of a recruiter stop you from applying for a job that you really want and are really qualified for, even when you may have no connection to anyone in the organization. Instead, prepare to put in a little extra time to customize your application and help the recruiter understand why you're the one they want. After all, what's in a name? Well, sometimes quite a lot, but usually what matters even more is what's in your skills, experience, and passion for the position and your ability to convey that clearly.