Directly Contacting a Recruiter?

Hey guys,

Has anyone ever had success by directly contacting a recruiter? I'm not talking about trying to email an HR rep at a bulge bracket. I'm talking about a boutique bank which lists its recruiter on its Career page. For example, at Lazard, they direct you to contact Anna Woodward to apply (http://lazard.com/careers/FA-NA-UG.aspx).

I'm not necessarily talking about getting a job out of it, but has anyone ever gotten a serious response back by emailing the listed address? Or even asked for an opportunity to speak with said person and gotten it? I am looking to speak with the listed reps at some of the major boutiques (Moelis, Lazard, Evercore, etc.) about a unique situation and was hoping to hear of some success stories before I get to it. Thanks.

14 Comments
 

I've gotten great results from contacting recruiters directly; but I had pretty specific reasons for doing so. What can you ask recruiters - you can ask about process of course, and any sort of non-technical question or about the bank in general, they love to talk. In general though, I'm not sure what kind of use you can get out of that discussion.

 

banker88: I was already working at the BB whose recruiter(s) I'd contacted. Originally I got in touch with the recruiter for my school, in which conversation I expressed interest in working in another office (SF, use 'track' for more on that). She gave me the name of the person responsible for that office in that call.

During SA interview season I got in touch with the regional recruiter, who was inclined to push my resume through I'd imagine because I 1) called her directly and 2) I pointed to references elsewhere in the firm.

 
dacarezDuring SA interview season I got in touch with the regional recruiter, who was inclined to push my resume through I'd imagine because I 1) called her directly and 2) I pointed to references elsewhere in the firm.

If you don't mind, could you shed some light on how you did this? I'm thinking of doing the same thing

 
Best Response
NujabesIf you don't mind, could you shed some light on how you did this? I'm thinking of doing the same thing

As I said in the previous post, I spoke to the recruiter for my school, who gave me a name for the regional recruiter. Now, here's where I had some advantage: by working at said BB already, I had access to the address book. So, when said regional recruiter didn't answer my email, I just gave her a call and expressed 1) Interest in SF 2) how I'd gotten her name and 3) that I was working there already in a different group.

Any particular details you're looking for?

 
DontMakeMeShortYouE-mailing recruiters can definitely work, but you need to have a strong resume. I had a lot of success in SA recruiting by just cold-emailing the listed addresses.

Don'tMakeMeShortYou: Were these follow up emails after you applied, or were they your initial contact with the company? And are you implying that you attached your resume even though they have it in their system(assuming you were doing follow up emails)?

 

If by success you mean Epic Fail then yes it's successful emailing the recruiter.

A recruiter at a bank is not like a recruiter at an accounting firm. He/she has absolutely no say if you get an interview or not if it's a large bank.

 
wallstreetmonkey123If by success you mean Epic Fail then yes it's successful emailing the recruiter.

A recruiter at a bank is not like a recruiter at an accounting firm. He/she has absolutely no say if you get an interview or not if it's a large bank.

That's not true at all, at the BB I summered in our recruiters are critical for interviews and offers. It's the whole idea of you treat everyone the same. Obviously when it gets technical, the bankers and Associates opinions matter but if the recruiter doesn't like you - you have no shot.

 

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