If you're looking for a job in 2025 and aren't reaching out to hiring managers, you're NGMI.
But don’t just take my word for it, founders are saying it themselves.
I can already hear the skeptics: “Applying should be enough!”
Look, the reality is your resume will most likely end up in a black hole if you don’t do something to stand out. Need proof? Read this hiring manager’s story on Reddit.
So how do you actually find out who to reach out to after applying?
At small companies, it might be obvious after a quick LinkedIn search. But at bigger ones, you’ll need to use some detective skills.
I’ll share some of my favorite tactics in another post, but today I want to show you how I found every hiring manager at Shopify, and how you can too. Hopefully, it gives you ideas for your own searches.
Hidden in Plain Sight
I spend a lot of time sourcing new companies and jobs for Meterwork’s dataset. That usually means exploring the source code of company career pages and analyzing ATS API calls to figure out the most efficient way to scrape new jobs.
When I wanted to add Shopify’s jobs to Meterwork, I started exploring their careers site like usual, and that’s when I noticed something interesting: every job listed the hiring manager and recruiter associated with the role.
Go to any job posting (like this one), right-click the page, and select “View Page Source.” Then search for \"hiring manager", you’ll see something like this:
If you’re looking to work at Shopify, you now have an edge over most candidates. Get creative! Email the hiring manager for the role you want, or send a thoughtful message on LinkedIn.
Will this guarantee you the job? No.
Will it get you an interview? Maybe. But if you’re a strong fit, it’ll dramatically increase your chances of actually talking to a real person.
Of course, this advice only helps if you have the right skills, otherwise, it won’t move the needle much.
There are plenty of ways to stand out in your job search, and reaching out to hiring managers is just one of them. I’ll share more ways soon to find hiring managers and get an edge in your search.
For now, try searching for jobs on Meterwork if you need that extra boost and aren’t having luck with LinkedIn or Indeed. Unlike them, we don’t show reposted or promoted jobs, and you won’t find staffing agencies cluttering results with fake listings.