Presumptuous or precocious?

October 17, 2007 11:05 AM

Should I send a personal/friendly email to this potential employer in addition to the cover letter?

Backstory:
I worked as a temp a couple years ago for a number of months, filling in for an office manager on FMLA at a small clinic. The directors of the clinic loved me. They were, at the time, applying for funding to create another separate clinic. They mentioned a couple times the possibility of me becoming full time/permanent via this new clinic as the office manager but the funding approval was very, very far off and not guaranteed at all. I loved the directors and the work and would have stayed in any capacity. However, the regular office manager returned to full time duties and I had to leave. I found my current full time job with a different organization immediately before leaving so all was good.

Over time since then I have felt the odd twinge of regret here and there at not following up on the position in the new clinic. I didn't keep in touch with the directors because honestly, being a temp was just awkward for me. I felt particularly awkward because the permanent office manager was very territorial about her job and thusly overtly hated my guts. (I don't hold this against her--she was under a lot of stress, too.) I definitely feel as though I should have networked harder and maintained contact but I just dropped the ball.

Fast forward to last week: Through just a random fluke, I happened to see that the new clinic had indeed received funding and the position of office manager was being advertised. I applied, of course, and reminded the hiring official in my cover letter who I was and when I worked at their other clinic. Is this enough? Should I, in addition, send the director a more personal/friendly email on the side sort of as a "Hi! Remember me?" kind of thing? Sadly, my out-sized desire for this job is short circuiting my cold job applying logic.

posted by hecho de la basura to work & money (9 comments total)

Actually, yes. Say "Hi! Remember me?" and also ask if they could put in a recommendation. Someone talking to the HR manager for a second will guarantee they don't roundfile your resume, and you'll have an interview and a definite advantage at a minimum.
posted by MaxK at 11:12 AM on October 17, 2007

I'd say absolutely. Many people get jobs because they know someone on the inside. If they like you as a friendly person, you'll have a much better shot at the job.
posted by gnutron at 11:16 AM on October 17, 2007

Agreed -- definitely send a personal note and express your interest. Where I'm working now, it seems like the personal, friendly note approach tends to make a real difference, especially if the office is promoting a personal, friendly environment. And most people would rather work with someone they've worked with before, unless the previous experience was really negative.
posted by mochapickle at 11:17 AM on October 17, 2007

There's nothing wrong with a short, personal note reiterating your positive feelings about your history there and your sincere interest in the job. There's nothing presumptuous about this provided you don't communicate a sense of entitlement to the position, impatience or expectation of personal response, or anything like that. This is how things get done and rightly so; hiring is difficult and a positive prior relationship is a great resource and shortcut.

The reason is that an additional communication is reasonable is that resumes may be getting processed by some HR or assistant type who doesn't know you. It's quite possible your application could receive a little positive oversight from above by your giving it a head's up, and very unlikely a brief, friendly communication of this sort would mark against you in any way. In a very similar situation (applied for a full time position at an employer I'd temped for a year prior) I actually stopped by in person to drop off my application and chatted with a couple of past contacts - it was a personal kind of organization. I got the job.
posted by nanojath at 11:23 AM on October 17, 2007

Yes. You have an earned advantage and you should use it.
posted by Benjamin Nushmutt at 11:24 AM on October 17, 2007

Any prior job experience you have should be fully made use of in an interview =)

Besides, consider also that they might be wondering why you haven't sent that "Hi!" note yet...
posted by kureshii at 11:46 AM on October 17, 2007

Definitely. If you're concerned about appearing too forward, come up with a simple question about the position that you can ask them. It'd be a nice pretense for reminding them of who you are.
posted by chrisamiller at 12:18 PM on October 17, 2007

Definitely contact the director(s) who liked you, either by email or phone, or maybe even drop by for a visit. Gently remind them who you are and that you're applying for the new job.

If you think about it, this is great for them too - they don't want to hire just any yo-yo off the street, and you're a known quantity to them. You just have to make sure they remember it.
posted by ikkyu2 at 2:17 PM on October 17, 2007

The deed: she is done. I just sent a nice/friendly email to the director. I cannot thank you all enough for taking the time to answer me. THANK YOU!!!!!
posted by hecho de la basura at 6:40 AM on October 18, 2007