I didn’t just answer the question with my opinion, but I wanted to offer you some different perspectives. There is no one right answer in situations like these. It might come down to the comfort level of the recruiter or what the company culture supports. To find out what they thought, I reached out to a group on Facebook called “Recruiters online”. This group is home to more than 15,000 people and hosts lively discussions about talent acquisition.
The “no or not” team
I would not send them a job application if they reached me via email. There are legitimate reasons they might do so. Some people are not looking for work by sneaking around their bosses. Perhaps the office is moving, and the employee cannot move to the new location. There are other reasons not to make your work email your first point of contact.
Jeanne Achille is CEO of The Devon Group and chair of The Women In HR Tech Summit. Many corporate networks can be monitored.
Mary Hernandez is a robotics automation startup’s HR manager and career advisor for job seekers. Contacting candidates via work email can cause sensitive issues, especially if it leaves a trail that IT can trace so I wouldn’t recommend it. Do you need to use their email address? Particularly when you can reach anyone via social media.
Jack Kelly is the founder and CEO at WeCruitr.com – I place people on Wall Street. Their emails are monitored daily by compliance departments to make sure they are not breaking any rules. You must be very careful. You can focus on this issue if you don’t. They’ll probably be rude. If that happens, you should treat it as an objection and overcome it. Then, pitch the position.
Anna Szymanski Kett is the owner of Quality Professional Recruiting – I wouldn’t do that. When they contact me via work email, they ask for my email to continue conversations.
Philip John, SPHR-SCP, executive human resource management strategist at RedefinedHR – I don’t like using work email. It could backfire if the candidate doesn’t get the job, and the employer (through IT), finds out and terminates the candidate. This has happened to me, unfortunately.
In the “why not?” or “yes” camp
Many recruiters will tell you that passive candidates can be found by reaching out to them through any medium. Contact them by phone if there is a concern over email. You can ask the job candidate if they are interested. They can then tell you their preferred contact method if they aren’t. These are just a few perspectives from recruiters who have used this strategy.
Darryl Dioso is the managing partner of Resource Management Solutions Group. No problems. Usually, I get a reply saying they are interested in continuing discussions via email or text.
Michael Dube is the human resources manager at Chubb. If you are an external recruiter who is hesitant about contacting candidates via work email, I would hate to see your year-end billings. It’s 2019. It’s 2019. If a recruiter approaches employees at work, they are unlikely to cause trouble. They should be able to send emails offline.
Kara Rice Heath is the managing director of iNNOV8 talent. I do it. I just say, ‘Hey —, do you have personal mail? It works like a charm.
Jason Metz is a talent source at Mosaic. This non-profit, faith-based organization provides healthcare services for people with intellectual disabilities. – You need to work it right. Connect with the idea of the person you are hiring, not the idea of the organization you are working with. You can also use it to draw attention to a LI message or contact. Do your best to reach the right people. I have received a lot of responses from work emails.
Robin Quale is a talent acquisition consultant at Queue Talent. However, you should not use the email to blast the job description to the applicant.
We are grateful to everyone who shared their opinions and responded. You can see that most responses were split between “yes” and “no”. A common theme in all the replies is to remember your candidate’s experience. Your first contact with a candidate as a recruiter is an important part of the process. Make a great first impression, and the job candidate may give you their email address or answer your work email.