Advice on reaching out to recruiter for a new role after being rejected previously

Question

---

I really want to work for a particular company as their expertise is something I’m very interested in developing skills in.

A few weeks ago, after applying to this company, my CV was taken forward and I had a couple of interviews, but ultimately they went ahead with other candidate(s).

I asked the (internal) recruiter (HR) if this disqualifies me from further applications and the recruiter said no, adding that they’d be happy to hear from me in the future.

Just yesterday, a new role was advertised that up better fits my skills, experience, and education than the one I applied for previously. I’ve followed due process and applied through their portal.

Please can you advice if it’ll seem needy or inappropriate for me to also notify the recruiter (internal HR) with whom I interacted with earlier and ask if she can get my CV some visibility? or any other advice on how to leverage this contact in HR will help.

Answer 1

I needed to slightly reword my answer because your edit (internal recruiter from HR vs. external recruiter) invalidated parts of it... But I kept the same thrust

It is the recruiters' job to find the best candidate for a position. The recruiter already told you, that they'd be happy to hear from you in the future.

That's why I am quite sure, that the recruiter really will be happy to hear from you as it will make his job easier...

Just tell him (via mail or phone) that you found that other position that fits you so much better and ask if he is involved in the process for that job as well as you would be really interested... Then let him do his job.

There is at least the possibility that you fall through the cracks on the first step of that new job process when only using the portal for the application. Making sure that this does not happen is not a bad thing to do. Nothing "needy" or "inappropriate" here, just a follow up on an offer the recruiter made you the last time you were in contact.

Of course you MIGHT seem to be desparate depending on your wording, but that can be easily avoided. If you write an email then just write something like:

Hi Joe (or Dear Mr. recruiter, depending on your former communication and culture in your country),

I hope you are doing well. We were lately in contact regarding Position X.
You told me, that you'd be happy to hear from me again.
Now I just found that great Position Y at your company and was wondering, if you are involved in that process as well. I'd be pleased if you could throw my name in the ring there as this position even better fits my profile than the last one.

I am looking forward to hear from you soon.

Best regards

Answer 2

I would advice to first double-check that you're the person to fill that position.

HR may be giving you another opportunity given your interest shown in the company, if you truly make the fit for the new job. But HR and recruiters are in charge of finding the right people to fill a certain position.

People being enthusiast about working at a company is a plus, not the core requirement. Ultimately the company will prefer to hire a highly skilled professional for the task that is not that much engaged with the company (as long as the person works with professionalism), rather than someone very motivated with the company but unable to carry the day to day work properly.

That being said, if you are certain that your profile is appropiate for the position this time, it is OK to email HR if you already had a contact and go in the lines of "hello there, I've seen there's this new position at your company, I'm just noticing you that I've applied to it since it fits my skill set".

Don't get too repetitive, nor annoying. It's just noticing HR that you've applied for that position. The recruiter knows you already, if they think that you make the cut this time, they will take your profile into account. Repeatedly sending mails or asking for confirmation will not help, all you need to do is get your profile back in the radar of the company, that's it.