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In 2019, I applied for a job and was called and shortlisted by the recruiter. Unfortunately as this position was changed to a fixed term contract for a short amount of time, the recruiter and I agreed not to progress on this occasion, but I was told that she would be happy to discuss opportunities directly with her in the future.

Come 2021, there has been a new opportunity posted which matches my skillset. I have applied through the ATS (applicant tracking system) online, but I was wondering if it is appropriate to email the recruiter mentioning I have applied for this position, even though it was 2019 since we were last in contact. As it is a very large company, and there are plenty of applicants - it is very likely that she may not remember exactly who I was.

Is approaching the recruiter with:

"At the beginning of 2019, I had the privilege of speaking with you in regards to applying for a position with XXX, where you passed along your details for future communication.

I have been monitoring the XXX careers website since, and have noticed the position of 'XXX' has been recently been advertised, which I believe will be a great fit for my skills and experience."

appropriate?

Thank you.

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  • I don't know if it matters, or if you know, but you may want to mention if the recruiter was acting as a go-between, or if they were employed by the company.
    – Gregory Currie
    Mar 27, 2021 at 12:56
  • Good question @GregoryCurrie, they were employed directly by the company (i.e working in the HR department), handling recruitment for employees in the region I am in. :)
    – Debbie Williams
    Mar 27, 2021 at 12:59

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Take Yes For An Answer

The recruiter said “happy to discuss opportunities directly with you in the future.” Now it is the future, and there is a new opportunity, and you want to discuss it directly. The recruiter could not have been more specific that the answer to this is yes.

It may not help - the recruiter may have left, or may decide not to respond - but you have been handed an edge, use it.

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  • Thanks so much for your reply! I've added the email I will send to her in the question above. Would you feel this is an appropriate email to 'reach out'?
    – Debbie Williams
    Mar 27, 2021 at 13:20
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    Needs a call to action (it is unclear what you are asking for in the email). Like are you angling to talk to them about it to get info/schmooze them? What action do you want them to take besides say to themselves “cool story bro”; make it explicit.
    – mxyzplk
    Mar 27, 2021 at 15:23
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TLDR: Since you already have an established rapport with this person, make your email a little more casual, and less clinical in tone.

This is a standard boiler plate response when you didn't get selected for the role, but they received good feedback.

Everyone has heard of "blacklists", but there are also "Whitelists" in companies where they keep candidates names that they would consider for other roles.

It sounds like you may be on a whitelist, so following up is never a bad idea in that case.

Your idea is:

"At the beginning of 2019, I had the privilege of speaking with you in regards to applying for a position with XXX, where you passed along your details for future communication.

I have been monitoring the XXX careers website since, and have noticed the position of 'XXX' has been recently been advertised, which I believe will be a great fit for my skills and experience."

I would modify it slightly....

At the beginning of 2019, I had the privilege of speaking with you in regards to applying for a position with XXX, where you passed along your details for future communication, and said that you would be happy to discuss opportunities directly with me in the future.

I have been watching for other positions, and noticed position of 'XXX' has been recently been advertised, which I believe will be a great fit for my skills and experience, and would like to discuss this opportunity with you.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration, I look forward to speaking with you again."

Use your own words and tone, of course, but part of the goal of your email should be to reestablish any personal connection you have with this person, as this person becomes more than a name of someone you know to contact to someone who IS a contact and part of your network

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