I have been a recruiter for over 5 years. In those 5 years, I’ve received thousands of messages and comments from job seekers regarding positions that were available at the companies I was a recruiter for at the time. Unfortunately, it was clear that many of the people who took the time to reach out didn’t even spend 5 minutes reading my LinkedIn profile to see what types of roles I was recruiting for.

For example, when I was at Wayfair, I would get hundreds of messages from software engineers asking for career advice. However, I wasn't a recruiter who specialized in software engineering or any type of technical roles. I was primarily recruiting for Creative roles, and I simply wasn't the best person to help them. When you network, do yourself and the person you are reaching out to, and make sure you are reaching out to:

1. Recruiters who are specifically hiring for your role

2. Employees who have similar experience to the role you are interested in pursuing

Just because you contacted someone who currently works at a company you like doesn’t mean they can help you. Relevant people deliver results.