Posted by Nicky P. Anderson on Apr 22, 2021

Dear Nicky,

I'm a newer member. Recently I emailed a partner in response to their job posting and got a confused response back wondering how I saw their job. What could I have done differently to avoid this awkward encounter?

Sugar Island Stranger

Dear SIS,

The NPAworldwide membership directory changes on a near-daily basis as member firms come and go, in addition to the turnover among individual recruiters. So there is ALWAYS someone new and ALWAYS someone who won't know you. In addition, everyone gets way too much email, so it's easy to overlook messages that *might* be a generic solicitation from an unknown sender. This is why we recommend that all members make it very clear in their email communications that they are part of NPAworldwide.

Some suggestions:

  • Include your member number in the subject line, perhaps like this: NPAXXXX Candidate Submittal for Plant Manager Role

  • Mention your NPAworldwide affiliation in the beginning of your email, perhaps like this: Hi, I'm <recruiter name> from <company name>, an NPAworldwide member (#xxxx)

  • Even better, do *both* of the above

  • Include a good signature that contains all of your contact detail

  • Consider including a link to your Matchmaker profile

There are more than a few members who won't make splits outside of our network, so that's an extra reason why it's important to clearly identify yourself as part of NPAworldwide early in your communication - and this extends to voice mail and phone conversations as well. It's disconcerting for a member to find out their candidate or job posting, that they thought was privately shared, has been received by someone they've never heard of, from a firm name they don't recognize. Clear communication early and upfront about your shared network affiliation goes a long way toward eliminating these kinds of uncomfortable situations.

Nicky

send letters to: nanderson@npaworldwide.com