How to find the hiring manager for a job
Knowing who will read your application helps you write to them. These are public, ordinary ways to find the person who leads the team behind a role.
Start from the posting
- Look for a team or department name in the title or description.
- Check who the role reports to. Some postings say it outright.
- Note the tools and projects mentioned. They narrow the team.
Where to look
- The company's team or about page.
- Professional networking profiles of people with matching titles at the company.
- The company blog, conference talks and open source repositories, for authors in your field.
- Press releases and podcasts that name team leads.
Use titles to guess the right level
For an individual contributor role, the manager is often a team lead, head of a function or director. For a senior role, it may be a VP. If the company is small, it can be a founder.
What to do once you have a name
- Apply on the employer's page first.
- Then send a short note. See the cold email guide.
- Do not guess personal email addresses or contact people on personal channels. Use the professional channel they use publicly.
If you cannot find a name, address the hiring team and put your effort into the application itself.