Most HR pro’s will tell you that the best way for you to get into their company is to apply via the company website. While this is the best way to be entered into their bottom-less pit of a database it is not (contrary to popular belief) the best way to get a job with that company. Just ask this candidate.

Understand that I have nothing against HR/Recruiters, in fact, some companies have great staffs that do excellent jobs, but most HR/Recruiters function as generalist (typically don’t know your field), have WAY TOO MANY JOBS to fill, and work with thankless managers who don’t understand the complexity of their jobs. So the fact that they can’t assist is more a function of how their company works more than anything else.

So when you find a company that you’re interested in and they have a current position open that seems to match your skills you are much better off using your network to connect directly into the company. Should that not be an available option then you should get in touch with a recruiter that works with the company and can provide you with a greater depth of information about the role, hiring process, etc., and if all that fails pick up the phone and call the company directly, but remember don’t just send it.