How do I ask about a job vacancy over WhatsApp from a manager?

By: Mulunda C

You can ofcourse ask as we usually chat. Start off with hows he is doing today and take the conversation to, “I am wondering, if there are vacancies for xyz position with you” I am looking for one!” If they have, they will tell you. :)

Whatsapp is a personal messaging app. One can not be too informal in communication with HR manager of a company to ask for a job. Better would be to communicate officially on official e mail of the company. Not even on the personal e mail of the executive. These small protocols will go a long way in establishing the professional etiquette of a person seeking a job. Anyway this my personal opinion.

There are others too who say that whatsapp is not for business communication. There is separate business platform on whatsapp for business communication

Read the following article which you may find

Would you walk in a company and ask for a job vacancy even though they're not hiring?

Yes, I have. And I’ve been hired for it.

I went each and every day years ago to the Boeing plant, asking if they had any openings. I mean EACH AND EVERY DAY!

They told me each time, “We’ll contact you if we have any openings.” And I’d return the next day. Same thing. Even sometimes with them adding, “You don’t have to come in every day.” But I did.

I wrote them down, I guess. Because they hired me in the next opening and trained me to be an electrician. It was well worth the effort.

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So how can you Do it ?

What are some job search tips?

“Hello, I am struggling to find a job for the summer. Can you help me?”

I receive several of these requests every month, on Facebook or WhatsApp. I try to be a nice guy and help when I can but a request like that tells me why you are struggling to find a job.

You are lazy. You took two seconds to write that request and left it wide open for me to do all the work. I know nothing about you, have no clue what you’ve tried so far, your skills, your ambition, etc. Then you ask me an open-ended question which leaves all of the detective work to me. Now, I have to email you back and say “Could you please tell me more,” typing a response that takes much more effort than your initial request. My personal favorite is when you just write to me with “Hey.”

I am busy. You give me no specific next step to take. It requires far too much thinking for a total stranger and I do have other things going on in my life. Your request is wide open, difficult and requires substantial effort. How am I going to get charged up to answer this?

The Importance Of Specificity

Richard Nesbitt and Lee Ross conducted an experiment with Stanford students, who were asked to list the most generous students they knew as well as the most selfish.

Lists were created and the researchers contacted these groups, asking them to contribute to a food drive. They split them into two groups, with the difference being instructions given.

The first group was given a vague “Dear Student” request asking them to donate food and telling them where they could drop it off and when.

The second group was given much more specific direction. They were addressed by name in the letter, given direction on specific foods to bring (i.e. Creamed Corn), a map directing them to the drop box, a specific time to visit and then a follow-up call reminding them of what they learned in the letter.

Students who received vague instructions donated 8% and 0% for the generous and selfish groups, respectively.

Students who were offered specific directions jumped to 42% and 25%.

Even one in four jerks showed up with some creamed corn, due in large part to how specific the instructions were. The researchers took all the thought out of the process, with the only decision to make as go or no go.

Make It Easy To Help You

When I suggest to a job seeker that they need to approach as many decision makers as possible, I often hear “I’ve tried that, it doesn’t work.”Perhaps, you have tried. How many did you reach out to? Five? Ten? How about 500? How bad to do you want a better job?

Your alternative is starting your own business and I assure you that you will reach out to far more strangers than 500 to accomplish that.

How easy are you making it on those you reach out to? Are you leaving them with open-ended requests to help you?

How many decisions do they have to make when they open your email?

Offer a quick introduction. Think about a kid selling Girl Scout cookies who knocks on your door. “Hi, I’m Sarah with Girl Scouts. I live three blocks down the street.” OK, we got that out of the way and I understand exactly why she is standing on my porch.

Make it clear why you have reached out to them in particular. Let them know that you did research to arrive at their email address and you need their help in particular for a specific reason.

Make a direct ask for something that is simple, actionable and requires no other thought process but yes or no. If you start with the highest level person you can find, that ask is most likely something like “Will you please forward this email to the person directly responsible for hiring this position?”

They now have one decision to make. They can forward the email to someone in their network, who is most likely junior to their position if you did the homework. Or, they can delete your email.

It is still likely they will not help you, just like 75% of the jerks in the study still didn’t donate to the food drive. That said, you give yourself a much better chance of sparking an action on your behalf if you are clear, direct and ask for something that requires a quick decision or action.

Do the work for the person you need help from. Make it easy to help you.