• 20% of Americans, including 37% of Gen Zers, have directly messaged a hiring manager to pitch themselves for a job.
• American job seekers most often DM:
• A recruiter at the company: 42%
• A current employee at the company: 38%
• A friend or family member who works at the company: 35%
• The owner of the company: 23%
• An alumni connection from their school/university working at the company: 21%
• The CEO or senior leadership: 15%
• American job seekers most often share:
• A personalized pitch tailored to the company or role: 67%
• A link to their portfolio or standout work: 40%
• A social media post highlighting their skills: 23%
• Of those who directly messaged hiring managers, nearly 50% sent a follow-up before receiving a response.
• 40% of Americans have landed a job by sliding into a hiring manager’s DMs, with the most success seen in tech, marketing, and healthcare.
• 35% encourage other job seekers to DM hiring managers.
• Nearly 40% of Americans plan to reach out to a hiring manager directly in the future.
• 37% of Americans have noticed an increase in AI-generated messages from hiring managers.

• Nearly 60% of hiring managers view DMing as a professional approach to job outreach, with 56% thinking it shows initiative and good communication skills.
• 3 in 5 feel neutral about being DM’d, saying their response depends on the message quality, and 1 in 2 are hesitant to respond if the message feels unprofessional.
• 34% of hiring managers have interviewed job seekers who have DM’d them.
• 20% have hired someone who slid into their DMs, most often in tech, hospitality, and healthcare.
• Types of messages that have most often led to job hires:
• Brief introductions or general inquiries about roles: 60%
• Detailed messages tailored specifically to the position or company: 56%
• Creative or unconventional pitches that stand out: 40%
• Hiring managers most often hired job seekers who DM’d them through LinkedIn (63%), Facebook (33%), and Instagram (19%).
• 33% of hiring managers think social media outreach is becoming a key trend in recruitment, and 50% believe it will become a standard part of the hiring process in the next 5 years.
• 1 in 2 hiring managers encourage job seekers to contact hiring managers via DM.
• 2 in 5 hiring managers have noticed an increase in AI-generated messages from job seekers.

We surveyed 500 American employees and 500 managers to explore the effectiveness of direct messaging hiring managers on social media when job hunting. The average age of employees was 39; 48% were women, 51% were male, and 1% were non-binary. Generationally, 8% were baby boomers, 24% were Gen X, 51% were millennials, and 17% were Gen Z. The average age of managers was 41; 42% were women, 57% were male, and 1% were non-binary.

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