Stop Sending Your CV to an Organisation. Start Building Relationships Inside It.

THE “ONE ORGANISATION, THREE CONTACTS” STRATEGY

Stop Sending Your CV to an Organisation. Start Building Relationships Inside It.

One of the most common mistakes in job searching is treating an organisation as if it has only one door.

You find a vacancy.

You visit the careers page.

You upload your CV.

You click Submit.

Then you wait.

But an organisation is not an email inbox.

It is a network of people with different responsibilities, influence and perspectives.

The One Organisation, Three Contacts Strategy encourages you to identify three relevant people within every priority organisation:

1. The HR/Recruitment Contact

2. The Hiring Manager or Programme Lead

3. The Senior Decision-Maker

You don't approach all three in exactly the same way.

You build three different relationships around the same career target.

“Don't let your CV become a file number in someone's inbox. Build relationships with the people who understand the need, influence the process and know where the organisation is going.”

WHY THREE CONTACTS?

Each person can see your potential from a different angle.

HR/RECRUITMENT

May understand:

• recruitment processes;

• eligibility requirements;

• application procedures;

• talent needs;

• organisational hiring practices.

HIRING MANAGER / PROGRAMME LEAD

May understand:

• the actual work;

• team challenges;

• technical requirements;

• programme priorities;

• the capabilities needed to succeed.

SENIOR DECISION-MAKER

May understand:

• organisational strategy;

• growth priorities;

• future direction;

• major programmes;

• partnerships and organisational needs.

You are therefore building three layers of professional visibility.

Not three requests for a job.

CONTACT ONE: THE HR/RECRUITMENT PERSON

Your first contact may be someone responsible for recruitment or people management.

But don't approach them only when a vacancy appears.

Learn how the organisation recruits.

Understand:

• what roles are commonly advertised;

• how applications are submitted;

• what qualifications are frequently required;

• what professional profiles the organisation values;

• when recruitment cycles tend to occur.

Your objective is to become familiar with the organisation's recruitment ecosystem.

What to avoid

“Hello, I am looking for a job. Please keep me in mind.”

A stronger approach

“I am interested in building my career within the development sector and have been following your organisation's work. I would appreciate learning more about the professional capabilities your organisation increasingly values when recruiting programme and project professionals.”

This creates a career conversation, not a desperate request.

CONTACT TWO: THE HIRING MANAGER OR PROGRAMME LEAD

This may be the most important relationship for understanding the actual work.

A programme lead knows what the team is trying to achieve.

They understand the challenges.

They know where capacity may be stretched.

They know what skills are useful beyond what a vacancy announcement can fully explain.

Research their professional background.

Understand their programme area.

Read their professional posts where available.

Learn about the projects they oversee.

Then engage around their work, not merely your job search.

For example:

“I have been following your work in community-based programming and found your recent focus on stakeholder engagement particularly interesting. My background includes coordinating community activities and working with multiple partners, so I have been keen to learn more about how organisations are strengthening this area.”

Now you have a reason to connect.

CONTACT THREE: THE SENIOR DECISION-MAKER

This could be a:

• Country Director;

• Executive Director;

• Managing Director;

• Head of Department;

• Director;

• Senior Programme Manager;

• Founder;

• or another senior leader.

The mistake is to immediately ask senior leaders for employment.

Don't.

Senior professionals are often more interested in people who demonstrate clarity, relevance and initiative.

Your objective is to understand the organisation's direction.

Ask yourself:

Where is the organisation going?

What is it expanding?

What challenges is it trying to address?

What capabilities might become increasingly important?

When you eventually engage, demonstrate that you have done your homework.

“Senior people don't need another person asking for an opportunity. They notice people who understand the opportunity the organisation is trying to create.”

THE THREE-CONTACT MAP

For every priority organisation, create a simple map:

ContactWhat You Want to UnderstandYour ApproachHR/RecruitmentRecruitment & talent needsCareer/recruitment conversationHiring Manager/Programme LeadTeam & programme needsTechnical/professional conversationSenior Decision-MakerStrategy & future directionStrategic/organisational conversation

This prevents you from sending the same message to everyone.

Each person has a different perspective.

Your communication should reflect that.

DON'T ASK ALL THREE FOR A JOB

This is extremely important.

If you approach three people from the same organisation and send:

“I am looking for a job. Please help me.”

you have created three requests.

Instead, create three professional relationships.

With HR:

“Help me understand the organisation's talent needs.”

With the programme lead:

“Help me understand the work and challenges.”

With the senior leader:

“Help me understand the organisation's direction.”

The information you gain from those conversations can make your eventual application dramatically stronger.

THE “THREE ANGLES” ADVANTAGE

Imagine you eventually apply for a Programme Officer position.

Because you have already studied the organisation from three angles, you may understand:

HR angle:
What qualifications and recruitment requirements matter.

Programme angle:
What the actual team needs.

Leadership angle:
Why the organisation's work matters strategically.

Your application can then connect all three.

That is much more powerful than simply copying keywords from a vacancy.

THE RELATIONSHIP LADDER

Don't try to build a deep relationship in one message.

Think in stages:

STAGE 1 — DISCOVER

Find the right people.

STAGE 2 — UNDERSTAND

Study their roles and organisational priorities.

STAGE 3 — CONNECT

Send a relevant professional message.

STAGE 4 — ENGAGE

Interact meaningfully with their work.

STAGE 5 — CONVERSE

Have a genuine professional conversation.

STAGE 6 — CONTRIBUTE

Share useful insights, resources or relevant experience.

STAGE 7 — REMAIN VISIBLE

Stay professionally connected.

STAGE 8 — EXPLORE

When an appropriate opportunity emerges, you are no longer a complete stranger.

“The goal of networking is not to ask someone for something today. It is to become someone they can confidently think of tomorrow.”

THE GOLDEN RULE: DON'T FORCE THE CONNECTION

Three contacts does not mean three people must know you personally.

Your goal is not to manufacture relationships.

Your goal is to identify relevant people and engage authentically where appropriate.

Don't:

• spam them;

• repeatedly ask for jobs;

• send mass messages;

• pretend to know them;

• exaggerate your experience;

• pressure them for referrals.

Professional credibility takes time.

Build trust before requesting access.

YOUR ORGANISATION TARGET SHEET

For every priority organisation, record:

Organisation: ______________________

HR/Recruitment: ___________________

Hiring Manager/Programme Lead: ______

Senior Decision-Maker: ______________

Current Programmes: _________________

Current Priorities: ___________________

Potential Organisational Need: ________

My Relevant Capability: ______________

My Strongest Evidence: ______________

Last Contact: ________________________

Next Action: _________________________

This turns networking from random activity into a career intelligence system.

THE 3 × 10 CHALLENGE

Take your 10 highest-priority organisations.

For each organisation, identify:

1 HR/Recruitment contact

1 Hiring Manager/Programme Lead

1 Senior Decision-Maker

You now have:

10 organisations × 3 contacts = 30 strategic relationships to research and develop.

But remember:

30 contacts does not mean 30 job requests.

It means 30 potential sources of professional knowledge, visibility, relationships and opportunity.

THE BIGGER IDEA

Most job seekers ask:

“Where can I send my CV?”

Strategic job seekers ask:

“Who understands the organisation's people needs?”

Then:

“Who understands the actual work?”

And finally:

“Who understands where the organisation is going?”

Those three questions lead you to three different people.

And those three people give you a much more complete picture of the organisation.

“Don't knock harder on one door. Learn which doors exist, who opens them, and where each one leads.”

FINAL TAKEAWAY

Your CV is important.

Your qualifications matter.

Your experience matters.

But sometimes the difference between being unknown and considered is simply whether someone inside the organisation knows who you are, understands what you can do, and can connect your capability to a genuine need.

So, for your priority organisations:

Find HR.

Find the person closest to the work.

Find someone who understands the bigger direction.

Then build genuine professional relationships with all three.

Because the strongest career opportunities are not always created by submitting another application.

Sometimes they begin with the right conversation with the right person at the right time.

“Don't just apply to organisations. Build a professional presence inside the organisations you want to become part of.”