Found info for director of HR of a large company by searching for it online (wasn’t easy, I had to really dig, their info is not easily available). I emailed the director who replied back and said thanks and then asked how did i find their info. Because i don’t want them to kill the source, i dont want to reveal the exact manner in which i found their info, but i still have to reply back with something.
Should i self myself more and say something like: “As you can see, I’m pretty resourceful, my computer savvy skills allowed me to search for your info, this is just one of many skills that make me perfect for the job.” but would that sound cocky? or pushing too much? or make them think i’m not capable of giving a straight answer?
OR should I just tell it like it is: “To answer your question, I searched for your contact information online while I was researching your company, forgive me if I can’t be more specific, it’s just that I like to maintain the discretion of my sources. However, I’d be happy to reveal them to you if you gave me the opportunity to meet with you for an interview.” but would that sound a bit negative, like I’m a stickler, not laid back, etc.. or would that sound positive and show that i’m a careful person?
Or should I just reveal the source but i really dont want to if they weren’t going to hire me not to mention once they got it they’d just say “ok, so now we don’t need her to work here.”
Or do you think they’re expecting me to tell them it was a person, so they think they can say “oh, it was so and so who recommended you, then yes here’s the job” and when I tell them I found it by searching for it online they will say “oh, nobody recommended you, your info gets sent to the giant pile of people we don’t know that want to work for us.”
Ugh, what to answer? please help, this is an amazing company and I wholeheartedly believe I’d be perfect for it. So i don’t want to mess it up by giving a bad response. Thank you to everyone who responds.