Objective: The objective of writing a formal letter to senior management or a hiring manager is to help you to get yourself an appointment for meeting with the person to whom the letter is addressed. It would be better if you get the appointment with the Hiring Manager. The hiring manager is the person to whom you would report to, the person who makes the decision, and who has the money to spend. The hiring manager is generally not the Human Resources person (unless you're applying for a job in Human Resources).
The objective of a letter sent to Human Resources, on the other hand, is to be invited in for a screening interview, which may then lead to interviews with the appropriate hiring manager who has a position to fill. A face-to-face meeting is more desirable than a telephonic-conversation that serves the purpose only partially.
There will likely be a variety of purposes to the meetings you seek during the course of your campaign. You may be gathering information and seeking referrals; you may be looking for help in getting introductions within a particular company; or you may be seeking an interview for a position with the person you are targeting. Perhaps you are not sure which is your true purpose, because you have no idea when you write, whether you would like to work for the person targeted, or even, whether you would be suited to do the work the person might have for you. However, it's not a necessary precondition.
Your initial meeting is intended for interaction between both the parties. Both get to know each other, to exchange information, and to test the possibilities. Do not restrict its purpose to a job interview. This would rule out all other reasons for meeting and actually reduce your chances of gaining an interview - even when such an interview would be appropriate.
Reasons why a direct request for an interview restricts your possibilities, even when a job opening exists, or may soon exist:
You've never met, and an interview is a more serious event than many letter recipients would immediately grant. (It's like asking for a date before having met the other party.)
The interview plans for the job openings have not been called in yet, and there may not have been any plans in near future for interviews to begin.
The job requisition may not yet have been approved or even completed.
The requirements for the job may not yet have been fully studied or decided.
Instead, be sure that it would be much easier, and the concerned person will be more at ease when the purpose is to obtain a meeting just for obtaining advice, information, and possible referrals, than it is to obtain an interview. Moreover, this information/ referral meeting does not prevent you from receiving any of the potential benefits you would receive from a job interview.
This is because your information/ referral meeting gives you an opportunity to demonstrate your experience, your thinking, and the personal qualities that might make you appear as a desirable candidate. You can present your credentials and highlight your skills and achievements in an informal atmosphere. Better yet, it allows the interviewer to come up with the idea that you would be an attractive candidate for the current or upcoming position, or even a new position created just for you. If your information / referral meeting occurs early enough, when the organization is still in the process of defining its needs, the Hiring Manager who finds you an attractive candidate may even revise the definition of the position to fit your talents and interests.
