You have been eagerly awaiting a role that you fit into perfectly, you kind of really like the job as well. So far so good, you have put in quite a strong application for the position, now you intend to follow it up with the recruiter, which seems to be the logical thing to do. During a normal job search this may seem to be enough of effort on your side, however if you have set your sights on the above position, be prepared to walk the extra mile. 
Reaching out is Crucial
Here is how to make a head start into the role in question. It makes sense to reach out to a recently departed employee, this may seem to be underrated and farfetched in the beginning, even counter intuitive, however you cannot beat this to get first hand insiders information and intelligence on the team you are trying to join successfully. Do bear in mind the success of initiating these conversations is going to be really critical as far as the chances of landing the job are concerned. How to reach out is the question then.
Unbiased Opinion
You just cannot seek out any random person to establish contact and elicit the desired information. If the person has left a long time back, at best he or she can provide general insights at the executive level, on the other hand an employee who has been fired recently would not be in a position to provide you unbiased opinion with respect to the workplace. To get a fair idea you need to zero in on the person carefully, you may go ahead and dig into the work history, social profiles, of various persons before deciding on the most likely person who would be able to help you with the kind of information you are after.
Veritable Goldmine
Next reach out to the former employee using your personal email or in-mail. Start by briefly mentioning about yourself, and then communicate the fact that you have applied to work with their team, want to learn a bit more as this would help you understand the opportunity a bit better. Further ask for a chat over a cup of coffee or over the phone. Thank the person and judiciously use the information. A former employee may prove to be a veritable goldmine of information as far as the hiring process goes.
Final Words
You might be looking at the company with rose tinted glasses; the situation may not be as rosy though and only the former employees would raise the red flag for you and further help you to vet employers as low quality or high quality. Always remember it is not just you as an individual who is being evaluated by the company during the hiring process the reverse is true and important too. The job may look really amazing on the surface but you need to scratch the surface a bit in the best interests of your career and find out about the team dynamics as well. A former employee is a veritable treasure trove of desired information and could go a long way in making or marring your career progression. Make judicious use of this little known career resource.
