Contacting Employers by Mail or Phone

As discuused in the article on the hidden job market, it is often worthwhile contacting companies to ask if they have work available. This can be done in person, by telephone, with a mailshot, or with a combination of the three.

How to Organise Your Search

Decide which companies you want to concentrate on, and list them in order of preference. Find out the name of the person who would eventually decide to hire you - you may have to do a little research to discover this.

Create a file on each target company, including annual reports, brochures, and articles of company news. Studying this information will make you a better candidate if you meet with the company.

Contacting by Telephone

One way of finding out if a company has any vacancies that they're not advertising is simply by enquiring by telephone. There are two ways to go about this:

The Wrong Way:
Call a company once, leave your name, phone number and a few personal details then leave it to chance they'll remember you the next time a suitable vacancy comes up.

The Right Way:
By following a targeted, systematic calling method, following up calls on a regular basis.

The System

• Start by researching which organisations to target - the ones who are most likely to have the kind of job opportunities you are looking for.
• You may want to approach the companies further down your preference list first. You need practice and it is better to make your mistakes with companies that are not your main targets. You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.
• Get the name of the right person to speak to. So, for example, if you're in sales, ask for the name of the sales director.
• Keep your call short and to the point, as cold calls can be very irritating especially to someone who is busy. State simply who you are, the name of anyone who may have referred you to them, what you're looking for and whether there's anything suitable for you at the moment.
• If possible, suggest meeting up for an interview within the next week.
• If there are no vacancies at present, find out if the organisation ever has the kind of job opportunities you are targeting.
• End the call by saying thank you. Leave the door open for calling again another time.
• Keep a record of your calls including the name of the person to whom you spoke and any useful information you picked up.
• Give each call a score from 0 to 5, where 5 is a call where the feedback has been encouraging, and 0 is for employers who may have been rude or discouraging, or who say that they never employ in this way. A score of 1 to 4 should be assigned to those companies that only have an occasional demand for talents such as yours.
• Work out a telephone calling routine. You may decide to call your 5's every 8-10 weeks. The lower the number you have rated the company, the longer you will leave it to call them. Zeros won't be contacted again.
• Revise your ratings (upwards or downwards) each time you call.
• This system should eventually pay off. The number of companies on your call list will diminish, whereas the target gets more accurate and defined. Patience and perseverance will eventually pay off.

Contacting by Mail

Once you have identified the person who would be recruiting you, you should send them a cover letter with your CV. Both of these should be adapted to suit each company that you write to.

Your Curriculum Vitae

Adapting your CV to the job is made more complicated when applying to a job in the hidden market, as there isn't an advertisement on which to base your approach (e.g. for clues on what to include and what to leave out). You will need to use your imagination and try to customise each unsolicited CV you send out to what you think the employer will be looking for. For example, if contacting a small firm, perhaps you need to bring out your experience in managing small teams, or your good all round business skills. The experience you've had running multi-site operations won't have very much relevance and should therefore be consigned to a less prominent place.

Your Cover Letter

When writing your cover letter, the first paragraph must catch your reader's attention, so highlight one of your most significant achievements (bearing in mind what would appeal to your reader).

Your second paragraph should address your interest in the company, and should show why you have singled out this firm and how this ties into your interest. Then you need to list your achievements that prove your point, and that will answer the company's anticipated needs. If you can learn what the company is looking for beforehand, you will be in a much better position to select and refine your achievements.

Your letters should sign off with a statement such as "I will be calling your office in a few days to set a mutually convenient time for an appointment".

Make sure that you print off a second copy of your CV and letter to keep in your file so you will have a record of what you've written if you're invited for an interview.

Try mailing approximately 10-12 of your target companies initially. Don't attempt to do any more than this, as you need to follow each of these letters up with a phone call to ask for a personal interview. This process becomes unmanageable if you take on too many companies at a time.