Track Down Those Elusive Jobs Using Cold Calls
It might be maddening to go through your list of advertised positions and warm contacts and still have a hard time landing a job.
Rather than going through the same process consistently, you could switch to a cold call strategy.
A cold call strategy begins with a list of 75 - 150 firms.
Then it requires you to go around the gatekeeper, make a brief presentation, and win an interview.
Cold calls have a high rejection rate but they can help you track down those hidden opportunities.
Your list of 75 - 150 companies should be primarily small to mid-sized firms.
A local chamber of commerce is a great source for finding such companies, as are professional associations, online newspapers, and Fortune.
Once you complete your list, you'll need to assemble specific information for every company; you'll also need to have the company's address, phone number, number of employees, annual revenue and a list of their senior executives.
Some of this information will be available online, and the rest you'll be able to find at your local library.
Learn from the person in charge if they have ReferenceUSA, Hoovers, or Dun and Bradstreet.
After you gather your information, input it into a spreadsheet or database.
The following part is to compose a script.
Begin with an introduction, which might include your name and some details about who you are.
Proceed with casual conversation, such as "How are you?" You will then want to give the purpose of your call, making sure you state what you want the outcome of the phone call to be.
You might suggest that you would love to meet to talk about how you can increase the company's net worth.
Be ready to address common objections; senior executives are apt to say that they're not interested or not hiring.
Ask if they could change their mind if a strong candidate was on hand.
A productive call could lead to a personal meeting or a conversation about your resume.
Before you can communicate with any senior executive, you'll have to circumvent the gatekeeper.
Gatekeepers are defined as the secretaries and administrative assistants who handle phone calls.
In the current business environment, they have become increasingly combative, since large numbers of job hunters, employment agencies, and salesmen are trying to make their pitches.
Effective strategies for bypassing the gatekeeper include calling prior to or after normal business hours, or during lunch.
If you do get a gatekeeper, ask for the executive's voicemail or exploit the company directory to dial by name.
However, who are these important executives? Contact the President, CEO or chief of the department you hope to work in.
For example, if you're interested in IT, you'll have to contact the CIO.
Be prepared to generate a voicemail message, since you'll rarely be able to contact them by phone.
Your message has to include your name, a brief pitch and contact information.
If you haven't heard back within 48 hours, try one more time.
No more than two voicemail messages should be the stopping point.
Following that, generate an e-mail possessing your pitch.
E-mail addresses can be located on company websites, or by utilizing Google, Linkedin, and familiar sources.
If you still have not acquired a email, then ship your pitch to the business address.
Address it to the department head and with the phrase "Personal and Confidential" inscribed on the lower left corner of the envelope.
It's normal that not every single senior executive will be interested in you, but certainly someone will have interest in what you have to offer.
Your main goal should be to get an in person meeting to go over everything with them face to face.
When you're conversing to someone in person the possibility of you getting even more opportunities goes up a great amount.
Even in the worst case scenario where the person you're talking to doesn't give you a job offer you can still get other contacts from them to potentially schedule more interviews.
If you should run out of options you should try to network with additional companies to keep your job search alive.
Rather than going through the same process consistently, you could switch to a cold call strategy.
A cold call strategy begins with a list of 75 - 150 firms.
Then it requires you to go around the gatekeeper, make a brief presentation, and win an interview.
Cold calls have a high rejection rate but they can help you track down those hidden opportunities.
Your list of 75 - 150 companies should be primarily small to mid-sized firms.
A local chamber of commerce is a great source for finding such companies, as are professional associations, online newspapers, and Fortune.
Once you complete your list, you'll need to assemble specific information for every company; you'll also need to have the company's address, phone number, number of employees, annual revenue and a list of their senior executives.
Some of this information will be available online, and the rest you'll be able to find at your local library.
Learn from the person in charge if they have ReferenceUSA, Hoovers, or Dun and Bradstreet.
After you gather your information, input it into a spreadsheet or database.
The following part is to compose a script.
Begin with an introduction, which might include your name and some details about who you are.
Proceed with casual conversation, such as "How are you?" You will then want to give the purpose of your call, making sure you state what you want the outcome of the phone call to be.
You might suggest that you would love to meet to talk about how you can increase the company's net worth.
Be ready to address common objections; senior executives are apt to say that they're not interested or not hiring.
Ask if they could change their mind if a strong candidate was on hand.
A productive call could lead to a personal meeting or a conversation about your resume.
Before you can communicate with any senior executive, you'll have to circumvent the gatekeeper.
Gatekeepers are defined as the secretaries and administrative assistants who handle phone calls.
In the current business environment, they have become increasingly combative, since large numbers of job hunters, employment agencies, and salesmen are trying to make their pitches.
Effective strategies for bypassing the gatekeeper include calling prior to or after normal business hours, or during lunch.
If you do get a gatekeeper, ask for the executive's voicemail or exploit the company directory to dial by name.
However, who are these important executives? Contact the President, CEO or chief of the department you hope to work in.
For example, if you're interested in IT, you'll have to contact the CIO.
Be prepared to generate a voicemail message, since you'll rarely be able to contact them by phone.
Your message has to include your name, a brief pitch and contact information.
If you haven't heard back within 48 hours, try one more time.
No more than two voicemail messages should be the stopping point.
Following that, generate an e-mail possessing your pitch.
E-mail addresses can be located on company websites, or by utilizing Google, Linkedin, and familiar sources.
If you still have not acquired a email, then ship your pitch to the business address.
Address it to the department head and with the phrase "Personal and Confidential" inscribed on the lower left corner of the envelope.
It's normal that not every single senior executive will be interested in you, but certainly someone will have interest in what you have to offer.
Your main goal should be to get an in person meeting to go over everything with them face to face.
When you're conversing to someone in person the possibility of you getting even more opportunities goes up a great amount.
Even in the worst case scenario where the person you're talking to doesn't give you a job offer you can still get other contacts from them to potentially schedule more interviews.
If you should run out of options you should try to network with additional companies to keep your job search alive.
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