I just read a great article on Yahoo Finance about the hidden job market. Although Headhunter Dave Perry and I differ slightly in reccomendations on technique – I agree completely with his logic and LOVE his ideas!

David Perry, a longtime headhunter, says you’re wasting your time if you’re looking for job postings online. And he should know: he’s often the guy on the other side helping companies lure new talent. Perry, who’s based in Ottawa, says that in the last 22 years he has accomplished 996 searches totaling $172 million in salary. And the bottom line in today’s economy, he says, is you have to tap the “hidden job market.”

I reccomend reading the full article here:http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/106829/How-to-Get-a-Job-When-No-One%27s-Hiring;_ylt=Agmsp1E6FiQWXdsO3zFKHKG7YWsA

I am delighted to share with my blog readers that the article below was just published in  Netshare’s latest newsletter – I thought I would share it here and hope it is helpful to job seekers everywhere! – MEB

Have you been exploring alternatives to traditional job search methods? If you have, congratulations! You are on your way to greatly increasing your results and response rates!

I believe you will find this does wonders not only for reaching your job search goals, but also in keeping up your excitement and confidence in the process.

Developing the right list of target companies for you is so important because, done right, it’s going to save you a tremendous amount of time, increase your interviews and save you from the frustration of doing it wrong, which can create an illusion that the reason you are not getting enough quality interviews is because there is something wrong with you or your resume.

So here are 5 tips on how you can get started developing your own amazing list of target companies today:

Tip #1: Focus – Example A
Let’s say for example you want to stay in the state of Georgia and you would like to remain in the field of Academia. Your challenge is to find the institutions potentially suited for you in your state. You need to identify where these lists of institutions are AND you need to track where the movement or growth is with these individual institutions. Your best bet is to check out your trade and association journals for these lists and late breaking news like campus growth, appropriated funds, and promotions etc… anything that might indicate growth or development and a great reason for you to connect. Start by Googling Academia+Georgia or Associations+Higher Education+Georgia.

Tip#2: Focus Example B
Perhaps you are in sales and marketing of consumer goods and you want to move into a senior sales role for the “green” market. You are open to relocating anywhere in the US. In order to not spread yourself too thin, you must come up with a nice handful of portals you can use to find emerging or developed companies that specialize in your “green” market of choice. Begin by Googling Green jobs+products. Interested in wind farms or solar? Google green jobs+wind farms and wind farms+USA. You can also try Googling wind energy+investors. These are just a few examples. Not only will you find companies and contact decision maker names this way, but you will also find articles and information on companies that are growing and developing new products and services. Any and all companies that you like should make your list!

To supplement this information I also highly recommend using Manta.com. Manta provides free company profiles and company information on US and International companies, including market research reports, business news, contact information and key contact names.

Tip #3: Create an Abundant List
The general rule of thumb is: the smaller your geographic parameters are, the more you really need to dig to add anyone and everyone that meets your career focus parameters to your list. If your list is too small, you minimize your responses. Try to begin with 30 to 50 companies, ideally.

Conversely, you may develop over 150 potential company picks in your industry of choice. If this is you, then consider sending your mailings out in phases or hiring a printer (I like Insty Prints) to help you with your mailings.

There is another industry school of thought that touts concentrating on just a few companies at a time. If you are not in a hurry and are willing to invest in learning about, and networking with, key decision makers in each of these companies then I would agree this method is also effective.

Tip#4: Get To the Decision Maker
Sending all of your correspondence to the human resource department will get you far less valuable connections and interviews – primarily because unless HR has been handed a job description that closely matches your qualifications at the exact time you send them your resume, they are probably not going to be interested in you.

So, don’t gamble your confidence away! Though rarely you might hit the jackpot, these just aren’t very good odds. Get to the decision maker… the person two to four levels above your ideal position that is going to be interested to hear about your successes in productivity, profitability and problem solving.

No offense to my human resource friends that serve a valuable and honorable function.

Tip #5: Follow Up
You have to be prepared to follow up with a phone call once you have sent out your correspondence. I know, you are thinking, “but it is so uncomfortable to follow up with someone I don’t know and ask them for a job!” Good news! You don’t have to (and shouldn’t) come right out and ask them for a job.

As a professional, one of the things you must do in your job is learning the basics of networking. We ALL have to do it, so let’s discuss for a moment the value of learning how to network in a way that is comfortable and breeds confidence.

Here is a technique that I use: when I network, I think about it in a way that does not put undue pressure on myself or the immediate outcome.

In other words, when you follow up, don’t set yourself up by rationalizing that the only acceptable outcome is a job interview. Here is your realistic goal: to make an introduction, either personally or via voice mail that you feel good about. That’s it. When you go on a first date do you berate yourself that no one got married at the end of it? Of course not! So just take a deep breath and give the situation a chance to materialize into something positive.

Okay, so here is how to leave a nice message you can feel good about. Try something like this: “Hi this is ____, perhaps my name sounds familiar – I sent you some correspondence last week and indicated I would be following up with you. Its Wednesday, 10am and I will be in the office all day. Please feel free to call me back at ____ and I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.”

This is a nice general introduction. Not to short and not too long.

If you connect with your contact live, this is even better! Say hello, inform him or her why you are calling and then share what you specialize in. Perhaps you increased revenue in your division by 57% last year, or you are a turnaround expert or you just lead your corporation through a very successful merger. Whatever your latest and greatest achievement is, this is what you lead with.

State your achievement in just a sentence or two and then say that you greatly admire their company and for these reasons you wanted to introduce yourself and find out if he/she might have an interest in learning more. This structure concentrates on your quantifiable achievements, is short and is flattering – a recipe for success!

Using these simple tips will put your job search focus in order and allow for a smooth transition from one objective to the other so in no time at all you will have garnered positive results from your ideal companies!

Do you know you can increase your job interviews in a bad economy? Does this statement sound absurd? Truly it is not.

Most people will fall into the temptation of holding on to the job they have (even if they are not really happy with it) rather than venture out into a poor economy…thinking it will garner them little result or create unnecessary risk.

You and I both know it’s easy to let fear paralyze our actions…sacrificing what we really want when we don’t think we can achieve our aim. However, let me share with you five tips to help you understand how you can start moving forward and achieving your goals now instead of later (and land more interviews in the process):

Tip number one: Start your search when your competition is at a minimum
Quite simply, this includes committing to your job search during a “bad” economy. It can also include months like December which is actually (statistically) a good time to begin a job search – another time when your competition is often absent.

Tip number two: Go for the growing markets
To explore growing markets online, visit jobbait.com and register for a free monthly report which details which markets are growing and in what states. When you target a growing market, you automatically increase you odds of landing more interviews.

Tip number three: Make sure your resume is written for your target market
Nothing tanks a good job search like a poorly focused and poorly crafted resume. Make certain your resume is written well.

If you are not sure how your resume stacks up, there are plenty of articles you can read on good resumes, samples you can look at online or in resume books (make sure to view the latest editions) and you can even get a resume critique.

One extra tip: it’s a great idea to have your resume professionally written. If you decide to go this route, make sure the writer is certified and has ample experience. You can find a whole list of certified resume writers at Careerdirectors.com.

Tip number four: Tap into the unadvertised job market
Major Job boards boast a measly 1 to 4% average response rate. That’s a lot of resumes to send out just to hear nothing back!

Make sure you have an adequate mix of associations, niche sites and direct company contacts in your job search strategy.

Depending on your particular goals, you might also benefit from working with recruiters, learning how to network properly (without asking for a job) and learning techniques for following up with companies that are experiencing some form of growth.

Tip number five: Understand the playing field
No matter how good you are, how exceptional your qualifications or how brilliant your references, it’s impossible for each and every connection you make to end up with a job offer.

Your positive responses are going to be smaller than the amount of inquiries you make, period. Such is the world of marketing. So make sure your expectations are congruent with the market so you don’t end up feeling discouraged over numbers which may actually be good!

Want to improve your odds? Techniques to tap into jobs that are not advertised can yield you from 20% to 60% favorable responses. If you are achieving those odds, then congratulations, you are doing a remarkable job!

Successful people generally have lots of good habits including taking challenges head on, investing in themselves and taking action. By integrating these five simple tips into your job search now, you too can achieve amazing results and reach your job search goals.

In part one, I shared with you the benefits of creating your own “A” list of target companies. I also provided you with two examples of gathering research. Today’s article outlines what to do next in steps 3 through 5.

Tip #3: Create an Abundant List
The general rule of thumb is: the smaller your geographic parameters are, the more you really need to dig to add anyone and everyone that meets your career focus parameters to your list. If your list is too small, you minimize your responses. Try to begin with 30 to 50 companies, ideally.

Conversely, you may develop over 150 potential company picks in your industry of choice. If this is you, then consider sending your mailings out in phases or hiring a printer (I like Insty Prints) to help you with your mailings.

At Jobbait.com, you can find a “do-it-yourself” direct mail campaign kit for $150. If your list is large, you owe it to yourself to invest in this manual – it will save you a ton of time and money.

There is another industry school of thought that touts concentrating on just a few companies at a time. If you are highly specialized or not in a hurry and are willing to invest in learning about and networking with key decision makers in each of these companies, then I would agree this method is also effective.

Tip#4: Get to the Decision Maker
Sending all of your correspondence to the human resource department will get you far less valuable connections and interviews – primarily because unless HR has been handed a job description that closely matches your qualifications at the exact time you send them your resume, they are probably not going to show you much interest.

So, don’t gamble your confidence away! Though rarely you might hit the jackpot, these just aren’t very good odds. Get to the decision maker… the person two to four levels above your ideal position that is going to be interested to hear about your successes in productivity, profitability and problem solving.

No offense to my human resource friends that serve a valuable and honorable function.

Tip #5: Follow Up
You have to be prepared to follow up with a phone call once you have sent out your correspondence.

I know, you are thinking, “but it is so uncomfortable to follow up with someone I don’t know and ask them for a job!” Good news! You don’t have to (and shouldn’t) come right out and ask them for a job.

As a professional, one of the things you must do in your job is learn the basics of networking. We ALL have to do it, so let’s discuss for a moment the value of learning how to network in a way that is comfortable and breeds confidence.

Here is a technique that I use: when I network, I think about it in a way that does not put undue pressure on the outcome of the situation (I don’t like pressure)!

In other words, when you follow up, don’t set yourself up by rationalizing that the only acceptable outcome is a job interview. Here is your realistic goal: to make an introduction, either personally or via voice mail that you feel good about. That’s it. When you go on a first date, do you berate yourself that no one got married at the end of it? Of course not! So just take a deep breath and give the situation a chance to materialize into something positive.

Okay, so here is how to leave a nice message you can feel good about. Try something like this: “Hi this is ____, perhaps my name sounds familiar – I sent you some correspondence last week and indicated I would be following up with you. It’s Wednesday, 10am and I will be in the office all day. Please feel free to call me back at ____ and I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.”

This is a nice general introduction. Not too short and not too long.

If you connect with your contact live, this is even better! Say hello, inform him or her why you are calling and then share what you specialize in. Perhaps you increased revenue in your division by 57% last year, you are a turnaround expert or you just led your corporation through a very successful merger. Whatever your latest and greatest achievement is, this is what you lead with.

State your achievement in just a sentence or two and then say that you greatly admire their company and for these reasons you wanted to introduce yourself and find out if he/she might have an interest in learning more. This structure concentrates on your quantifiable achievements and is, in short, flattering…a recipe for success!

Using these simple tips will put your job search focus in order and allow for a smooth transition from one objective to the other so in no time at all you will have garnered positive results from your ideal companies!

One of the wisest things you will do in your job search is learn the best non-traditional job search methods that fit your particular goals.

One method (and it happens to be my favorite – read on to find out why) is finding and following up on what I like to call corporate growth opportunities.

Growth opportunities are windows when a company is experiencing some form of growth. These can include moves, expansions, launching new products or services, mergers or acquisitions, awards and new rounds of venture capital funding, just to name a few.

Because of the fact that in so many cases when a company is experiencing a major change and/or growth there is a hiring need, it is truly a perfect time for YOU to make an introduction!

A few of the benefits you will enjoy when you capitalize on growth opportunities are:

• You set the pace for leadership and control vs. answering an ad, which positions you as the less desirable, passive/receiver.
• You maximize your leverage, options and opportunities in your industry of choice. In other words, you are in control.
• You are introducing yourself at a time when that company may be investing considerable sums of money to find great talent (like YOU!).
• You have little or no competition.
• You are putting the focus on THEM and their particular situation – highly flattering to the decision maker who you are connecting with – which makes you look fantastic.

Sounds great right? Believe me, it is! And it’s easy to find and follow up on growth opportunities in your specific target market using internet resources including: US Business Journals, Google news alerts, article finders and even associations related to your industry of focus.

Each week you can connect with key decision makers associated with the various growth opportunities that interest you. Send a short value proposition letter and don’t forget to attach a copy of the article and follow up in order to maximize your favorable responses.

This particular method can increase your response rate to 20, 40 and even 60%! Compared to the 1 to 3% response rates you will get through submitting your resume to jobs posted on major job boards there is simply no contest. Learning how to follow up on corporate growth opportunities can easily become your most powerful and effective job search strategy.

Due to the detail I am giving you on this important topic, I have divided this article into two parts for the month of November. Here is part one:

Have you been exploring alternatives to traditional job search methods? If you have, congratulations! You are on your way to greatly increasing your results and response rates!

Using non-traditional job search methods is going to do wonders for you both relative to reaching your job search goals, and in keeping up your excitement and confidence in the process.

Developing the right list of target companies is so important because done right, its going to save you a tremendous amount of time, increase your interviews and save you from the frustration of doing it wrong…which can create an illusion that the reason you are not getting enough quality interviews is because there is something wrong with you or your resume.

So here are my first two tips on how you can get started today developing your own amazing list of target companies:

Tip #1: Focus – Example A

Here is my first example for you on to demonstrate how to go about developing a good list. Let’s say you want to stay in the state of Georgia and you would like to remain in the field of Academia. Your challenge is to find the institutions potentially suited for you in your state. You need to identify where these lists of institutions are AND you need to track where the movement or growth is with these individual institutions. Your best bet is to check out your trade and association journals for these lists and late breaking news like campus growth, appropriated funds, and promotions etc… anything that might indicate growth or development and a great reason for you to connect. Start by Googling Academia+Georgia or Associations+Higher Education+Georgia

Tip#2: Focus – Example B

Perhaps you are in sales and marketing of consumer goods and you want to move into a senior sales role for the “green” market. You are open to relocating anywhere in the US. In order not to spread yourself too thin you must come up with a nice handful of portals you can use to find emerging or developed companies that specialize in your “green” market of choice. Begin by Googling green jobs+products. Are you interested in wind farms or solar? Google green jobs+wind farms or wind farms+USA. You can also try Googling wind energy+investors. These are just a few examples. Not only will you find companies and contact decision maker names this way but you will also find articles and information on companies that are growing and developing new products and services. Any and all companies that you like should make your list!

I also highly recommend using Manta.com to supplement your list building. Manta provides free company profiles & company information on US and International companies, including market research reports, business news and key contact names.

Part two will be coming up in just a couple weeks…In steps three, four and five I will be sharing with you how to create an abundant list, how to get to the decision maker and what to say when you do and what you need to know about following up!

In part one of this article, we looked at the facts and fallacies of the hidden job market including why you should consider tapping into it.

In part two we explored precisely how to tap into hidden jobs.

In our final look at the unadvertised market we will focus on three real-life stories of professionals who utilized the unadvertised market to land amazing jobs.

Success #1: Kay moved from Wisconsin to Memphis TN for family reasons. She didn’t know a soul except for immediate family. Instead of asking those family members if they knew of any open positions, Kay inquired about very specific industries and only asked if anyone had any resources into those industries – with whom she might call for mentoring. She quickly got the name of a professional in the education market whom she called to share she was new in town, looking at two industries and his was one of them. Kay’s contact was happy to talk with her and offer her guidance. At the end of the call Kay asked him if he knew of any one else in the industries she was exploring and he readily gave her a contact. She contacted him (a local government official) who that next week, interviewed her for a position that had not been advertised. She landed the job, received a 5k raise; securing a position in her new industry of choice. Kay achieved her goals in less than 30 days.

*Tip: notice Kay never asked for a job – she was really gathering research and information on her two target markets. Her contacts reached out to her by asking Kay if she would be interested in interviewing!

Success #2: Jeff had his sites on commercial real estate site selection and project management for international franchises. He located companies that fit his parameters and qualifications and put those companies that were growing fast at the top of the list. Without getting discouraged he left multiple messages for one of his company key contacts. When he finally connected with him, his contact praised Jeff for his professional yet tenacious follow up. Jeff secured an interview and landed the exact position he wanted as well as a $15k increase in his base salary.

Success #3: Kevin found an article about a growing biotech firm he was really excited about. He contacted the VP quoted in the article by sending a letter, a copy of the article he was referencing and his resume. When Kevin called to follow up the VP stated that he was flattered by Kevin’s approach and he had kept Kevin’s letter and resume on his desk in anticipation for his call. Kevin was brought in to interview for a position they created specifically for him after he impressed the VP with a marketing idea for increasing revenue. Kevin was offered a position and a lucrative commission and bonus plan.

In today’s competitive job market non traditional job search methods are more important than ever to your success. Don’t wait for positions to be advertised on job boards so you can play the “job auction game” where companies bid for the lowest price help and people are moved through job screenings like cattle!

Honor your commitment to obtaining the best opportunity that fits you! Show off your value, worthiness to be interviewed and your professional tenacity by taking the initiative to focus on what you want and then take action to get it! I promise you are going to be inspired by the feeling you get of actually controlling your job search and definitely sweetening the outcome in your favor.

In part one of this article, we looked at the facts and fallacies of the hidden job market including why you should consider tapping into it, why you should consider sending your resume to a company that has not advertised positions matching your skills and the level of experience you should be at in order to benefit from the hidden market.

Now I bet you are wondering precisely how to tap into the unadvertised market. There are three strategies to quickly get you started focusing on and finding great jobs that will never see a major job board.  

Tip #1: You have to have a plan

If you are going to launch a proactive job search (i.e. knowing precisely what you are looking for, then reaching out to get it) vs. a reactive job search (i.e. passively scanning posted jobs, waiting to find the one that fits you) then it’s crucial you know the following things:

Ø      Your primary target markets

(e.g. biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device)

Ø      Your primary positions

(e.g. sales executive, VP of sales and marketing, business development director)

Ø      Your geographic parameters

(e.g. can’t leave Minneapolis, all of US, California only)

Ø      Your timeline

(e.g. need a job NOW, in the next 30 days, would like to make a change in the next 6 months)

Tip #2: You have to pick three main job search strategies for tapping into your market

Now that you have your plan, you should be crystal clear on what you want! Here are just a few unadvertised techniques you can utilize:

Growing/changing or moving companies: These are companies that are expanding, merging, acquiring other companies, are rolling out new products or services or are moving. These companies that are actively changing and/or growing offer you, the job seeker, an opportunity to offer your skills and strengths in order to help them.

Executive Recruiters: Identify executive recruiters that are familiar with your industry and/or level of position. They often have contracts to fill positions of which the majority will never be advertised.

Tip 1: If you are radically changing industries, a recruiter may not be the best source for you as they will be looking for “a match.”

Tip 2: If recruiters are a good source for you my absolute favorite company (they have the best value and the best reputation) for resume distribution is executive agent. You can find their link on my site.

Direct company contact: The secret here is in the numbers. Contacting a company directly (fully knowing they probably have multiple open positions that are not advertised) is a great way to take leadership and control over your job search. Are you interested in looking at the higher education market in your state or the top organic food manufacturers in the US? Or maybe the fastest growing healthcare oriented businesses in your city? All of these “lists” are accessible to you and allow you to easily tap right into your market of focus!

Tip #3: Manage your job search like a marketing campaign

Once you have your plan and have determined the best place to gather your resources and your general strategy, you must make a simple plan to move forward. Depending on your timeframe, pick the hours and the days each week that you plan to invest in your next career move. Block out those times and stick to them! Honor your commitment to your job search just like you would honor your commitment to your present employer to show up on time each day.

During your job search activity, keep things really simple and focus on the actions you are taking, not the results! This way you can celebrate your initial “successes,” which in the beginning are the completion of each of your daily and weekly goals. The results will unfold elegantly and abundantly and you will enjoy feeling that satisfaction of success whether you are investing in marketing yourself or basking in the warm glow of landing your third or fourth interview!

Be careful not to devalue the importance of this tip. This strategy is one of the main points to averting thoughts of despair and feelings of overwhelm.

In this segment, we have learned the basic logistics of tapping into the hidden market. In our final part – part III – I will give you three real life examples of clients that have used these very strategies and share the results they achieved.

Ahhhhhh….the mysterious unadvertised job market.

I dedicate this article to all those professionals out there who have heard about the hidden market but wonder why you should concern yourself with it.

This is not only a topic I love because I specialize in showing my clients how to succeed in landing a job using the unadvertised or hidden market, but a topic I can talk all day about! So I am splitting this article up into small, easy to digest sections in order to bring you the straight talk about the benefits you stand to gain by using non traditional job seeking methods.

So lets begin with a true or false:

True or false: With all the jobs listed on the internet today I don’t need to concern myself with any “hidden” job market.

False. That is, if you care about getting more than a measly 1-to-3% response rate from the resumes you send out using major job boards.

In other words, did you send out 50 resumes using job boards and you still haven’t heard anything back? Well by these standards your only problem is you haven’t begun to send out enough resumes yet…yikes!

The good news about these stats is that there are a whole bunch of job seekers out there that just started to feel a whole lot better about themselves. The bad news is that this proves job boards are a really depressing, hard and painful way for the majority of us to land great jobs.

True or false: I should only answer jobs that are advertised – because I will look stupid if I send my resume to a company when I have no idea if they need someone like me.

False. Way back when I had my own executive recruiting firm I remember client companies telling me “we don’t have any immediate needs right now but if you find a superstar please don’t forget about us, we want to see their resume!”

Not only do companies always make time for people who are “superstars” (and a lot of this has to do with the way you market yourself to them) but most companies go through at least five steps to fill a position before they will post the position to a major job board.

Think about it: if you have a key position that just opened up in your company is the first thing you do pick up the phone and call Monster? No of course not!

You get on the phone to a few trusted colleagues. You look to see if anyone already on board is qualified to be promoted to it or alert your staff to refer someone they might know. You launch an intimate grass roots campaign to try and fill this position wwaaayyy before the general public is notified. And if after a few weeks if the position is still not filled perhaps you contact a related association to post the job on their member’s only job board or you contract a recruiter.

True or false: I have heard the interview process is shorter and the salary package can be significantly higher with unadvertised opportunities.

True! Why? Because when you pursue unadvertised jobs you are almost always talking with the company key decision-makers right from the start. You have more creativity to sell your skills and build the value of who you can be to the company. And finally because these interviews usually lack the formality of a full blown-human resource driven candidate-search, your competition is significantly lower AND the salary terms are less likely to be chiseled in stone. I have seen this play out to my clients favor time after time!

True or false. I am not “high enough up” the ladder to seek out unadvertised opportunities. The hidden job market only applies to executives.

False. ANYONE and I mean even if you are right out of college can enjoy the benefits of the hidden job market. These jobs are available on all levels and in virtually all industries.

The trick is to hone your focus so you actually achieve the results you want. (more on that later!)

So why should you care about the unadvertised market? Because for you, it means more job opportunities, more market leverage, less competition, shorter interview processes and bigger offers. Golly, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to keep pumping out resumes via the internet when you can have all of this control over your next career move!

Stay tuned for next weeks article where I will reveal powerful tips on tapping into this market yourself!  

Sign Up For MORE Free Career Search Tips NOW at http://www.maryelizabethbradford.com!

Most executives are excellent at what they do, but struggle to market their skills when it comes to finding and capitalizing on better career opportunities.

You CAN be quickly respected as a powerful source of wisdom and authority in your areas of expertise to (people in) companies that don’t yet know who you are. You can do this by communicating to them in a way that positions you as an expert in areas that match the challenges of that company. 

So where do you start?

Step One: Know where to find fr*ee sources

Fr*ee sources of information on companies that are moving and growing that is! Industries that are growing and companies that are moving and growing, being acquired, going public or launching a new product or service offering are most often primed for new company hires.

Sources of this information include your local weekly business journals (fr*ee online), local chamber of commerce’s and economic development associations and trade journals. Find two sources that work for you and commit to reviewing them. In committing just an hour each week to doing this, you should be able to easily find two to five interesting articles that intrigue you.

Step Two: Write a letter

Write a cover letter to each company stating why their particular situation impresses or interests you. Tell them authentically why. If they are positioning themselves to “go global” and your background includes helping companies successfully do this, then tell them so and remember to give them an example of how much revenue this generated.

Share that you will follow up with them to see if they would be interested in an initial conversation. Use gracious, diplomatic language to get your point across. Include in your letter a copy of the article you are referencing. You can also include your resume if you discern it’s appropriate or not. What important is that you take action to make that initial contact. If you enthusiasm is authentic they will catch that immediately and you will have maximized your potential to generate interest!

Are you wondering who to send your letter to? The person or persons quoted in the article are best. Don’t worry if they are top executives in the industry. Many professions believe it’s not possible to connect with the top executives of a company but in most cases this is simply not true. In fact, you can use this erroneous belief to your advantage as your approach stands to be unique to your competition! If a decision maker isn’t quoted in the article simply imagine what position you would hold in the comply and go two levels higher. Company executives are often sited on corporate websites or sites such as Yahoo finance or zoom info.  

Tip Three: be consistent

When you commit to take action using this powerful strategy to easily find growth opportunities, you are making a wise investment in yourself and your career. Make it a bold goal of yours to find and send out a certain number of letters each week. If you only sent out and followed up on two letters each week (which should take you only a few hours) you stand to generate MORE interest than if you answered 40 online job ads! That’s right! So make a commitment to yourself to be consistent each week – to quickly and easily move forward towards your goals.