You’ve been looking for a job for a while now and you’re not getting any interviews. So what can you do? It’s a challenging market out there right now. There are a lot of opportunities, and there are a lot of great candidates too. You need to stand out from the crowd and get noticed. You need to be executing several methods to get interviews. You need to be submitting applications online, networking, talking to recruiters, and going direct to your target company websites.
It reminds me of dating, I have friends who found their mate at church, online, in a bar, through a friend, using a dating service, and even back when people used classifieds in the local neighborhood paper. You have to get out and try it all to see what’s going to work for you.
This article outlines one way to reach out and get noticed. First you want to refine your target list of companies and pick 10 from the “C” category. Remember your prioritization exercise where you categorized your target companies into A, B, and C priorities? You are going to practice with the C companies. So here are some things to help you get an interview:
- Go to the website and search their open jobs. Do you see anything that might be a good fit? If you do, then print the job, and you can even apply online. You may or may not get a call from the online submission. But don’t give up.
- Regardless of whether there is a posting or not, the next step is to reach out to your network. Do searches on Linkedin and find present and past employees. Send them an email asking for some help. Most people want to help others. So if you have a specific request, reach out and ask and someone will answer. Ask them if they will spend 20 minutes on the phone answering a couple of questions. Ask them about the problems the company is facing. Ask them about the challenges, both internally and externally. You are trying to learn as much information as possible so you can help them solve their problems. Ask them who else at the company might be a good resource for you to talk with. Find out the name and contact information for the senior manager, director, or VP that could have influence over finding a role for you. Even if there is no role posted. Network and talk to as many people as possible at the target company. You’re just practicing on these C companies so you have nothing to lose, right?
- Now that you’ve discovered some good information on the company and industry problems, take a few days to work on some solutions. How can you help them? How can you provide value? What can you do for them that would provide more value than your salary? Come up with some solutions and package those solutions in a way that sells you. You can do this with a proposal or a special report. Research your salary too.
- Now send your proposal or special report to the contact person. You’re practicing here right, so try some different things. Try just sending your resume with a cover letter. Make the cover letter strong and a bit of a teaser. So they will want to call you. Have an opening sentence/headline asking them if they have such and such problem? Then proceed to tell them about your background and experience and that you can solve their problem.
- Follow-up on your attempts. Develop a string of contacts using Fed Ex, email, and phone. The goal is to have a live interview with the hiring manager.
Add to this post and tell us what do you do to get interviews?
Guest Expert:
Julie Abraham – Jules’ Gems… marketing tips from a proven leader passionate about helping others
Guest Expert
We are grateful to all of the career experts for the top advice and experience they share with our readers. Career Rocketeer couldn’t “take off” without them and their contributions. Want to write for our blog? Want to further build your personal brand and your business? Learn more ► about applying to our career expert program!
LinkedUp shows you how to leverage LinkedIn to build an online presence, establish industry credibility and find your next job. 
Do you want to build your personal brand and your business? Then apply for our career expert program! 
Perry Newman 
Judi Perkins 
Sending an unsolicited resume with a cover letter will most often result in no response or a boiler plate rejection form letter. Including a resume will enhance the chance that your letter/resume will be sent to HR at best, for filing but will often be simply thrown out.
The only way to get the attention of a potential employer is to mount an "individual or group spot opportunity" campaign using a targeted letter. That is give the recipient a reason to first read the document and then to open a dialogue with you. The objective is to present yourself as a "solution to key core challenges" and not just one more person who is seeking employment.
Identify five or six core operational challenges the potential manager could be facing that if not addressed have the potential to do significant and often irreparable harm to the company and present those challenges in the second paragraph of the letter. This is then followed up in the letter with a branding statement, educational information, four or five significant, relevant and qualified accomplishments and a call for action. The call is for you to follow-up at a time certain not for the recipient to contact you. That is, you take proactive action and not just wait for the recipient to respond. In today's increasingly difficult and competitive job market, this strategy will not guarantee an interview but will increase your hit ratio dramatically.
If the campaign is carried out correctly, the challenges are most relevant and compelling and you aggressively and proactively pursue potential employers, getting through to 50% of the recipients is achievable. Can your current efforts deliver this level of success.
Bill Shambrook
http://www.careersuccessnet.com