THE REALLY COUNTER-INTUITIVE APPROACH TO THE MARKET

As this book has made clear, a successful job hunt relies on you using all available broadcast channels. One of these channels is making direct approaches to employing organisations. In other words, making some form of communication to an organisation which might be interested in you, but doesn’t currently have anything you could describe as a defined vacancy.

Statistically, at least one in 10 jobs are filled because of a direct, unsolicited approach by candidates. Of course we’re not talking about a badly photocopied CV sent out with a vague covering letter. We’re certainly not talking about the thousands of CVs emailed randomly to HR departments every day by hopeful workers. Let’s be clear. We are talking about well-pitched approaches to organisations that might just have a niche you can fill.

Candidates avoid this activity for a variety of reasons. Some can’t see the counter-intuitive point of it. If jobs are in short supply and employers don’t need to advertise vacancies in order to fill them, why would anyone waste their time making a direct approach to an employer that isn’t trying to fill a job?

The short answer to this question is, because it works. It works for both the employer and the candidate as the table below shows:

For career coach John Whapham direct approaches are:

Probably one of the best strategies for job getting. Get there before the job is advertised! The problem is identifying prospective companies. Most companies may be looking for someone at least once a year. If that is the case, about 20% of companies on your hit list may be considering hiring staff right now. The selection process can be expensive and time consuming. Get there before they advertise!

Employers don’t actively seek speculative approaches, but it’s surprising how often an approach out of the blue leads to something. The lowest hit rate comes if you try to do this by email. Your communication is readily screened out along with hundreds of other irrelevant messages arriving each day. An approach by letter alone can work, but your letter has to be good – very good indeed. If your approach contains any element which is about people talking to each other, for example if you are introduced by someone and then you send a letter asking for a meeting, the response rate can be very good indeed. Kate Howlett’s view is that when this approach works ‘the jobs are usually great ones as they tailor the job to you – not you to the job’.

If you talk to employers about why they sometimes make an offer to someone who approaches them out of the blue, they will volunteer that it is occasionally refreshing to meet someone who has thought carefully about what they have to offer and how they can match their strengths to real businesses with real needs. Such employers often say things like ‘let’s get her in and see what she has to offer’. Sometimes it’s a kind of market testing, sometimes they will be interested in picking your brain about past employers. If they like what they see, however, it’s not at all rare for an employer to say ‘we don’t have a job at the moment, but we’ll find you something’. The strange thing is that employers do create jobs around the right people, even if there are no vacancies, and even if the organisation officially has a hiring freeze. Even if your letter only has the effect of starting a conversation, you learn something about an actual employer’s needs and get a chance to ask the question ‘who else should I be talking to?’.

What candidates don’t often realise is that when they get close to employers on this basis (whether by speculative approaches or through level 2 conversations) the employer is far less hidebound by a recruitment process. There almost certainly won’t be a job description, or even a job title. All there is at this stage is a headache the employer wants to remove, or an opportunity that hasn’t yet been exploited. You end up on a shortlist with one name on it. Not only that, you also have far more influence over job content than candidates going through formal processes where the job has been wrapped up in red tape and passed to HR to be advertised. So in a sense it’s always easier for an employer to see immediately what you have to offer, and why you might be a good fit. However, you do need to show a very clear understanding of the principal needs of the organisation, and a clear message that you can hit the deck running. Keith Busfield writes: ‘Today the market doesn’t want potential, it wants results in six weeks.’

SPECULATIVE APPROACHES

Any job hunt programme that covers all the bases needs to include speculative approaches to organisations. Often candidates make the assumption that this means mass mailing. Some outplacement firms used to send hundreds of such letters out for each client, drowning senior contacts in paper. This ‘spray and pray’ approach gets your CV rejected fast. Remember, however, that most letters that arrive unannounced like that have made little attempt to match the needs of the organisation. In this respect they are junk mail. If such letters are sent by email they are even easier to ignore.

Speculative approaches don’t offer a magic bullet solution. Careers specialist Claire Coldwell writes:

Speculative approaches can still work but need a high degree of common-sense applied in order to establish whether there really is a need (albeit undefined and unadvertised) within that company. The link between the CV and the company needs to be very clear e.g. a recent contract which might require particular software development experience.

There are of course employers and sectors which tend to keep a closed door as far as speculative approaches are concerned. Careers specialist Marie Brett writes:

It isn’t worth making speculative applications to public sector employers; time is better spent registering with either an organisation’s own electronic vacancy notification and application system, or free-to-use portals that enable access to jobs in a variety of organisations. Application processes usually require specific evidence of how you meet the requirements of the post outlined in the person specification.

THE LETTER

Well-constructed and punchy speculative letters to employers can work well, but before you start drafting, do ask yourself whether a letter is the right approach. Could you get a better and quicker result speaking to a real person? Written communication always works best as a follow-up to a face-to-face conversation, not as a replacement for it.

A speculative letter is very unlikely to work if you are unclear why you are applying, unsure why your experience might be of interest, or if you just don’t know enough about an organisation.

Speculative letters can work very well in four scenarios:

1. When certain skills and experience are in short supply.
2. When employers are hungry to get certain kinds of talent into the organisation.
3. When a hiring need is so pressing that a recruitment process seems too long and painful.
4. When the candidate is already known to the organisation through other channels.

Be aware, however, that alongside any other channel to the marketplace, the majority of your approaches will not result in a meeting. Assuming your cover letter is good, there are still plenty of reasons why it won’t work. Some organisations have a policy of ignoring all speculative letters because any new hire has to come through HR. These organisations will often only consider application forms, and only when specific posts are advertised. In this case you are best (a) applying for specific positions following the organisation’s rules or (b) networking your way to a face-to-face conversation.

However, the primary reasons a well-pitched speculative letter might not work are obvious. An organisation doesn’t need you at the moment. Or, if it does, you haven’t pitched to the right person. Or, finally, if you’ve approached the right person potentially, you haven’t made it clear why you are worth interviewing.

The main point of a letter is to address an employer problem, not simply to announce your availability. Career coach Ruth Winden writes:

Identifying employers that are an excellent fit for one’s professional expertise is a key job search strategy. Research the company’s top challenges. Can you solve their problems? Can you make them money? Can you save them money? What do you offer that will make a real (bottom-line) difference to them? How are you connected to the company’s employees and who can help you make contact at senior level? Approaching employers with that much understanding of a company and clarity about what you can contribute has nothing to do with sending off ‘speculative applications’. It is a well-researched, solution-focused proposition, aimed at creating a win/win for both parties. Maybe there is no opening at present, but your approach has made the decision makers realise what they are missing and they take action as a result of your meeting. Or maybe they don’t. In which case you will have made a strong introduction, broadened your networks and positioned yourself for future job opportunities.

LETTER CONSTRUCTION

Your letter was not invited, so a long document won’t be read with great patience. It’s going to be read by a busy person, so don’t expect to gain anything more than a minute’s attention. Adopt a style similar to a covering letter, but even briefer. Try a three paragraph approach:

1. Say something briefly about the organisation, then why it matches your skill set and experience.
2. Refer to your attached (tailored CV), and set out three or four bullet points summarising key pieces of information you believe are relevant.
3. Sign off quickly, asking for a meeting.