By now, you have done preliminary research (through networking and at the library) to determine which of your targets are worth a full campaign. You now also have a complete list of companies you would like to contact in each of those target areas, and, ideally, the specific names of the people you want to meet in each company. Direct all of your energy toward reaching them. Plan how to contact them to get plenty of interviews in your target area. Stay open to serendipitous leads, but do not let them form the basis for your search.
There are four basic techniques for meeting people in each of the areas you have targeted for a full campaign. In the following chapters, you will learn more about them. They are:
- networking
- direct contact (direct mail, targeted mail, walk in, cold call)
- search firms
- answering ads
Do not think of these as techniques for getting jobs, but as techniques for getting interviews. After the interview, think about what to do next to keep the relationship going or perhaps to turn the interview into a job offer.
Only 5 to 10 percent of all job leads are through search firms; and another 5 to 10 percent are through ads. You do not have much control over these leads: you have to wait for an ad to appear, and wait for a search firm to send you on an interview. Both networking and direct contact are proactive techniques you can use to get interviews in your target market. In networking, you contact someone simply by using someone else's name. In direct contact, you contact someone directly usually after you have done some research and know something about him or her. Networking and direct contacts complement each other and gain added effectiveness when used together. You may start your campaign with either direct contact (if you know your target area very well) or with networking (to research an area you don't know well or to find a way to contact people), and introduce the other technique as your campaign progresses.
Consider all four techniques for getting interviews, but spend most of your energy and brainpower on networking and direct contact.
Selecting The Techniques
Select the techniques most appropriate for the industry or profession you are targeting, as well as for your own personality. Each technique can work, but the strength of your campaign lies in your ability to use what is best for your particular situation. Contact as many potential employers as possible and then "campaign" to keep your name in front of them. Use all of the techniques to:
- learn more about your target area
- test what you are offering
- let people know you are looking
- contact people in a position to hire you
Search Firms
If you are looking for a position that naturally follows your most recent one, you can immediately contact search firms. As I've mentioned, only about 5 to 10 percent of all professional and managerial positions are filled by search firms, so it would seem logical to spend only 5 percent of your effort on them. However, certain professions use search firms more than others do.
Contact reputable search firms that tend to handle positions in your target area. If you don't already have relationships with search firms, find the reputable ones through networking, by asking managers which search firms they use or recommend. Remember, search firms are rarely able to help career changers. (See Chapter 18 for more on search firms.)
Answering Ads
Five to ten percent of all jobs are filled through ads. The odds are against you, so don't spend too much thought or energy on them. And don't sit home hoping for a response. Just answer the ad so long as it sounds close to what you have to offer and get on with your search. Maybe you'll hear from them maybe you won't. (See Chapter 19 for the best way to handle ads.)
Networking
Studies show that about 70 percent of all positions are filled through networking. This is partly because it is an effective technique, and partly because most job hunters mistakenly refer to talking to people as "networking," no matter how they wound up talking to them. For example, Pete just found a job. I asked how he got the initial interview. He said, "Through networking." When I asked him to tell me more, he said, "I'm an accountant, originally from Australia. There is an association here of accountants from Australia. I sent for a list of all the members, and wrote to all of them. That's how I got the job."
Pete got the job lead through a direct mail campaign, not through networking. That's why the survey numbers are off, and that's why you should consider using every technique for getting interviews in your target market. You never know where your leads will come from.
Networking simply means getting to see someone by using another person's name. You are using a contact to get in. You want to see the person whether or not they have a job for you. This technique is essential if you want to change careers, because you can get in to see people even if you are not qualified in the traditional sense. To stay in the same field, you can network to get information on which companies are hiring, which are the best ones to work for, and so on.
Networking can lead you in directions you had not thought of, and can open up new targets to pursue. You can network to explore even if you are not sure you want to change jobs right now. What's more, it's a technique you can use after you land that new job, whenever you get stuck and need advice.
Networking is more popular today than ever before, and it is effective when used properly. But, depending on your target, it is not always the most efficient way to get interviews. Furthermore, it is getting a bad name because although people are constantly networking, they are doing it incorrectly. Learn how to network correctly (see Chapter 16), but combine targeted mailings (a direct contact technique) with your networking when you are aiming at small companies or ones that have very few jobs appropriate for you. Networking your way into all of them could take forever. Also, directly contact other people when you would have great trouble getting a networking contact. If the direct contact doesn't work, you can always network in later.
When you combine direct mailing with networking, you can cover the market with a direct mail campaign and then network certain sections of that market. Or you can network in to see someone, and then perhaps get a list of names you can use for further networking or a direct mail campaign.
If you do not cover your market, you risk losing out. You may find later that they "just filled a job a few months ago. Too bad we didn't know you were looking." Be thorough. Let everyone in your target market know that you are looking.
