A good campaign usually relies on more than one technique to get interviews. Think of how you can divide up your target list. For example, if you have a list of two hundred companies in your target area, you may decide you can network into twenty of them, will do a targeted mailing (with follow up phone calls) to another twenty or thirty, and do a direct mail campaign for the rest. That way you have both blanketed your market and used the most appropriate technique to reach each company in your target area. In addition, you could also contact search firms and answer ads.
You could easily network your way into a large bank. You could find someone who knew someone at a number of them. Each contact you'd make at a large bank could refer you to other people within that same bank and that increases your chances of getting a job there. Since one person knows others within that organization, networking is efficient. You can meet many potential hiring managers within one company.
On the other hand, it may be difficult to network into smaller banks. Fewer of your friends will probably know someone there, because each small bank has far fewer employees. Each networking meeting would represent fewer jobs and fewer referrals within each bank. Referrals to other small banks would also generally represent fewer jobs than the larger banks have. It could take forever to network the same number of potential jobs at hundreds of small banks that could easily be covered by networking at large banks. Networking can be inefficient with smaller organizations, and you may find that you can't put a dent in the market.
You could contact smaller banks directly. They do not expect you to know someone who works there, so they are more open to intelligent mailings. They tend to get fewer contacts from job hunters. You could categorize the smaller banks in a way that makes sense to you those strong in international banking, for example, or those strong in lending. Or you could categorize banks by nationality grouping the Japanese banks, European banks, South American banks, and so on. Then you could target each segment with a cover letter customized for that market.
Decide which techniques are best for you. Think about how people tend to get hired within your target industry and profession. Also consider your own circumstances, such as whether you are currently employed, how much freedom you have to go on networking interviews, how much use you can make of the phone, and so on. You can always network your way into a few specific companies, but a great number is sometimes not possible.
Remember, networking requires a great deal of time and travel. Direct mail is often appealing to those who are working and must ration their interview and travel time.
A word of caution to very senior executives: Because of your extensive networks, you may be tempted to rely exclusively on them to find your next position. As extensive as they are, your contacts are probably spotty. You may be reluctant to do research, because you are used to having others do such things for you. Do your research anyway. Define your targets. List all of the companies in your target areas that are appropriate for you, and the names of the people you need to see in each of these companies. Most very senior executives skip this step, and get their next position serendipitously. That's just fine if it is a position that is right for you. But many senior executives, in their eagerness to land something quickly, may land something inappropriate, beneath what they deserve, or nothing at all. If you have listed all of the people you should see in your target areas, you increase your chances of having a thorough campaign and you will not miss out on a good possibility for yourself.
If you can network in to see the people you should see in your target market, fine. But if you can think of no way to network in, contact them directly. You will get plenty of serendipitous leads, and meet plenty of people who have business ideas and want to form partnerships with you. These opportunities may be fine, but they are better if you can compare them with those you uncover through an organized search.
In Summary
Have a list of all the people you should meet in each of your target areas or, at the very least, have a list of all the companies in your target areas. Intend to contact all of them. Get meetings with people in your target area through networking, direct contact, search firms, and ads. Do not think of these as techniques for getting jobs, but as techniques for getting interviews. Plan how you can contact or meet the right people in every company in each of your target areas as quickly as possible.
After the meeting, either keep in touch with networking type contacts (regardless of how you met them) or think about what you can do next to perhaps turn the interview into a job offer.
