February 2006

hidden job market secrets

Cold Calling Your Way To a New Job

by Debra Feldman

Cold calling may be the lifeblood of selling, but very few people actually enjoy doing it. Combine the discomfort and awkwardness of making an unsolicited phone call to a complete stranger with normal job hunting anxieties and you can get a pretty stressful experience. So why would anyone put himself or herself through the agony of making cold calls when clicking on the Web and licking envelopes are the alternatives? The obvious answer: cold calling works.

Cold calling — the art of calling on prospective employers who don't know you from Adam — produces leads that result in job offers because personal connections are established very early in the process. Cold calling jump starts a successful job search campaign by establishing a relationship between you, the candidate, and a real live employer representative. You needn't wait for the employer to call back in response to your résumé or inquiry because you skipped directly to speaking with a hiring manager. Critical "face time" with hiring managers early in the process will translate to a faster campaign.

Cold calling is among the most effective job search techniques, especially for accessing the hidden job market (i.e., jobs that aren't advertised). If you don’t use cold calling, you may be missing out on those opportunities. Cold calling is more effective than just mailing or emailing a résumé because it establishes a personal relationship with a specific contact person, with whom you can follow up later. Cold calling also provides real-time feedback on your candidate status, and expands your network to include representatives at companies on your target employer list. Even if there isn't a good fit immediately, cold calling provides opportunities to get your name short-listed for when the suitable opening occurs. And there’s an added bonus sweetening your candidacy for employers: your unsolicited inquiry means they don't have to pay any expensive recruitment fees. Any competitive advantage you have over other applicants is a help.

The following tips will help you minimize nerves and maximize potential. By streamlining your approach, your calls will be more effective and easier to execute.

1. Target the right company. Maximize your potential for success by choosing target companies that, based on your research, can benefit from your skills and knowledge. The closer you fit the profile of an ideal candidate, the easier it will be to sell yourself. Match your background to the industry, your interests to their apparent strategy, and your talents to a specific challenge you can address without any learning curve.
    

2. Target the right contact. Initiate contact with a company representative who is appropriate, usually not the President, CEO or COO. Find someone in a functional or operational role that will quickly assess your capabilities and recognize your value to their organization. Human Resources (HR) is more likely to screen you out than to add you to the headcount. Cold calling HR may boost your status when responding to an advertised position, but HR is not the right place to learn about unadvertised jobs in the hidden job market. To get the early leads and be an insider, begin to cultivate a lasting relationship with hiring managers who will help you and bring up your name when new opportunities arise.
    

3. Target the right timing. Timing is critical. If you sense that the person answering the phone is distracted or not cooperating, it’s okay to graciously end the call, politely arranging to call back at another more convenient time. Make a note to yourself that you need to try again after you figure out how not to interrupt this person again (i.e., ask the assistant for an appointment).
   
   People are busy, and it's often a challenge to reach a "live voice" you can engage in a conversation. If you don’t get through on the first couple of attempts, call early or late in the day, send an email requesting a callback or telephone appointment, get an assistant to help or find another insider to arrange the call. Get to the contact’s direct extension.
    

4. Target the right goals. Be prepared to say something relevant or provide some information of value based on your company research. Have some business small talk ready to share as a warm-up rather than charging ahead with your request to solicit job-hunting help. Try to make this a two-way, mutually gratifying exchange.
   
   Don’t be discouraged if the cold call doesn’t yield results the first time. Think of cold calling activities as an investment to establish new relationships with individuals affiliated with your target employers. It takes patience to find the right person with whom you have something in common both professionally and personally.
    

5. Target the right network. Cold calling is a very effective way of expanding your business contacts database with an additional benefit of connecting you to people who might have a job lead now or in the future to share with you. Cold calling isn't about instant results, scheduling an immediate job interview or getting your résumé read. It’s about making connections that may ultimately help you find a new opportunity.
    

6. Target the right career management strategy. Remember that you are the one asking for help. You should be polite and respectful of the other person. At the same time, approach cold calling activities as an exchange among equals, not as a subordinate. You are not asking for a job; you are proposing to make a measurable contribution for your mutual success.

This article has been reprinted with permission from Debra Feldman. Copyright 2005 by Debra Feldman.

Debra Feldman, founder of JobWhiz, is an executive talent agent and job search expert with more than 20 years of senior management consulting experience. For more information and to contact her, visit www.JobWhiz.com.