I want to switch jobs, but the whole recruiting website thing or online application is not only putting me off but also not the way to allocate your time efficiently I think. Your application gets filtered by some little HR bureaucrats before it lands on the relevant desk with tens of others. Getting directly to a relevant person is much more efficient (obviously, this is what networking is all about). But if you don’t have the contact, then I guess the only way is to identify a relevant person on the firm’s website and cold call. The problem is that you need balls and nerves for that, and a good pitch, and experience with your pitch. I am trying to grow the balls and am working on the pitch. So what are your thoughts on all that ? Tips ? I am planning on pitching for jobs that I don’t really want at first just for practice.
This is the kid. Calls me 59 days in a row, wants to be a player. Oughta be a picture of you in the dictionary under ‘Persistence’, kid.
^ YES!
^^^ Thats a good one…there is another one from Glengarry Glen Ross http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TROhlThs9qY
I’ve done this before, although they were more like “lukewarm” leads - people I found on an alumni directory for the college I went to. I just literally went down the list of people in finance, looked up the web sites for the companies they worked for, and picked up the phone. I actually made a few good contacts that way, had several good networking meetings/interviews, and I even got treated to a few free meals. Some people referred me to other people they knew, and my network expanded from there. I think people appreciated my initiative, so people really put their necks out to help me. But in the end, I did not get any jobs this way. It definitely got me places I wouldn’t have gotten if I hadn’t been willing to try though. I’d be careful with pure “cold calling,” surely you can find people you have some kind of connection with. Best of luck.
^^^ Yeah you’re quite right about finding some kind of connection vs cold calling. Good advice. The way I see it unless you completely make an ass of yourself the worst answer you can get is “sorry I can’t think of anything right now / I don’t have time for this”. My current job I got by writing directly to some recruiting manager in my division. I never had to apply for it.
I used to think that cold calling was useless at best, until I knew a guy who pulled a very nice job out of the blue. He looked in my former company’s website for HR contacts trying to just get a name and phone number. Since lots of people wanted to work there, recruiting contacts were private to avoid such overhead from dudes begging for a chance. In large companies, HR is much more than just recruiting and payroll; they have an HR planning MD/Sr. VP who oversees the entire human capital strategy of the firm in many countries. This guy found the name of that MD, who is many levels above of any recruiting activity. He tried to call the MD, of course no answer. And then he actually went to our corporate office and fabricated a story to talk to the MD. Somehow he got face time with him. The guy realized until then that the MD has nothing to do with recruiting; he just targeted him because in his title included some HR in it. The guy convinced the MD and gave him an entry-level job way above of what he should get based on his qualifications because even the entry-level guys who worked with that MD all had impressive backgrounds. Anyway, I worked with this gutsy guy for a while, and while he was not brilliant at all, what he did was noteworthy. I could never do something like that.
Its all about getting in front of the decision maker… Cold-calling is effective as long as its part of an overall strategy… I used recruiters, jobsites (TheLadders and GloCap), personal network, professional network, and cold contacts in my last job search… Warm networking led to the current role, but had hits from all the other avenues. The quote from Wall Street is dead-on - if you aren’t willing to give up, you’ll always be more persistent than the other guy… and that persistence counts for a lot in the real world.
Here is something that I tried with some success: 1. Find out who is in charge of recruiting for the position you want. (Some smaller firms put this information on their website). 2. Call the “decision maker” and give your little elevator pitch. “My name is ______ and I am interested in learning more about the ________ position at your firm.” Give them a sound byte about your background, and see how they respond. Invite them for lunch (your treat) for an informational interview. I actually tried this and it worked out quite well. However, by the time they called me up for an interview, I was living somewhere else. Give it a shot and let me know how it works out.
It works. My roommate had been promised a job by a motor company. They lost funding and decided not to hire him. He just shrugged it off and started calling up all of the firms in the area that hired electrical engineers. A manager at the firm he is working for now just got approval for another person minutes before he called. *Miracle!
just do it man. whats the worst that can happen? You get told no? You probably won’t burn any bridges and in the end it will show how you’re not afraid to throw your neck out there.
That’s how I moved out of the BO into a FO job. Cold called an alumn in that field and got to know him. Stayed persistent well over a year.
Another idea, search on linked in for CFAs at your target company, and see if any are in areas you want to work in. I have met a few people that way.
I was thinking about something like this but more along the lines of cold emailing, not cold calling hahaha. Based on these responses I’m guessing there’s zero chance of a response from an email showing your interest in a position and your resume and cover letter?
Redox, not true. I got my current job by cold emailing. But that being said I had a lead, i.e. a former intern who gave me the guy’s name and number saying they were recruiting. I just wrote to him and said “I am X and I have Y and Z. Would you be interested to see my CV”. He said yes. Got called for an interview 2 weeks later and got the job. Was at the peak of the boom in spring 2007 though…
Slightly unrelated but what do you think about calling HR to follow-up after submitting a resume through a company website? E.g. call and let them know “Hey I live in X, you’re in X, and my experience is exactly what you seem to be looking for. I’d love to set up an interview.” Too pushy or annoying? Or just being smart?
Steely Dan, No problem with this at all, actually it’s a good idea, if nothing else it gets your resume to the top of the stack again, most of the time you’ll end up with an interview.
pgh.ndt Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Steely Dan, > > No problem with this at all, actually it’s a > good idea, if nothing else it gets your resume to > the top of the stack again, most of the time > you’ll end up with an interview. Thanks for the feedback. I thought it might be a good idea but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t way out in left field.
Yeah I’m very shy with any type of cold anything, but the general consensus seems to be that it can only be positive. I can’t imagine some recruiter thinking “well, you would have gotten the job had you not called me, young man”.