Do This Instead of Applying Online

Below is a version of an image that’s commonly circulated within the career coaching community:

It outlines the major discrepancy in the way job seekers tend to look for work versus how employers prefer to find candidates.

It also highlights a more efficient and effective path forward for job seekers, if they’re willing to pursue it.

Can you guess what that path is?

It’s the green bar: “contacts from existing staff.”

This means knowing people who already work at the companies you want to join.

(And this implies that you have a relatively clear job search target.)

So what do you do when you don’t have a contact at the company you’re interested in?

You create one!

What’s a job board actually good for?

Job boards are a solid resource for anyone doing what I call, “company discovery.”

In the process of putting together a target job list, it can be easy to get stuck not knowing what’s “out there” in terms of options.

Enter the job board and their posted job descriptions (JDs).

They’re actually great places to quickly learn about companies you’ve never really heard of before.

Since JDs often have sections that outline what a company is focused on, scrolling through postings makes for a quick-and-easy way to find candidates for your target company list.

Now let’s say you find a role you like at a company that seems interesting. And for the sake of this example, let’s pretend you don’t know anyone at that company. Should you go ahead, click online and hope your cold résumé submission alone will earn you an interview?

No!

Do this when you see a posted role you like

Unless the posting is going to close in short order, use the time that it’s open for to gain at least one relevant connection in that target company.

To do this, go to the “People” list of the company’s LinkedIn page and look up folks who are already in the role you want to apply for.

(Alternatively, you can type “[Target Role] + [Target Company]” in the search bar, in the case where the company’s LI page is hiding the “People” tab.)

If you succeed in finding someone with your target role (ideally, it’s better to find a few of these folks), then go ahead an send them a connection request with something like the following note:

Hey Jane – noticed you’re hiring an AE (I’m in sales myself). More importantly, I’m seeing you’ve been around the company for some time. Any chance you’d be open to connecting? I’d love to hear your take on what sales life is like at [Company]. Happy to buy you lunch!

-Mike

Of course, not everyone responds to cold outreach, but the more you do it, the more responses you’ll get!

If you’re able to get time with this person, there’s an outside chance they’ll refer you for the role.

Whether they’re open to referring you or not, you’ll have an opportunity to learn what the company really values in its salespeople. This can help you meaningfully tailor your eventual application.

And just as importantly, you now have a relationship you can nurture over time.

This means that the next time the company posts your desired job, you’ll be one of the “contacts from existing staff” who gets looked at long before anyone in the open job market does.