Applying to a company where you know no one

March 15, 2007 2:48 PM

JobSearchFilter: What are creative ways to get an "in" at a company?

Being new to my field, I know almost nobody at the companies where I want to apply. In the past, I've found that knowing someone at a company is a huge help, since at the very least they're willing to personally forward your resume to the relevant people. Nowadays, calling companies blindly mostly gets me forwarded to HR personnel, since the receptionist inevitably asks what I'm calling for, and I have trouble coming up with sneaky little lies.

So job seekers, what do you do when you know nobody at a company? Are there creative ways to build a tiny bit of camaraderie with the person who initially answers the phone, and somehow encourage him / her to help you out? Should you avoid admitting you're calling as a job seeker, and if so, what little lies can you give instead? Alternatively, should you just accept that getting an HR person is the furthest you can get sometimes?

posted by scarlet to Work & Money (9 answers total)

do you have any names? try them out on flickr, myspace and linkedin. see what their interests are. do some research and at the very least be prepared for who you end up meeting.

I am somewhat on the fence about actually contacting them there (apart from linkedin). it could come across as somewhat creepy.
posted by krautland at 3:00 PM on March 15, 2007

My experience is that people who try to do that decrease their chances of success.

My brother used to own a small high-tech company, and they made up a name for a fictitious hiring manager which they always used in job ads. Occasionally someone would call and ask to speak to the nonexistent person and claim to be an old friend of his; my brother would note their names and make sure that their resumes went straight into the trash when they arrived.

I understand that you want to increase your chances of getting hired, but look at it from their point of view: a candidate who tries to "game" the system to get hired is quite likely to try to "game" the system once their an employee -- and those kinds of people are very bad to have as employees.

The best way to increase your chances of getting hired is to behave the way a good employee would behave when you're a candidate. That means being honest and straight forward and not attempting to gain an unfair advantage.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:01 PM on March 15, 2007

"...once they're an employee..."
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:03 PM on March 15, 2007

I don't know what field you work in, but my friend is an electrical engineer. When we were fresh out of college and he was looking for work, an older engineer friend of his told him to mail prospective employers a board he had designed, along with his resumé. The idea being that when your resumé is just one in a stack on someone's desk, it doesn't stand out. When the person has an actual THING attached to your document, which is an example of your work, it's hard not to take notice.

So, my friend took a board he had designed and laid out for a company he interned with and (after getting the OK from them of course) sent it with a resumé to a couple of companies he wanted to work at. Within a week, one of them had flown him across the country for an interview, then hired him and paid to relocate him. He loves his job.

Other than that, as someone who interviews a lot of prospects at my current job, one thing that really irritates me is when they have no idea what we do. I can't fathom why someone would walk into an interview and, when asked why they were interested in working for me, respond with, "Well your recruiter found my resumé on Monster..." Look at our bloody web site, learn what we do, and be ready to ask specific questions about it. Otherwise you don't get the job.
posted by autojack at 3:03 PM on March 15, 2007 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Step 1:
Come up with a list of companies you might be interested in working at. Think about what you know how to do, and which department within the company you'd want to work in.

Step 2:
Call the main number of one of the companies you're interested in. Be nice to receptionists and explain that you hope to work there some day and you have a few questions: Who would be the person in charge of hiring for that department? If it's HR, who would be the boss of the department? Any openings s/he knows about in the department? Does s/he like his/her job there? Does it seem like a pretty good place to work? Does the boss seem like a pretty nice person? How is the boss's name spelled? What's his/her e-mail address? What's his/her mailing address?

Step 3:
Send a resume and introductory letter to the boss. The letter should explain who you are, that you have long admired the company, and that these strengths and experiences (outlined to some degree in your resume) would make you a good candidate for employment. Although you're not aware of any openings now, you would like to be considered when they do become available. And in the mean time you're hoping to schedule an informational interview.

Step 4:
Wait 1.5 weeks. If no response, call and introduce yourself and set up a time to meet.

Step 5:
Informational interview.

Step 6:
Thank you card, sent the next day.

Step 7:
Send an e-mail every 2-3 months checking in and reiterating your interest.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 3:51 PM on March 15, 2007 [8 favorites]

Piggybacking: What about companies whose HR person says "we don't do informational interviews"?
posted by cmgonzalez at 5:33 PM on March 15, 2007

Best answer: True story time: I was recently hired at an engineering firm. When I was first hired here, they gave me the old phone number of someone who had recently left the company. There were at least thre messages from people he'd met at bars, who were interested in getting their resume passed on to his boss, who would be in charge of choosing resumes for potential hires.

In other words, try hanging out at bars in the local area and chatting up people who might work there.
posted by muddgirl at 6:31 PM on March 15, 2007 [2 favorites]

Here in the twin cities there is a group that meets at a local megachurch for just this purpose. Once a week the group gathers, with probably 50 people or so, and they all sit in a circle. Each in turn gives a 30-second summary of what kind of work they're looking for, and then the name of one specific company that they are particularly interested in. If anybody else in the room knows somebody at that company, they speak up so that the pair can connect in the later discussion period to exchange contact information. If nobody in the room knows anybody at the company, the leader of the group searches through this enormous book he's got of church members, former group members, etc. (all people who have been willing to network in this way). In the several sessions I went to, nobody ever went without a name and phone number to contact.

I see that you're nowhere near MN, but perhaps there might be something similar in your area. For any 'sotans who might happen upon this thread later, the group I'm referring to can be found here.
posted by vytae at 8:05 AM on March 16, 2007

How about having skills and experience that a company such as the one you are interested in working for may find beneficial enough to hire you?

Nepotism breeds incompetence. Just look at the Bush administration.
posted by tjvis at 11:10 AM on March 16, 2007