If the initial mailing exhausted the list of potential employers, call the managers who sent you rejection letters. Thank them for answering your correspondence, and then ask for suggestions concerning other companies to contact.
The importance of making these follow-up calls cannot be emphasized enough. You'll automatically secure more interviews by just calling each manager you wrote to.
Drawbacks to the Broadcast Letter
The broadcast letter is not without problems. Its biggest drawback is cost. In fact, it's the most expensive of the 30 job-search strategies. Although price decreases with volume, each letter can cost as much as $1.00. This expense is offset, however, by the speed with which the letter produces interviews and offers. If you're unemployed, it's costing you money every day you're not working. If you're employed, you're losing money each day you remain with your current employer, since you can expect to receive an increase upon changing jobs.
A second disadvantage is that the letter precludes confidentiality if you're well known in your industry or geographic area. Your interest in changing companies will undoubtedly leak back to your employer. For this reason, this strategy is often more suited to job-seekers who are unemployed, who are writing to companies in a different industry than their own, or who are contacting companies in another part of the country.
A third problem with the broadcast letter is that it's usually restricted to people who are seeking advancement in their field. If you're interested in changing careers, your accomplishments probably won't relate to the position you're pursuing. The letter will be of no use. You'll be better off trying to get interviews through the networking strategies.
A final problem is that this letter has been increasing in usage in recent years and some employers have come to view it more as a vehicle for concealing shortcomings than as a document for conveying qualifications. As a result, some employers are skeptical of individuals who use the broadcast letter approach.
Therefore, if you are fortunate enough to have excellent qualifications for the position you're seeking—with no factors in your work history that might preclude your being interviewed—consider sending companies your resume. This is particularly the case if you're unemployed (you don't need confidentiality) and you're pursuing a senior-level responsibility In the latter case, employers often like to have a great many facts and details about an applicant before setting up a meeting. The following are the other seven direct mail strategies; six of them incorporate a broadcast letter or variation of it.
Third-Party Correspondence
This strategy consists of having someone who is well known and respected in your field or geographic area write a letter of introduction for you to managers at different companies.
The letter presents your experience, significant accomplishments, and personal attributes, but doesn't disclose your identity. It also tells why the writer feels you're qualified for a certain position, states why you would make an outstanding contribution, and mentions that the writer will put the manager in touch with you to arrange an interview. This strategy enables you to broadcast your background while maintaining confidentiality as to your identity.
There's another advantage to this strategy: Many managers will want to meet you due to the outstanding recommendation from the influential person who's acting as your sponsor. It's therefore an excellent vehicle if you want to make a career change. The letter will give you credibility and generate interviews, even though you lack the experience a position traditionally requires.If you have the appropriate individual to send this letter, third-party correspondence will produce more interviews than a broadcast letter.
The drawbacks to this strategy are: (1) you need the proper contact for writing the letter, and (2) this person's reputation will probably be limited to a specific industry or geographic area.
If you're currently employed, this strategy becomes more useful the higher your level of seniority. Since the likelihood increases that your name will be recognized, anonymity is needed with direct mail. Third-party correspondence provides this feature.
Writing to Managers Who Have Recently Been Promoted or Who Have Moved to a New Company
After managers have received promotions and, especially, joined new companies, they frequently want to build new staffs of their own. They are candidates for a broadcast letter.
Also read the business section of the newspaper that serves the geographic area in which you want to work. The Sunday edition will be particularly helpful. It will usually include a column that lists promotions and job changes taking place in that region. In addition, read the trade publications for the industries and fields in which you're interested. They too announce promotions and job changes.
Because managers often require some time before they're ready to make staff changes, read back issues of these publications for up to eight weeks priced the time you begin your search.
A potential advantage of this strategy is that you could con tact a manager who's ready to hire someone but hasn't begun to conduct interviews. Here, you will face no competition from other job-seekers.
The disadvantage is that only occasionally will you read about a promotion that's appropriate for the type of position you're seeking.
Writing to the Previous Managers of People Who Have Recently Changed Companies
When someone has recently left a company, his replacement may not yet have been found. This could mean an opening for you. Send your broadcast letter to the manager to whom this per son reported.
To obtain the manager's name and title, call the company and ask to be transferred to the appropriate department. Whoever answers the phone will have the information you want.
When a company is located out of town and you want to save the cost of this call, use the research publications at the library. (You can also call the reference librarian on the phone and ask for the name and title of the person you need. Advise which directories to use.)
The primary limitation of this strategy is that it's usually restricted to job-seekers who are at the level of manager and above. Most personnel changes that are published are at senior levels. In addition, only occasionally will you read about a job change that pertains to the position you're pursuing.
The Telegram
This approach is bold and dramatic. It consists of sending a manager a telegram that describes two or three of your outstanding accomplishments and states that your resume follows.
An alternate, even bolder approach is to conclude the telegram by stating that you will be calling the next day to discuss scheduling an interview.
This strategy can be effective when you know that a manager is currently conducting interviews. Its drama attracts his attention and assures that your resume will be read.
When using this approach, your aggressiveness must be supported by impeccable qualifications. In addition, the strategy is recommended only for positions that require an aggressive personality. If your qualifications are lacking, or if an aggressive personality doesn’t belong in the position you’re applying for, don’t both with the telegram method.
Contacting Growth Companies
Some job-seekers are especially interested in joining young, rapidly growing companies where potentially lucrative stock options are part of the compensation plan. These firms are excellent targets for a broadcast letter since their growth necessitates the continuous hiring of personnel.
To identify these kinds of companies, read Financial World's annual directory on growth firms. Business Periodicals Index, which, under "Growth Firms," lists the magazines (including their dates) that contain articles on such organizations and Inc. magazine's annual issue on the country's 100 fastest growing publicly-owned companies.
Contacting Venture Capital Firms
Another way to reach young, rapidly growing companies, as well as companies that are in a "turnaround" state and are expecting a significant increase in business, is to send a broadcast letter to venture capital firms. The principals at these companies have a wide range of contacts within specific industries and are often aware of high-level openings. Because of their vested interests, they'll apprise their management teams of talent that has recently come into the job market.
To obtain the names and addresses of venture capital companies throughout the United States, you can purchase a copy of National Venture Capital Association-Annual Membership Directory from the National Venture Capital Association.
Providing a Post Office Box Number for Response
Another direct mail strategy that will maintain confidentiality is to send managers a broadcast letter that contains a post office box number for response.
This approach can be useful for contacting managers at competitors or at other companies in your industry or field. The letter is unsigned and provides no information that could reveal your identity. It conveys your expertise, however, and states that it's because you're in the same industry or field that you must initially remain anonymous.
Many managers will consider this approach "unprofessional" and won't answer your correspondence. Others will be as curious as to your identity that they'll contact you even though they have no openings to discuss. However, some managers will understand your need for confidentiality and will write back wanting to explore bona fide employment opportunities.
This isn't a preferred strategy, but it occasionally brings results. The higher a jobseeker's level of seniority, the less effective it becomes.
