How to Cold-Contact Employers...Even If You're Cold-Call Reluctant

The most potent way to land a job is cold contact. Here are my thoughts on how to do it and to overcome cold-call reluctance.

Finding Names of Small Companies and People There With Power to Hire You

A stumbling block for many job seekers is finding the names of smaller companies and the people there with the power to hire them. Here are some solutions:

To get names of smaller companies

Online Sources

·  Most obvious, Google "fastest growing companies." Your search results will include lists of the national and regional up-and-comers as well as those growing quickly in a specific field, for example, high-tech or advertising.
·  There are 40 local editions of Business Times (www.bizjournals.com), each containing information on companies in growth mode, often including the names of contacts associated with that growth.
• Hoover’s Business Directory. http://www.hoovers.com/  Available on the websites of many public libraries.
• Rich’s Business Directory: http://www.richsdata.com/  Also available on many websites
• www.thomasnet.com  lists 607,000 manufacturers of products and components and 1,000 technical manufacturing White Papers.
·  ReferenceUSA.com: This database contains 24 million businesses in the United States, including a special section with 4 million new ones, where job openings are more likely and less competitive than in established companies.
·  StartUpHire.com lists 37,000 jobs at startups. Sure, answer ads that are on-target but again, even if none are, companies that placed multiple ads might be in hiring mode and thus worth your trying to make a connection there.
·  LinkedIn and Quora.com have discussion groups in a wide range of fields. Interesting, growing companies are often mentioned.
·  Your local newspaper. Yes, the business section, but the rest of the paper – even the advertisements – can lead to you to growing businesses. The online version may be more robust.
·  Employers you've never heard of that have multiple job listings are likely to be in hiring mode. To find them, search the big job-ad sites: Indeed.com, SimplyHired.com and LinkUp.com using keywords and zip code to narrow your list. Also, search job sites specializing in your field. A wonderful portal to those is the Riley Guide (www.rileyguide.com/jobs.html).
·  CrunchBase.com lists newly funded high-tech companies, those that have the most money and those, from its 160,000-company master list, that are trending upward on Chartbeat, which, in real time, ranks pages by the number of visitors.
·  VentureLoop.com claims to be "the worldwide leader in job postings focused on venture-backed companies. Many job postings on VentureLoop cannot be found on any other job board."
·  Search your favorite shopping sites, such as Amazon, Etsy or eBay for a category of product you care about (for example, garden seeds). Does any company stand out for you?
·  Scan your college's and even high school's alumni directory.
Human Sources

·  Talk with officers at local organizations: Rotary Club, Kiwanis International, Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce, etc. Ask which local businesses are growing.
·  Drive around in areas near where you live: Look at the lobby directories in office buildings, walk into any businesses that intrigue and tell the receptionist your story. If you're open to working in a storefront or retailer, walk in to appealing businesses.
·  Ask your friends: Your real-life ones, and look at where your LinkedIn and Facebook "friends" are working or have worked.
To Get the Names of People There With the Power to Hire You

·  Search LinkedIn's company directory. You may well find someone in your network who works at that company.
·  Google a target employer along with words that might elicit the name of the person with the power to hire you, for example, "Vendome Widget," "vice president, marketing." If that doesn't generate contact info, Google as much of the following information on a potential lead as possible: name, title, organization, area code and the word "email."
·  Phone the company's main number and use its automated directory to find a likely candidate (For accounting, press 202, for marketing, 203, etc.). If he or she is the wrong person, ask if he or she has a company directory handy and say you're looking for, for example, the marketing manager for the Mid-Atlantic region.
·  Phone the organization's main number. Usually to get to the operator, you press zero. Say, "I'm sending a note to (insert name). What's the best way to send it to him or her?
·  Large organizations have a mail room. Call it. The person answering probably doesn't have gatekeeper responsibility so he or she will most likely give you the names and contact information of people with the power to hire you.

To get the names of people there with the power to hire you

• Your professional association, for example, the Seismological Society of America, has a membership list.
• Call the company's main number and use their automated directory (For accounting press 202, for marketing 203, etc.) to find a likely suspect. If they're the wrong person, ask if they have a company directory handy and say you're looking for, e.g., the assistant general counsel.
• Call the organization's general phone number. Usually to get to the operator, you press zero or #. Say, "I'm sending a note to (insert name). What's the best way to send it to him or her?
• Large organizations have a mail room. Call them and ask.
• Google a target employer plus a word or phrase that might elicit the name of the person with the power to hire you, for example, "Vendome Widget Co, vice president, marketing." If that doesn't generate contact info, Google as much of this information on a potential lead as possible: name, title, organization, area code, and the word "email."

The Most Potent Strategy for Finding a Job

For all but very high-level positions, this strategy is the most potent: Send a brief but compelling email to 50 potential employers who are NOT advertising a job you're interested in but who have the power to hire you for a position you'd accept. Follow up with a phone call one day later. For lower-level jobs, the most potent variation on this theme is to simply walk in and pitch the employer.

Why is that strategy so potent?

A job opening is born when an employer has a need but doesn't realize it. If the employer receives your email/phone call or drop-in visit at that point and you help him realize he has an important unmet need that you could fill, he might hire you then and there, without your having to compete with a zillion applicants.

If the employer receives your email when she realizes there's a need but hasn't had time to fill it, you could be perceived as manna from heaven and again get hired with minimal competition.

If the employer receives your email when he's just told insiders about the job, again, your competition is not enormous.

Disproportionately, job openings get advertised when they require rare skills or are so bad that no insider wants to take it or recommend it to their friends. In either case, such jobs are less likely to be better for you than the jobs you could be offered if you contact the employer earlier in a job opening's lifespan.

How I Got a 100% Response Rate to Cold Calls

Conducting the research for my book, How to Get an Ivy League Education at a State University, required my getting 115 specific colleges to submit a set of six in-depth student questionnaires and one administration questionnaire.

I was able to get all 115 sets. How?

1. I phoned (leaving voicemail if necessary) to say the packet of questionnaires was coming, and passionately explained how much students would benefit from the book, which would be based on the questionnaire responses.

2. I immediately sent the packet.

3. The day after they received the packet, I called (again, leaving voicemail if necessary), asking if they'd mailed the completed questionnaires back. Again, I passionately explained the importance of doing so.

4. If I didn't get the packet back quickly, I called again the next day and, if necessary, the day after that. 

I never had to make more than 3 follow-up calls--I got the completed packet from 115 of the 115 colleges. 

So, in short, my approach to getting a high response rate:

Call (passionately), email, call, call, call.