After a six month job search, I was having little success applying for jobs online through career sites. I decided to take a proactive approach and email recruiters and hiring managers directly to increase my chances of landing an interview. Below is the system I used to contact hiring managers quickly and at scale, which resulted in 10+ job interviews in 24 hours. This is a powerful job search strategy that lands interviews quickly, but keep in mind you do want to make sure you learn the best tactics to ace the job interview, so when you do land the interview you have the best chance to get an offer from the company.
Also, before starting the process, make sure your resume and LinkedIn profile are optimized. This tactic reaches a large amount of recruiters quickly, but they must like what they see to get a call. Make sure to speak with a trusted resume expert first to make sure you land the interview. SalaryHackers offers free resume review from a resume expert, giving professional feedback on content, keywords and ATS compatibility. Request your free resume review today.
Summary of Process:
In short, I was able to identify my ideal companies who were hiring for my position. I then built a list of contacts and used an email marketing tool to send and track Reponses. I used a free calendar scheduling app to automate scheduling phone interviews.
Step by
Step Process:
1. Make a list of 100 target companies.
These are companies where you would like to work and they should be hiring your exact position. I started my research with Google, searching phrases such as “Best Companies in New Jersey”, “Best Companies for Marketers”, “Companies that Pay Marketers the Most”, etc. Once you have an initial list, you can use platforms like Glassdoor to get an idea of the culture and benefits.
You want to build a list of 100 companies to land at least 10 interviews. When complete, put this list in an excel file and save to your desktop.
2. Build a contact list.
Next, you’ll need to build a list of contacts for your list of 100 companies. You should try to find to find three (3) contacts for each company. Director of Talent Acquisition, Senior Recruiter for (Your Role) and your potential manager (Marketing Manager). You’ll then need to build a list which shows the first name, last name, email address and direct phone number for each contact.
Typically, this is a very time consuming process, taking hours away from your job searching time. This is why you want to outsource this work to a virtual assistant to complete in 24 hours. This frees up your time and completes the project quickly. In the next section I’ll show you how to create a job, select and hire an assistant to complete this work.
3. Hire a Virtual Assistant to Build Contact List
Upwork is the leader in hiring virtual assistants because it is simple, fast and affordable.
You’ll want to do the following to hire a virtual assistant:
- Create an account at Upwork here:
- Create a Job: It’s free to post jobs at Upwork, here are instructions for posting a job. You simply want to create a paragraph explaining the job, timeframe, payment, etc. You’ll want to be very thorough and specific.
- Pricing for list building can vary, but expect to pay an average of $.04 cents – $.08 cents per contact. For 300 contacts, figure on 7 cents per contact, or $21.
When placing your job, be sure to put a time date on it, like needed is 24 hours. Also, create an excel file with the fields you need, such as company name, contact name, contact email. This way the freelancer can simply fill in the data.
Also, ask them for a sample of 10 contacts before you hire to make sure they fill in the correct information. You’ll receive offers from virtual assistants.
What to look for when hiring:
Make to stay away from freelancers who are just starting. You can identify experienced freelancers because they will have high earnings and reviews. Also, only work with freelancers with strong ratings. You should hire and they should have list to you in 24 hours.
4. Write
Your Email
Now it’s time to write your email. The goal of the email is get a phone meeting with the contact. You’ll want to use the email to succinctly show why your qualified and the reason for your interest.
This email will be the following format:
Why your contacting the person
Why you’re interested in the company
Why you’re qualified for the role
Next steps, include a call to action
Here is a sample:
Hi Tom,
I’ve recently applied to a Marketing Manager role at IBM, I’m reaching out to introduce myself and find a time to learn more about the role.
I have 10+ years of software marketing experience, most recently marketing for F500 accounts in Los Angeles, where I achieved the highest conversion rates on the marketing team. Please find my career details here.
I’m excited to share how my experience can be applied to grow brand awareness for IBM.
Would you be available to speak by phone to review my experience in more detail? If so, please let me know the best time to reach you.
Thank you Tom, I look forward to hearing from you,
Bill Robyn
818-282-382
[email protected]
5. Use
Mailshake to Automate Email Reach Out
Mailshake is an email automation tool, that allows you to mass email, but also personalizing each email. For example, you can send to 100 contacts and personalize the name, company, or any details you wish. This highly increases response.
Mailshake pricing is $29 per month, so it will cost you $29 to use for 30 days, but it is a tremendous value in getting responses. lets you see who opened, analytics, and personalize all at scale.
6. Use Calendly
to Automate Interview Scheduling
Calendly is a free scheduling platform that allows you to automate scheduling meetings with recruiters. It eliminates the back and forth, recruiters simply click the link, chose a time and Calendly will send the meeting invites.
7. Send Email
Here are the steps to send your email with Mailshake:
- Create an account: https://mailshake.com/app/#/signup
- Upload your list of contacts
- Write your email copy
- Schedule your send date
8. Follow Up:
24 hours after your send, Mailshake provides full analytics on opens, clicks, etc. You’ll want to pull this report, sort by those that opened or clicked. These are ideal contacts to follow up with because they showed interest.