Building Bridges to Employers - Networking that Works
By Kevin Donlin | December 30th, 2008
Let’s say you want to work at Company X.
But you don’t know anyone at Company X.
How do you approach Company X directly, rather than submit your resume by email and hope to get noticed … like all the other supplicants?
You do it the same way the Army crosses a river: You build a bridge.
Here are smart, specific tips to help you build bridges to employers you want to work for — even if you don’t know anyone there — from a posting by tech recruiter Tyler Colby Hill on LinkedIn Answers:
Choose a company you think you would like. Then, using LinkedIn, find someone within that company who already does the job you think you would like.
Send an email asking for specific advice (not a job).
Be up front in your first sentence about who you are and why you are writing. (Example: I’m a student at … interested in entry level PR work. Could you help me with a couple of questions?)
Then say why you selected that person and be specific. (I found your profile in LinkedIn and the work you doing at … really interests me … something that I am considering doing.)
Then ask specific questions, i.e. How did you land your first PR job right out of college? What key things do you look for in an entry-level person? Who should I speak with about intern programs? Make your questions about things you really want to know.
Sometimes people worry about “bothering” someone but what you are doing is exploring a possible business transaction which trades your time, skills and talent for their money.
The idea is to show respect for the person and their time and still get best possible advice there is … from someone really doing the job.
Resource: Guerrilla Job Search Home Study Course.
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