Direct Mail Secrets of the Job Hunt
By Kevin Donlin | February 5th, 2009
I want to expand on a job-search tactic that CNN.com ran yesterday, but failed to develop fully.
It’s a great idea from Chris Russell, a savvy job-hunting expert I’ve interviewed before.
I’m sure Chris provided more info than the CNN writer had space for. So, because I don’t have an editor, let’s fully explore Chris’ suggestion, which is a proven winner …
First, here’s Chris’ tip, which was #5 in the article:
It’s ideal to use sites like CareerBuilder.com to reply to job postings from employers actively seeking candidates in your field. But you can also use the Internet to do a “cold” search on companies who are in your field.
Career expert Chris Russell, the founder of the Secrets of the Job Hunt blog, recalls his initial job search. He researched companies in his area (none of who were actively hiring) and compiled a list of 80. From there, he identified a contact at each company. Russell launched his own “direct mail” campaign and soon had seven interviews. One of those companies hired him.
The twist to the story? Russell’s job search was in the pre-Internet days of 1993. “The Internet would have made my campaign a much easier one if I had access to it back then. Today, there is so much information on the World Wide Web it can be daunting,” he admits. “But if you know where to search, you can end your job hunt that much faster.”
Here’s the problem with that story: The crux of Chris’ strategy gets only one sentence and no clear explanation –
Russell launched his own “direct mail” campaign and soon had seven interviews.
So have a look at my newspaper interview with Chris from last year — it gives you the actual nuts and bolts of what he mailed to employers and why it worked.
To save you time, here are the relevant bits:
Russell compiled a list of about 80 organizations, with the names of their presidents. When he couldn’t find a name, he simply called the company and asked.
“Then I set about creating a direct mail campaign with a new resume concept I had been working on,” says Russell. His concept? A printed newsletter, in three-column format, containing the information typically found in a resume and cover letter. (You could create one today in about 90 minutes using Microsoft Publisher or similar software.)
Russell mailed his “newsletter resume” to every company on his list, many of which were small businesses. Within six weeks, he had seven interviews. If you’re counting (and you should be) seven out of 80 is an 8.75% success rate, which is outstanding for direct mail, where 2-5% is considered good.
“I received lots of compliments on my approach to seeking work. On my last interview, I was offered a position as a research associate for a small marketing research firm,” says Russell.
Now. How can you make this direct-mail tactic work in your job search?
Actually, I already wrote about a similar success story last month — have a look here.
In a nutshell, you need to do the following:
1) Start with clarity — know the job you seek
2) Choose your employers — create a targeted list of at least 20
3) Send a sales letter — not a cover letter
4) Call employers to follow up on your letter — this will double your conversion ratio. Every time. (Not sure if Chris did this?)
5) Meet and get hired — you’ll never get a job offer from Monster.com; only a person can do that. Meet more people to get more job interviews and offers.
Resource: Guerrilla Job Search Home Study Course.
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