Job Posting Challenge Winner!
Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry to the Job Posting Challenge. The winner was Carrie from New York, NY. We'll now take a look at Carrie's experience, the job posting she selected and how I would recommend she apply for the opening.
Following are a few details on Carrie:
* Undergrad degree from UNC-Chapel Hill; Master's degree from Northwestern
* She has great writing experience, especially for publications in the beauty/lifestyle space
* Also had some great online marketing experience; savvy with social media and blogs
* Her personal interests include blogging, food, beauty/fashion and green initiatives
Carrie wants to apply for an Account Executive role at a boutique PR firm in NYC which specializes in hospitality, food and restaurants.
So here goes...
1- Carrie shouldn't apply directly to the posting. She has some relevant experience, but she would put all of the power in the company's hands. See my previous blog on this topic.
2- Carrie should start by logging into her LinkedIn account and searching for contacts at the company. In this case, she doesn't have any 1st or 2nd degree connections (which means she doesn't know anyone at the company and doesn't know anyone who has a colleague/friend at the company). If she did, she could reach out and ask for an introduction.
3- Next step. College alumni. After a search on LinkedIn, I couldn't identify any UNC or Northwestern alums at the company. That doesn't mean there aren't a few... they just aren't listed on LinkedIn. Carrie could reach out to her Career Services offices at those schools to research contacts. But since it is a boutique firm with less than 50 employees, this might be more work than it's worth.
4- Blog/News Articles. Carrie could do a LexisNexis search to find people who may be mentioned or quoted in an article. And a similar search for blogs. She could then copy/paste the article into an email and ask for an informational interview. However, a Google News search of the company returned no articles... we move on.
5- Common Interests. As mentioned above, Carrie's personal interests include blogging, food, beauty/fashion and green initiatives. 1) It doesn't appear that any of the employee profiles on LinkedIn have links to blogs 2) I couldn't gather that any of the employees have a similar passion for green initiatives.... BUT, I did find that one employee ( the Media Relations Manager) is a member of a "Food Lovers" group on LinkedIn.
As a fellow "Foodie" I would recommend that Carrie join this group on LinkedIn and become engaged with the other members.
Specifically, Carrie should send the Media Relations Manager an email with the following subject line: Fellow Member of LinkedIn Food Lovers Group Seeks Your Advice.
So there you go. Carrie should follow-up and schedule an informational chat with this person. After asking several well-researched questions, she should conclude the meeting with "I noticed you have an Account Executive position posted. Can you tell me about it?"
The goal would be to have the Media Relations Manager send Carrie's resume to the hiring manager. Employee referrals always hold more weight than candidates who just apply online.
So, what questions do you have about my strategy?
(BTW, I have a great networking template email that gets a response most of the time... I'll share it in a future blog.)
Following are a few details on Carrie:
* Undergrad degree from UNC-Chapel Hill; Master's degree from Northwestern
* She has great writing experience, especially for publications in the beauty/lifestyle space
* Also had some great online marketing experience; savvy with social media and blogs
* Her personal interests include blogging, food, beauty/fashion and green initiatives
Carrie wants to apply for an Account Executive role at a boutique PR firm in NYC which specializes in hospitality, food and restaurants.
So here goes...
1- Carrie shouldn't apply directly to the posting. She has some relevant experience, but she would put all of the power in the company's hands. See my previous blog on this topic.
2- Carrie should start by logging into her LinkedIn account and searching for contacts at the company. In this case, she doesn't have any 1st or 2nd degree connections (which means she doesn't know anyone at the company and doesn't know anyone who has a colleague/friend at the company). If she did, she could reach out and ask for an introduction.
3- Next step. College alumni. After a search on LinkedIn, I couldn't identify any UNC or Northwestern alums at the company. That doesn't mean there aren't a few... they just aren't listed on LinkedIn. Carrie could reach out to her Career Services offices at those schools to research contacts. But since it is a boutique firm with less than 50 employees, this might be more work than it's worth.
4- Blog/News Articles. Carrie could do a LexisNexis search to find people who may be mentioned or quoted in an article. And a similar search for blogs. She could then copy/paste the article into an email and ask for an informational interview. However, a Google News search of the company returned no articles... we move on.
5- Common Interests. As mentioned above, Carrie's personal interests include blogging, food, beauty/fashion and green initiatives. 1) It doesn't appear that any of the employee profiles on LinkedIn have links to blogs 2) I couldn't gather that any of the employees have a similar passion for green initiatives.... BUT, I did find that one employee ( the Media Relations Manager) is a member of a "Food Lovers" group on LinkedIn.
As a fellow "Foodie" I would recommend that Carrie join this group on LinkedIn and become engaged with the other members.
Specifically, Carrie should send the Media Relations Manager an email with the following subject line: Fellow Member of LinkedIn Food Lovers Group Seeks Your Advice.
So there you go. Carrie should follow-up and schedule an informational chat with this person. After asking several well-researched questions, she should conclude the meeting with "I noticed you have an Account Executive position posted. Can you tell me about it?"
The goal would be to have the Media Relations Manager send Carrie's resume to the hiring manager. Employee referrals always hold more weight than candidates who just apply online.
So, what questions do you have about my strategy?
(BTW, I have a great networking template email that gets a response most of the time... I'll share it in a future blog.)
This is a great post, Brian. Real inside info on how to navigate a job search, and a very innovative presentation format.
Thanks Silvio. The job search isn't easy... however, it is easy to make meaningful connections with other professionals if you take the time to learn more about them and reach out.