| Getting Calls, Part 2 |
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Identify the Important Decision Makers You know how your heart jumps when you receive a neatly prepared envelope displaying your name spelled correctly...and how your heart sinks when you get sent a letter with "Resident" on the label, or your name misspelled? Hiring managers and resume screeners experience the same excitement and disappointment as they sort through the many applications they receive. So it's worth it to invest some time and effort in finding and correctly spelling the resume screeners' names. Sure, you can always default to the standard (and pretty boring) "Dear Sir or Madam," but I recommend that you use one or more of these methods: Use a search engine to research contact names. In many cases you can locate the names of department managers and hiring coordinators within companies by simply entering the correct keywords into a search engine, such as Google. For instance, you could enter, "Vice President Marketing Great Balls of Fire, Inc." to see if his or her name is listed anywhere on the Internet. Or try, "Human Resources Great Balls of Fire, Inc." to locate a representative within the personnel department. As you uncover names using this method, be sure to verify that the contacts are still currently in those positions by executing this next step... Call the company directly and ask for the names of the key contacts. Simply phone the business and say, "I would like to verify the name and spelling of the head of the widgets department." If you have a name that you've researched on the Internet, you can also say, "Is it still Rachel Jones?" If you're asked, "Why do you need this information?" answer with, "I'm responding to your job ad and I want to make sure I spell her name correctly." If this step makes you nervous, enlist the help of a friend or job search supporter to do it for you. And if the ad clearly states, "No calls," don't call! "Yikes, call the company directly! Won't they get mad?" I know, I know...the thought of calling a potential employer directly to gather info about contacts can seem pretty scary. Many Job seekers fear that the hiring manager might actually pick up the phone (she might), and that for some reason she won't like the sound of your voice. Other Job seekers worry that a mean receptionist will tell them to go jump in a lake. So yes, it can seem scary to call. Yet consider this: Throughout my many years of helping clients find the contact names they needeither by assisting them with what to say or making the calls for themthe person at the company who answers the phone ends up giving us the information we want 75 percent of the time. Those are pretty good odds! And if they don't give us the name, they don't yell at us. Instead, they say something like, "I'm not allowed to give out that information." In the thousands of times we've used this technique, I have never encountered or heard of a scary hiring manager or receptionist responding with, "Get lost, you loser!" So go ahead...give it a try! Chances are you'll wind up with the names you want. |
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