UKC

Has anyone ever sent prospective letters to employers and how have they been receved?

I've been getting generally more despondent about getting a new job and I've decided to become more proactive in 2008...

Has anyone got any tips?
Do you ask straight out for an interview??
Is there any etiquette?

oh, and how do you go about doing a bit of this "networking" lark??

Cheers!

In reply to rginns:

depends what kind of work it is?

i took the direct approach and phoned someone yesterday, and going to speak to them in 2 weeks with a prospect of work. sometimes it pays off some people respect someone who has the balls to be pro-active

In reply to Lee Grant: I'm looking to move in to technical/commerial translation but unfortunately within the industry it seems to be who you know rather than what you know...

In reply to rginns:

thats true, sometimes you have too much office politics also. try and approach companies and ask if they are recruiting in the near future leave your details, and say your very keen on working with them

In reply to Lee Grant: cheers, I guess I should try - whats the worst that can happen? thanks

In reply to rginns:

Ring the md's (or top level management) of the companies you'd like to work for and have a chat with them. Introduce yourself and give some short and relevant information and ask if they are employing, if not they may ask if they can keep your details on record.

I'd also talk to everyone you know who works in the fields you work in and tell them your looking for work and are their companies employing.... Don't be negative in anyway about your current company though, either at the early stages or if they interview you. If your leaving because your current company is shit then think of a better reason that your leaving.

Best of luck,

Kev

In reply to rginns: Go for it, post your details to any company you have an interest in.
I wouldn’t bother higher management unless that is the level of job you are looking for. In which case, use your contacts and network for all its worth. Far better to contact the Human Resources or Recruiting Department unless the company is too small to have one.

Send an up-to-date CV and a brief covering letter stating what you want; e.g. that you are looking to change careers and are interested in a job in.....asking them to keep it on file until a suitable position arises? And add a line or two about why they’d miss out if they didn’t consider you.

The CV should be brief, ideally two pages unless you’ve a great employment history and make sure it is tailored to the company you are contacting.

In reply to rginns:

Most of my previous jobs were gained by targeting employers with 'cold' letters.

The covering letter I sent was always brief - I introduced myself, stated my ambitions with the company in question, and asked for any advice or help they could give. This proactive approach (rather than waiting to respond to a job ad) went in my favour, and even if there wasn't a job vacancy at the time, I was confident that my CV probably wasn't going to be discarded.

The thing I think which worked for me most was that I genuinely wanted to work for those who I wrote to. Showing such enthusiasm will get you a long way!

SK

In reply to arctickev:

Most MDs of companies "worth their salt" won't be within the telephonic grasp of a cold caller.

In reply to rginns:

Then...work for someone you know, you know ? Why jump through hoops when the back door is open ?