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Resume Mailing Campaign

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A. How Many Companies Should You Contact?

When companies are selected to be contacted, one should keep in mind that probability will prevail. Many executives do not realize, when they send their"resumes out cold, that no matter how wonderfully it reads, the response will probably not be more than three or four percent. If you send out three to tour hundred resumes, the probability is that you will not receive more than a dozen interview invitations. Out of those dozen interviews, you might receive three or four offers. Since we are dealing with probability, there are of course both exceptions and extremes.

The one very important point I want to stress on this subject is: Do not become discouraged. After sending out thirty or forty resumes and receiving -polite turn-down letters-you have barely scratched the surface!



Years ago, during the real estate crunch, a friend of mine lost his job as a sales manager for a major home builder. He was really bewildered. He had sent out nearly one hundred resumes without a "nibble." I might add that he had an excellent background and a very polished resume. What I said to him was, "Sending out resumes is a numbers game. You can draw a blank on the first hundred resumes, but you are liable to receive half a dozen interviews from the next one hundred."

I bet him a steak dinner that if he sent out four hundred more resumes, he would receive at least half a dozen offers. He followed my advice and sent out the additional four hundred resumes and received three attractive offers of which he chose one. So, he didn't get the additional three ... you can only work on one job at a time anyway! I paid for the steaks, and today my friend is Vice President of that same firm he joined.

In fact, I can honestly state that I have never seen anyone who sent out several hundred well-prepared resumes who did not receive offers. If the resumes are poorly prepared the returns will be poor. Make the numbers work for you-- not against you!

B. Do Not Forget the Cover Letter

Accompanying each resume should be a brief cover letter introducing yourself. The letter should request the reader to evaluate your credentials for an appropriate position within his organization. Make the letter brief and to the point. Nobody wants to read long cover letters. The letter should serve merely to break the ice and get the reader to continue through your resume.

Make sure that the letter quality matches the quality of the resume. There are few things worse than a cheap looking handwritten cover letter accompanying a professional-looking resume--except maybe a cheap-looking handwritten resume....

A suggestion, when mailing out a large number of resumes, is to make a list of the individuals you are writing to, along with their

Sample Cover Letter

[YOUR LETTERHEAD]

August 4,

Mr. John Doe, President Major Firm Major Firm Plaza Chicago, Illinois 60601

Dear Mr. Doe:

Enclosed is a copy of my resume for your review and evaluation. As you will note, I have a financial and accounting background. My professional career began fourteen years ago as a staff auditor with the XYZ Public Accounting Company and progressed to my present position as Division Controller for a $200 million dollar division of the RST Company.

My career interests aim towards the senior management areas of finance and accounting. Consideration for any appropriate career opportunities with your company would be greatly appreciated.

I hope to hear from you in the near future.

Thank you, Sincerely,

[Signature] Jim Applicant

Enclosure

The company addresses. Once you complete the list you can easily avoid the drudgery of typing each letter individually. Bring your list of company names, addresses, and the individuals you are contacting to a professional secretarial service that has an automatic typewriter.

This is an electronic marvel that enables the typist to type each individual name, address, title, date, while the automatic typewriter types the body of the letter-by itself-in seconds. The completed letter gives the impression that it was individually typed for the reader.

This single copy of the letter aimed towards a senior financial or accounting management position. If the letter and resume was in answer to an ad or aimed towards a specific position, then you would indicate so in your career interests.

C. Who Should Receive Your Letter and Resume?

This is a most critical aspect of your endeavor to switch employers. Sending your resume to the wrong individual in a company is like looking for water in the desert. The water probably will not be there and neither will your potential job offer.

Always try to send your resume to the individual who you figure would be your boss if you are hired. If you are going after a Financial Vice President slot, then write to the Chairman or the President. You certainly would not want to write to the present Financial Vice President. Even if you do not indicate which position you are seeking, it does not take a genius to sense a threat, and the self preservation need sails your resume into the wastebasket. You can also receive a quick flip in the trash from someone too low on the totem pole.

If you are approaching a big company and you are not quite ready for top management, then do not make the common serious mistake of sending your resume to too high an executive. This is usually not a fatal mistake, but the President of a large company has things on his mind other than finding a junior or middle management slot for you. The resume is liable to sit on his, or his secretary's, desk until you are ready for top management! So, do not hold your breath waiting. . . .

What about the Personnel Department? When you send a resume cold to the personnel department, you are playing Russian roulette with your resume. If you are fortunate enough to send it to a high enough level within the Department and the Vice President of Personnel happens to spot it, then you might have a chance. Typically an underling will receive your resume and if, unfortunately, he does not happen to have a job requisition that fits your credentials then into the file cabinet, or again the wastebasket.

Unfortunately, it has been my experience that personnel administrators have all they can do to accomplish their present work load, without going around trying to create positions. Like anything else, there are exceptions.

During the years I have been an executive recruiter, I have encountered some truly outstanding personnel executives, who really would go out of their way if they spotted what they thought was talent described on that resume. In fact, I have seen cases where an astute Personnel Manager would plant the initial seed with top management when he ran across an exceptional resume-and before you knew it... a new employee was hired for a newly created position.

The potential immediate boss has the most to gain by your being hired. Lets face it, there is no one else within the company who would benefit more than your potential immediate supervisor. It's his workload that would be relieved, and he who stands to gain most directly if you do well--for if the employee does well, the boss looks good!

D. Following-Up the Resume

Once you have begun to mail out your resume, how long do you wait for a reply? When should you follow up? How should you follow up? These are all very important steps in the resume mailing process.

I usually recommend waiting about two weeks for a reply. If none has been received, then follow up with a telephone call. The groundwork has already been laid, and you "have a perfect reason for calling--you want to know if they have received your resume and if there is any interest. This "one two punch" follow-up frequently gets "the squeaky wheel oiled." The mere fact that you followed up will sometimes prompt the resume recipient to invite you in for an interview--which is what you had hoped for in the first place. If you do not receive an interview invitation, then your phone call will have prompted a turndown--which is what you would have received eventually anyway. Nobody wants to receive bad news, but in this case it is far better to receive it early than to have false hopes built up.

Make a tickler file card for each company you send a resume to. This way, you can systematically cross them off as you go. Also, date the card the day you mail the resume--so that if no reply is received, you know when to follow up.

E. Personal and Confidential

To increase the odds of your letter and resume actually being read by the prospective employer, mark the letter and resume "Personal and Confidential" and mail them.

Secretaries will think twice about even opening it--never mind tossing it into the wastebasket!
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