If this percentage seems like a low return on your effort, you must take into consideration the number of interviews you can develop in so short a period of time, and that each one is with a company of your choice. No other strategy can produce these results.
Certain factors will affect the response rate of your letters and therefore the number of companies you need to contact. (These factors will influence the success of the other 29 job-search strategies as well.)
Economic and business conditions
The stronger the economy, the more actively companies hire new personnel. This will increase the success rate of the letter. The weaker the economy, the less the hiring activity. This will decrease the rate. The condition of the industries you're approaching will also play a part. At any given time, certain ones are prospering while others are experiencing adversity.
Your level of seniority
From a manpower standpoint, a company resembles a pyramid. There's less room at the top than at the bottom. The higher your level of seniority, the fewer the appropriate positions. For example, a company has only one president, while it employs many administrators. Senior-level job-hunters must therefore contact many more companies.
Company size
As a general rule, the larger the organization, the greater the number of people it can employ at your level. This increases the likelihood of openings. During the current recession of the early 1990s, however, the opposite has been the case. Large companies have been experiencing widespread downsizing and small companies have been growing and adding personnel. As a result, as this book goes to press, it's recommended that you contact a greater number of companies, and it will be to your advantage to approach as many small firms as possible.
Location
The farther you live from a company, the fewer your chances of generating an interview. Not only will a company find it expensive to meet you, but it will incur an additional relocation expense if it hires you. These costs decrease in importance, however, the higher the level of seniority
The extent to which your skills are in demand. At any given time, certain types of experience are more sought-after than others.
The strength of your qualifications for the position you're seeking. Clearly, the stronger your skills, the easier it will be to get interviews.
As a guideline, contact between 50 and 100 companies. If necessary, write to as many as 500 or 1,000. In the latter case, it's suggested that you send an initial mailing to the 100 or 200 organizations in which you're the most interested. Additional mailings can be undertaken as needed.
If you'll be sending out only a few letters-to local companies-conclude your correspondence as follows: "I will call you in a few days to follow up." This call will increase the number of interviews. It will also provide the opportunity to develop leads and referrals.
When a manager wants to interview you, he'll usually contact you within one week of receiving your letter.
You'll also receive many replies from managers thanking you for contacting them, but explaining that there are no openings. Don't be discouraged by these "rejection" letters. Consider them as acknowledgment that your correspondence is being read. Then focus your attention on the companies that want to meet you. This is your audience of potential employers.
How to Prepare a Broadcast Letter for Mailing
If you don't have a word processor with a letter-quality printer (or have access to one), take your broadcast letter to a secretarial service. Also order stationery and envelopes.
Stationery should be of good quality, and contain your letterhead with zip code and telephone number. Recommended colors are ivory, light beige, and light gray. Have your return address printed on the back of the envelope.
Postdate the letter to allow sufficient time for printing, word processing, proofreading, making corrections, signing your name, collating, and putting on postage.
There are instructions to give the secretarial service concerning the preparation of the letter.
It must not be right-margin-justified. (This is when the type is spaced so that the letters line up evenly at the right margin.) You want the letter to look as if you typed it yourself, not like a document that was prepared by computer for mass mailing.
"Bullets" shouldn't be inserted where you use dashes. Only a computer-based keyboard has this character.
A secretary's initials shouldn't be typed in the lower left-hand corner of the letter. This suggestion might be made to give "a professional appearance" to your correspondence. Again, you want the letter to look as though you typed it yourself.
A secretary's initials could also lead prospective employers to believe that you were just terminated and your employer is providing you with secretarial assistance in looking for a job. Today many companies offer this service, especially to senior- and executive-level personnel. If you were just let go, you certainly don't want to "broadcast" this fact.
Have "Personal & Confidential" typed (not offset printed) in the lower left-hand corner of the envelope. The importance of this has already been explained.
When the letters are ready to be signed, do so in a pen with dark blue or black ink. Also, put the stamp on by hand. Machine postage conveys mass mailing.
