Sending Direct Mail to Companies while Job Hunting

Direct mail is developing interviews by sending companies a letter that outlines your background.

In order for direct mail to be effective, you must write to the manager who has the authority to hire you, addressing him by name and title. Don't write to the personnel department. This is not to undermine the importance of this department; it plays a vital role in the successful functioning of an organization. When it comes to hiring, however, the final decision is almost always made by an applicant's prospective manager. As in any other endeavor, it's advantageous to deal directly with the ultimate decision-maker.

If you're interested in a specific position or want to work in a particular industry, offer the kind of information that will enhance your qualifications for this objective. Likewise, if there's an aspect of your background that might be regarded unfavorably, omit it.



In the event that you're an executive with an entrepreneurial bent and would like to join a company and put it into a new business, add a paragraph in which you suggest such a venture. While your accomplishments might prompt a reader to consider this himself, making the actual proposal will never hurt. Furnish a brief plan in which you cite the required capital, equipment, and personnel, plus projections for revenues and profits.

When composing the broadcast letter, try to keep the length to one page, although two are permissible. Also, don't attempt to write the letter in one sitting. You'll do the best work if you compose the document over a period of days. The letter won't sound the same to you in the morning as it did the night before. Always check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

At this point, you're undoubtedly wondering why you should go to the trouble of writing this letter and not just send companies your resume. Doing so would be a mistake. A broadcast letter will always produce more interviews. There are several reasons why.

Most important, a broadcast letter will be read by the manager to whom you send it. This is less frequently the case with a resume.

Many managers ask their secretaries to screen their mail and automatically route resumes to the personnel department. Since reading these documents is a time-consuming task, they prefer that a personnel representative conduct the initial evaluation, your broadcast letter won't be sent to personnel. Because you will mark the envelope "Personal & Confidential," most secretaries won't open it. They'll promptly give it to their boss. In the event that a manager has asked his secretary to open personal mail, he will still receive your correspondence. It's a letter and not a resume. There's no reason to send it to personnel.

When the manager sees your letter, he won't forward it to personnel either. First of all, virtually everyone reads mail marked "Personal & Confidential." Second, your opening sentence states an outstanding accomplishment in the manager's field. This arouses his curiosity and prompts him to read on. Third, your accomplishments in section 5 stand out because of the letter's layout; a manager can't help but read them.

There are other reasons why a broadcast letter is more successful than a resume:

• You can't be screened out
  

When a manager has an opening for which you have the right experience, you can't be denied interviews because of hiring preferences. As already explained, a broadcast letter doesn't contain the kind of information that allows this to happen; a resume does. If you were to omit these items from your resume, their absence would be conspicuous. A manager could become suspicious that you were trying to conceal something unfavorable about your background and reject you.

Since your broadcast letter is a personal document, you have the freedom to say and/or leave out anything you want without ever arousing suspicion. You aren't bound by any traditionally followed practices, as you are in resume-writing, where certain information is always included.

• You can be interviewed for multiple positions
  

Since a broadcast letter doesn't state a formal job objective, a manager can interview you for any position for which you're qualified. A resume doesn't afford this luxury No matter how skillfully you word your objective, you can still lose out on interviews. (If you omit an objective from your resume, many readers will assume that you have no career direction and are after any job you can get.)

Not only will a broadcast letter produce more interviews than a resume, but these meetings can occur with no competition from other job-seekers. Just as with job-search strategy no. 1, you'll penetrate the hidden job market and gain access to the 80% of the openings that aren't being actively pursued by other job-hunters. In addition, you'll contact managers who will want to meet you with the objective of creating a position for you or hiring you today instead of hiring someone else with your back ground at a future time.

• Compiling the Mailing List
  

Once you've composed your broadcast letter, the next step is to compile a mailing list. This will consist of the names and addresses of the companies you want to contact and the names and titles of the managers who could hire you.

If you discover two or three potential managers at the same company, it's acceptable to send a letter to each one. Any individual who learns of your multiple letters will understand your keen interest in interviewing with his company.