Ad answering is an outstanding means of generating interviews, second only to your sales letter campaign. A major advantage of answering advertisements is that you can be almost certain that a job is available. In addition, the requirements for the job are usually clearly stated, and there is generally sufficient information to give you an idea of whether the job appeals to you.
The key to beating your competition in answering ads is to make your response exactly what the advertising company has asked for. That is, your experience and qualifications should so clearly meet the requirements listed in the advertisement that your response is compelling and demands an interview.
How to Get Information That Isn't in the Ad
In order to respond effectively, you must know as much about the job as possible. In fact, you shouldn't respond to any advertisement until you have obtained as much information as you can, even from sources other than the advertisement itself. To do this, you must contact two individuals in the company by telephone: the personnel manager and the hiring executive.
If the advertisement is not "blind,"-that is, if the company name is given-one of these two executives may be listed in the ad. If the hiring executive's name is not given, you should have no trouble obtaining it. First figure out the executive's title from the title of the position that is open. For example, if the advertisement is for a marketing manager, the position will probably report to a vice president or a director of marketing. You can then call the company and ask for the name of its vice president of marketing. Use the same technique to obtain the name of the personnel manager just ask.
What to Say on the Telephone
After you have used the telephone technique to find out the names of the two executives, ask to speak with the personnel manager. Use the following checklist (or a modification of it to suit your circumstances) to obtain as much information as possible:
- What is the exact job title?
- Whom does the position report to?
- What specific experience are you looking for?
- What are the most important functional tasks in the job?
- What factors would cause a candidate to be eliminated from consideration for this position?
- Is this a new opening? If not, what happened to the previous occupant'
- Is a degree required? What kind? An advanced degree? An MBA?
- Are there specific problems that you hope the new employee will solve?
Here is one way of starting out after you have gotten through to the personnel manager: "George Smith? Good morning, this is Amy Brown. I heard about your requirement for a financial analyst and I was wondering if I might take a few minutes of your time to discuss the position." Now George Smith is probably reasonably busy. If his ad is any good, he has had quite a few calls, so his initial response may be "It's all in the ad" or "Just send your resume."
It is your job to draw out the personnel manager and get him started on your checklist. Tell him one of the more outstanding tidbits in your background to whet his appetite about your qualifications. Then say you want some information before responding. Or tell him that you currently hold a similar position with a competitor; you know he will respect the confidentiality of your resume, but you would like a few questions answered before sending it.
Another approach is to tell the personnel manager that a friend of yours who works for a competitor claims that the position is not very good. So even though you are qualified and interested in the job, you want to give him a chance to respond to your friend's criticisms before sending off your resume. Use a little imagination. The important thing is to get the personnel manager talking about the job so he will answer your questions.
You may wonder why I have suggested that you call the personnel manager and not the hiring decision manager first. The reason is that the personnel manager is not the decision maker. In talking with him first you can afford to make some mistakes, and you will learn a lot more about the job. Then, when you talk with the decision maker, you will appear more knowledgeable about the job.
After getting as much information as you can, thank the personnel manager and revise your checklist for talking with the hiring executive. Do not ask the personnel manager if you can talk with the hiring executive. You are under no obligation to announce that you are going to do so. Also, it is much better if you do not, since the personnel manager will resent your infringement and the hiring executive's potential infringement on what he perceives to be his territory. When talking with the hiring executive, say something like this: "John Wood? Hello. This is Amy Brown. I spoke earlier this morning with George Smith about the financial analyst position opening, and it appears that I am pretty well qualified for the job, but I want to ask a couple of questions if I may." Again, if John Wood asks for a resume, tell him you will send one, but tactfully get him to answer your questions about the job.
When you talk with the hiring executive who is, after all, your PE-be very careful in your approach, but stay alert to opportunities.
Remember, your objective at this point is not to send out a beautiful resume; it is to get a face-to-face interview. A written response may be a required step on the way to the interview, but you may be able to sidestep it by talking directly with the PE. Few if any of your competitors will have gotten this far.
If the PE begins to interview you on the telephone, describe some of your accomplishments that specifically support what you have learned about the job. Ask if you may come in for an interview to discuss your background further. You lose nothing by asking. If you can skip the resume stage, you will save time and improve your chances of getting hired. Also, once you have talked with the PE, you can send a covering letter and a special resume directly to his attention, as well as to the personnel manager...if you must send a resume at all.
Do not ask about salary or fringe benefits when speaking with either executive. That is not the purpose of your call, and such questions can cost you both an interview and a job offer.
How to Break "Blind" Ads
In a "blind" advertisement the hiring company hides behind a box number or some other camouflage so that it cannot be identified. Blind ads are often used because a company does not wish to reveal its needs to a customer, because a company wants to conceal an expansion from a competitor, because a headhunter doesn't want his client to know that he locates some candidates through advertising, or because someone is "testing the market"-in which case there isn't any job opening at all. I have even heard of a blind ad being used deliberately as a setup to trap an employee into responding so as to "prove" his disloyalty to an employer.
Blind ads pose a problem for the job hunter. Regardless of their intent, they must be "broken" in order to identify the hiring company. If you are currently employed, you must do this without revealing your own identity. One technique that headhunters use to break blind ads is to send a mailgram to the blind address. In the message the respondent explains that he meets every requirement for the position, but because of the sensitivity of his current job he cannot respond fully without knowing the name of the hiring company. This is followed by a brief extract of accomplishments that indicates the high quality of the candidate. The respondent gives an alias (or no name at all) plus a phone number and a request to call. In 50 to 75 percent of the cases advertisers will call the candidate and give him the name of the company.
"Very interested in your advertisement for corporate attorney with petroleum experience. I meet all your stated requirements and have a BS in petroleum engineering as well as an LLB. Have worked as corporate attorney for a petroleum exploration and producing company with $500 million in annual sales. The sensitivity of my present position makes it impossible to respond in more detail without knowing your identity. Please call (717) 555-5996 any day after five o'clock."
You can use either your own telephone number or that of a friend. The advantage of using a friend's number is that it will not be familiar should the blind ad represent your own company. The disadvantage of using a friend's number is that you may not be available to speak with the caller. If a friend takes the call, he should get the company's name as well as the name of the caller, job title, and telephone number. If you take the call, find out all you can about the job and ask for an interview. If the advertiser turns out to be your own company, don't panic. Take the number and use any reason you can think of without identifying yourself to gracefully get off the phone.
Another way of breaking a blind ad is simply to call the newspaper or magazine and ask. Some states require that such information be given out if requested. The worse than can happen is that you will be denied this information.
If you are conducting a campaign while employed, never respond to a blind ad without checking to make certain the advertiser is not your own company. Employees have been discharged for "disloyalty" when they inadvertently responded to blind advertisements from their own companies.
With all the difficulty of responding to blind ads, why bother with them at all? For good reason. Fewer executives respond to blind advertisements than to open ones. Therefore, you will generally have less competition. So do not let the fact that an advertisement is blind deter you from responding. And never underestimate the importance of getting as much information as possible before you answer an advertisement.
