How many of your fellow job hunters do you think will try to contact their prospective bosses? How many will actually have his or her name, its correct spelling, and his or her correct title? Finally, and most importantly, how many will actually try to talk to this individual on the phone?
When you call and talk with the boss he has got to be impressed by your initiative, your ability to ferret him out, your ability to get through to him, and your ability to state your case. This has to be true even if you couldn't talk to him in person, but did mail or drop your resume off to him. Put yourself in his shoes. Is this the type of employee that you would like to have on your team? You bet it is.
Tips for Effective Telephone Prospecting
- Make secretaries your friends.
- Keep it brief.
- Sell.
- Don't ask "no" questions.
- Close with "Which would be better for you?"
Now we are going to take a look at using the telephone to pursue and develop that all important database... your network.
Contacting Network Leads by Phone
We all feel a little uneasy when it comes to calling people we have never met for help in our job search. Nonetheless, if you really want to maximize your chances for success this is an activity that must be done and done right.
When I say "done right," I mean that you must come away from each network cold call with as much pertinent information as possible. Leads are too hard to come by to waste them by not maximizing any assistance they might offer you. Get all you can from them. To do this, you must be aware of the types of information you need to fuel your search.
The Cold Call
The first thing to do, just as in the earlier telephoning examples, is to:
Tell the listener your name spell it, and then your referral's name:
"Bob. My name is Don Lussier. That's spelled L-u-s-s-i-e-r. Gerry Tuttle suggested that I give you a call."
Thank him for his help and/or time.
Ask if he minds if you keep in contact with him. Tell him you'll send him a resume. Perhaps he might run across something now that he knows who you are and what you're looking for.
You'll note that I don't recommend asking people if they know of an appropriate job opening. The odds of anyone knowing of a company with an opening you could fill are slim to none.
(Of course, if the person with whom you are speaking works in your industry or field these odds are somewhat improved.) If they do know about an appropriate opening they will volunteer this information. If you ask, and they don't know of such an opening you'll receive a curt "no" for an answer. The ensuing conversation is usually brief and downhill.
It's difficult to converse with an individual who has just told you that he or she can't help you. It's the same as calling an employer and asking if he has a job opening. The answer is almost always "no." He or she probably doesn't have a job opening, and it's real convenient to say "no" and cut the conversation short. If you ask a "no" question you will receive a "no" answer.
Summary
There are hundreds of books and manuals and countless magazine and newspaper articles concerning job search. The significant difference between all of these books and articles and this book is contained in the chapter you have just concluded; in particular, how to use the telephone as a prospecting tool. You will have to search long and hard, and probably to no avail, to find another job search book that contains this specific information-information that is practical and works.
These techniques were developed and tested "in the field." They were studied, altered, and perfected through the counseling and observation of countless job seekers who actually practiced them. As you will soon discover, people looking for work don't have time to waste on brilliant but impractical suggestions. Therefore, it is possible to state unequivocally, this information works-if you give it a chance to-if you persevere and keep practicing. And, if you want a job badly enough you will.
