Speculative Job Letters - Any success stories?

lexilex

My latest job came to an end last month and I am getting fed up with constantly searching the job sites but finding nothing to apply for.

This morning I have been through the phone book and done some Googling and now have a list of various companies in the area who I am thinking of sending speculative job letters to.

I just wondered if anybody has had a success with these types of letters?

I am not claiming JSA, and having just worked out the cost of stamps I've realised it's going to cost a small fortune to send out these letters. Obviously, if anything was to come of the letters it would be money well spent.

I have tried sending emails in the past when I was last out of work, but never heard anything back. The only replies I received was telling me where they advertise vacancies when they have them, which I already know. I get the feeling its easier to ignore an email which is why I was going to try letters this time.

Would be great to hear others opinions on these types of letters.

Sycorax

I hate to be a pessimist but I don't hold out much hope....However if you do decide to do this make sure your letter goes to someone who can make a decision e.g. the MD, Ops Director rather than the HR dept.

HR manage the process and are bombarded with speculative applications daily, so yours will become one of many.

If you have a LinkediN profile you could start with approaching your contacts, even if it's only to get the names and locations of the grande fromages in their company.

Recruitment agencies can be great ambassadors for you, get hold of the guys who specialise in your job sector or role and get close to them...then when a job comes in your name will be first on their lips.

Dark_Star

I did this many MANY years ago when being made redundant.

I did get at least one interview & then the job via this method. It was a crummy low paid job but still in the industry I knew & bought me time to find a better job.

Address the letter to someone specific in HR (google or phone to find this out - don't have to give out a lot of info - just ask who does the recruiting etc). You are more likely to get a reply plus if no response after a few weeks, you could phone & chase (but do NOT chase too soon).

Don't say you're being made redundant/spent 15 years caring for sick gerbil etc - they are not interested in your life (sadly).

Try & put a positive tone - I've been in the industry for X years & am looking to improve my knowledge/ a new challenge/want to work for company X as it has an excellent reputation etc.

Smaller companies may respond better as they are less likely to want to shell out for advertising/job agencies etc.

Hand deliver as many as you can (could put "by hand" on envelope). Then shows you've put effort into it.

Superdrug sometimes knock 5% off books of stamps...

Google "speculative applications" - there's a LOT of stuff out there

http://careers.guardian.co.uk/speculative-applications

Always tailor each letter to the role/company that you are after & if using something from the Net - CHANGE it slightly. You don't to be the umpteenth applicant to have sent in a template letter - shows no initiative

Join linked in (if suitable for you) - lots of jobs on that plus a chance to "network" (ghastly word) online with similar people & see jobs etc

Hope that helps...

Still think HR will get your foot in the door first

lexilex

Thanks! I agree with you, I think I am probably wasting time and money but feel like I should be doing something.

All the organisations I am approaching are small charities so I am hoping the letters would get to the right people. I am going through old applications to the same places though to see who they were addressed to.

Good idea to try Linkedin for info though.

I am registered with most the agencies in the area, and have been for a very long time. There's one main agency which specialises in voluntary and community roles and they are completely useless. They called me to ask me to apply for a job and sign up with them, told me I would be perfect for the job blah blah blah. I called and emailed them on a weekly basis for a very long time, initially to chase up the job and then to ask about other vacancies but they ignored calls and emails or fobbed me off. Hate agencies with a passion!

AP007

lexilex wrote: »

Thanks! I agree with you, I think I am probably wasting time and money but feel like I should be doing something.

All the organisations I am approaching are small charities so I am hoping the letters would get to the right people. I am going through old applications to the same places though to see who they were addressed to.

Good idea to try Linkedin for info though.

I am registered with most the agencies in the area, and have been for a very long time. There's one main agency which specialises in voluntary and community roles and they are completely useless. They called me to ask me to apply for a job and sign up with them, told me I would be perfect for the job blah blah blah. I called and emailed them on a weekly basis for a very long time, initially to chase up the job and then to ask about other vacancies but they ignored calls and emails or fobbed me off. Hate agencies with a passion!

I have found a lot of md's and ops people on Linkedin then its easy to get their email address and just drop them an email.

No success though but held on file with 5 companies for a year now and have followed them up with no success.

I even look on Google maps for companies too and look at their sites.

ChopinonaBudget

I can't offer any advice as to how to go about this : my job is a bit different with regards to companies. But I did get 2 phone calls back from 2 organisations- one offered me work I had to turn down because I couldn't the offered hours, and the other was very interested until he realised I dont have a car - something he considers essential to due to the timetable and different location.
It might not be the success story you're hoping to hear, but I consider it one as I'll be phoning back company B as soon as i've saved up enough for a car, and I'm hopeful they'll find me something

Wellery82

I have had a couple interviews and a job offer through speculative applications, and i personally think they are a great way to look for work. That said it depends on the type of work you are looking for and the nature of your application. If you are prepared to put an entire day or two aside to it though you can contact huge volumes of companies and hopefully generate some interest.

I always applied by e-mail when i was looking, the main reason being people can forward an e-mail to the relevant people. If you send a letter to an MD then he may not be seeing the manager of the accounts/HR/IT department for a few days and the letter might get caught up in his pile. If he is e-mailed he can simply forward this on with one click. It allows them to fire back a quick question as well, such as "what salary do you want" etc, whereas ringing someone can seem more difficult. I know having worked in Recruitment, both in house and in agencies, we far preferred e-mailed applications.

My personal guidance would be to get a list of the companies you want to work for, whether this be because they are well renowned employers, they are local, or they are in your industry. Websites such as yell.com can be good for company lists. When you have the list then get an e-mail address for a relevant contact such as the MD, HR Director, Recruitment Manager or the Head of the department you are applying for. Often these will be on the website or you can ring up for them.

When i had a list i would send each company the same cover letter, changing it slightly to highlight why i had applied for them specifically. It may be their industry, the fact they had just grown, the work they were doing in the local community etc. I would always say straight away i am a xxxx, looking for xxxx type of work. I would briefly highlight in a couple of lines my main skills and experience, and then stress how i was immediately available for work and could travel on request for an interview. I would attach my CV and then send all the e-mails off!

As a personal strategy i used to do about 50 companies of interest, tailoring the e-mail, then 50 random companies with the same e-mail and so on. This kind of thing is often a numbers game. One of my interviews was a result of the fact someone had gone on maternity that very morning, another was a result of the fact the company had just decided to expand their department. As i was "free" and they had not used an agency or advertised they were keen to see me before they did so

As others have said LinkedIn can be a great resource as well, and in a professional occupation is a brilliant way of extending your network and finding opportunities.

Good luck!

lexilex

Well I took all the advice on board. I decided to save the stamp cost and went for emails instead. I sent a seperate email for each organisation rather than just sending a standard one to them all.

Most of them have replied which I am surprised by. Only one has said they will keep my CV on file which is still one more than I was expecting though I don't expect to hear anything.

Running out of options now. There's a small local website which advertises vacancies in the area I want to work in. I started writing them an email today asking if I could place an ad as a job seeker but stopped because I thought it sounded a bit weird. What do you think? Does this come across as completely desperate?

Carlos77

Persistance works! We did this a few years ago for the OH, wrote a generic letter, and CV, tweaked them for each individual company, purely asking for unpaid work experience, sent off 50 letters, got about 20 odd replies saying thanks, no jobs but will keep your details on record, 2 offers of work experience, and 1 job interview, that led to a full time job in the field she wanted (at the bottom of the ladder, but still the right profession!). There were also a lot of companies that didn't reply, but it worked for us!

falko89

lexilex wrote: »

My latest job came to an end last month and I am getting fed up with constantly searching the job sites but finding nothing to apply for.

This morning I have been through the phone book and done some Googling and now have a list of various companies in the area who I am thinking of sending speculative job letters to.

I just wondered if anybody has had a success with these types of letters?

I am not claiming JSA, and having just worked out the cost of stamps I've realised it's going to cost a small fortune to send out these letters. Obviously, if anything was to come of the letters it would be money well spent.

I have tried sending emails in the past when I was last out of work, but never heard anything back. The only replies I received was telling me where they advertise vacancies when they have them, which I already know. I get the feeling its easier to ignore an email which is why I was going to try letters this time.

Would be great to hear others opinions on these types of letters.

I send a mixture of letters and email every week, and have done for almost a year now because like you I got fed up having nothing to apply for,

Emails the only replies I ever get is "No sorry we have nothing at the moment" and even getting them is rare about 1 in 20,

Letters I've never had a reply.

susan6780

I've been out of work for 3 months now, before Christmas I had the offer of 2 jobs, both seasonal, and the one I chose ended before they said they would.
I have a folder in my email thingy that I put all the job related stuff into, I am registered with all the agencies in my area, and alot of them say its really quiet.
I do however have 2 interviews next week, and I shall offer to work for free for a few days to see if the jobs are right for me, and to prove to the employer that I am serious, that way I can 'take a look' at them before committing, what do you think?
It knocks your confidence doesn't it?