Speculative Job Letters - Any success stories?

Aryndeneth

You've probably already done this but take a look at this site that might have some more ideas for things you can try.
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/CJ.htm
http://www.careers.manchester.ac.uk/students/applicationsinterviews/cl/speculative/

Also, while I appreciate the point about saving the stamp cost, especially if you've been out of work for a while, if you do have the resources to send some letters it might be worth a try. An email is really easy to ignore or delete, especially if you get dozens of emails a day. Hard-copy post is much rarer nowadays and stands out in a recruiter's mind. I speak from personal experience and from feedback from other recruiters/employers I work with.

AP007

Aryndeneth wrote: »

You've probably already done this but take a look at this site that might have some more ideas for things you can try.
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/CJ.htm
http://www.careers.manchester.ac.uk/students/applicationsinterviews/cl/speculative/

Also, while I appreciate the point about saving the stamp cost, especially if you've been out of work for a while, if you do have the resources to send some letters it might be worth a try. An email is really easy to ignore or delete, especially if you get dozens of emails a day. Hard-copy post is much rarer nowadays and stands out in a recruiter's mind. I speak from personal experience and from feedback from other recruiters/employers I work with.

We used to throw CV's in the bin at my old co.

No one has time to read emails or hard copy

Aryndeneth

AP007 wrote: »

We used to throw CV's in the bin at my old co.

No one has time to read emails or hard copy

That was your old company, not every employer/career sector out there. I've hired from a speculative application before and I know other employers who have too. At least sending something in is better than not trying at all. Sounds like OP is doing all they can to find a job and speculative applications are part of that. What do you really have to lose by trying?

Slinky

I got an interview from a speculative letter I sent when I moved to another part of the country. Didn't get the job although I was very well qualified for it, think the person I would have been working for realised I probably knew more about the job than she did so put the mockers on it with the boss. Hey ho, but I did at least get an interview.

Depends on what you want to do, but in our village, sometimes local office based work gets advertised on posters or cards in the post office window. A business I used to work for 20 years ago got all its admin staff that way - had the advantage of costing about 20p to recruit, and everybody who applied was really local.

Could be worth checking out your post office notice boards if you have any in your area.

Pennywise

Yes, I've had success with speculative letters for 2 of the 5 jobs I've had. In both cases, they were very small firms (less than 10 staff) so nothing to get excited about and no huge salaries or perks, but the work experience paid off and enabled me to move to bigger and better jobs after 2/3 years.

First time was when I was about to leave school at 18 having just sat my A levels. I wrote hand-written letters to several local small accountancy practices and got 3 interviews and 2 job offers - all very slow paid (below NI threshold) trainee jobs. I wrote to the senior partner personally (easy to research to find out the name) in the hope it reached his desk rather than being weeded out by the secretary. I outlined my position, prior work experience (weekend work and paper rounds), and openly asked for a trainee position in the hope of building a career in accountancy - it worked a treat.

Second time was a long time later, after I'd qualified and gained a lot of varied experience. I was looking for a job closer to home (to avoid a 90 minute drive), and the agencies weren't getting me any relevant interviews, so I took the initiative and tried writing to a few selected local practices, again hand-written, addressed personally to the senior partner, setting out my stall, and saying I was looking for a partnership position in the next 5 years or so and was willing to prove my worth in the meantime. Again, 2 interviews and I got a job offer which I accepted.

I don't think you'll ever get anywhere writing to larger firms where you'll be screened out by their HR departments if you're not applying for a particular vacancy, but if you write to small firms, where they have flexibility, i.e. where they may be able to "fit you in" even if there is no formal vacancy, you may be lucky. Also, hand written letter - makes a massive impact and gets you noticed. Find the top person's name (preferably owner) and write personally - again makes an impact. Finally, spell out in the letter what your skills and experience can do for their firm and make it clear that you've done your research into what they do and that you're a perfect fit for them. You'd be wasting your time sending the same generic letter out in a scatter gun approach.

kitschkitty

I've had 2 jobs and about 4 other interviews all from speculative letters (that I can remember).

The type of roles you are looking for may vastly affect how useful this approach will be for you. I was looking for admin, reception & customer service roles, except in the very first case where I wrote very specifically to a particular company I wanted to work for (in a specific role) and got the job.

AP007

Aryndeneth wrote: »

That was your old company, not every employer/career sector out there. I've hired from a speculative application before and I know other employers who have too. At least sending something in is better than not trying at all. Sounds like OP is doing all they can to find a job and speculative applications are part of that. What do you really have to lose by trying?

Spec letters are only going to work if there is a job.

I send at least 20 a week but I know they do not get read.

Pennywise

AP007 wrote: »

Spec letters are only going to work if there is a job.

No, that's not the case, especially with smaller firms without a fixed structure. Neither of the two jobs I got with spec letters were advertised.

The first was "made" for me, as a school leaving trainee - they'd not had one in recent years and weren't thinking of getting one, but my letter prompted them to think about it, and they fitted me in, mainly because I was cheap, but I got lots of experience which enabled me to move to a better position in another firm.

The second position didn't exist either. They had a vacancy for a different position, but moved workloads around internally so that I could fit in.

AP007

Pennywise wrote: »

No, that's not the case, especially with smaller firms without a fixed structure. Neither of the two jobs I got with spec letters were advertised.

The first was "made" for me, as a school leaving trainee - they'd not had one in recent years and weren't thinking of getting one, but my letter prompted them to think about it, and they fitted me in, mainly because I was cheap, but I got lots of experience which enabled me to move to a better position in another firm.

The second position didn't exist either. They had a vacancy for a different position, but moved workloads around internally so that I could fit in.

So if a company has no jobs in accounts they are going to create one for me! LOL

lexilex

I find it really sad to read that some companies just throw CV's in the bin. I would like to think if I was in that position I would at least respond to acknowledge receipt of the CV, however busy I was. Who knows when the people receiving and throwing away these CV's might be desperate for work themselves.

I have updated this topic, but I think that response may have been missed. I sent out a lot of CV's and emails last week. To be fair most have now responded which I wasn't expecting. Two have offered really helpful responses. One said they would keep my CV on file and the other offered to send it on to similar organisations. I think speculative emails/letters only work if you're lucky enough to get them in at the right time.

I have got work coming up, although not in the area I would like. I am going to get back in touch with some of the places I emailed and ask about volunteering. It will be a foot in the door, or at least help me get some experience if nothing else.