Approaching companies direct: Important tips you need to know

Approaching companies direct is one of the best ways to get your dream job or put you on your preferred career path. Approaching companies direct is a way of applying for future vacancies within that company. The advantage for you is it should immediately impress the company you are applying to as you are showing a genuine interest in their business.

Step 1 – Working out what type of roles you would like to do and the industries and companies that you will need to target:

If you are just looking for the next career step this answer will be easy however if you are looking for a career change or to start your career then it is important to understand yourself and what type of roles you would be interested in and happy chasing. Once you know this then you can start compiling a list of companies to target.

Step 2 – Developing a target list of companies:

Most likely you will use an internet search engine to initially source some companies that are in the industry you seek work. With search engines now clogged up this will only get you so far but is a good start. Using a search engine find websites of associations and exhibitions relevant for the industry you’re targeting as quite often you can get lists and contact information of companies that will meet your criteria. Once you have exhausted that avenue then publications such as “The London Business pages”, “Thompsons”, “Yellow Pages” and “Dunn and Bradstreet business directory” are worth searching as you are looking at companies in a specific geographic region.

Handy tip: use a spreadsheet or the London Career Solutions ‘Job search contact manager tool’ to enter the information you have gained on these companies. The information you need to record includes company name, contacts, email addresses, phone numbers, websites, jobs advertised (note if they advertise jobs on their website), information on contacts/discussions you have made with the company.

Step 3 – Researching companies on the target list:

Once you have a target list it is important to do research first. The things you are really looking for from each individual company are jobs board and recruitment contacts as well as any information that discusses the company’s culture, vision and values statement and type of people they seek. Try and learn as much about what the company does. Can you find old job descriptions from when the company was hiring? Researching their competitors also helps as they are potential companies for your target list as well as improving your understanding of an industry. Does the company have a jobs board or a recruitment contact? These could be found on the menus of the home page, sometimes can be hidden in a small menu page at the bottom of the home page. Other areas to look are “People”, “About Us” or “Contact Us”. If they have a jobs board on their website then mark this on your job search organiser spreadsheet. If they talk about company culture this will give you a good understanding of the attributes they look for when hiring staff. You should use this information to match your strengths with what they seek if writing a covering letter or email to the company.

Step 4 – Contacting the companies

You have your list of companies and have done the research required on these companies it is now time to contact them and make them aware you could be interested in opportunities within their organisation.

Important note – don’t be daunted! Always remember: going direct to a company will demonstrate interest and initiative and can save the company money on hiring costs such as recruitment agencies and advertising if you’re successful. Companies like people to approach them direct about work. Be confident, you are doing them a favour by contacting them.

HR contact vs hiring manager (do both)

Always try and speak to a departmental contact first, as you are able to gain a lot more information from them and can build rapport. They will probably direct you to an HR contact anyway and you can always approach the HR department afterwards. HR contacts are great as they will more than likely have a procedure to log suitable CV’s that come direct and will know all the current vacancies and potential future vacancies that might arise. Always contact them and send them your CV, if there is an HR department.

Departmental contacts are great because they will know exactly what is going on within the department as well as the general industry. They may also know other contacts within the industry, which could have opportunities that might be suitable. You should make this a soft call, asking for their help and suggestions for what you should do. Ask them whether you can send them your CV. Contacting the company by telephone/email The most effective way of approaching companies direct is to contact them direct by telephone and then follow up with an email.

Your goals when calling are:

1) Get the right contact

2) Introduce yourself

3) Ask for suggestions (people like to help and give advice)

4) Ask for their email

5) Send email

6) Follow up asking for more suggestions

7) Thank them asking them to keep you in mind.

• Be confident, polite and friendly over the phone.
• Establish that you are not calling from a recruitment agency but on your own behalf.
• Do not ask them for a job direct, briefly state your experience/education ask whether they are the right person to speak to and if so whether you could send your CV across to see if they might have any possible opportunities. Obviously if they are not, ask who the relevant person is to speak to and whether you could speak to them.
• Ask them if they have tips themselves of getting in the industry and what they look for. (This will give you more information to tailor your CV as well as open up the possibility of mentioning other contacts they may have within the industry). It will also show real interest and sometimes can even stroke the ego of the person you are speaking to.
• Keep the call brief.
• Thank them for their time.
• Send them your CV, when doing so thank them once again. Keep the email fairly brief but ask them whether they have any suggestions if you could improve your CV.
• If you have not received an email from them follow it up with another call a few days after you sent the CV to see if they have received it, if they have ask them if they have any other suggestions now that they have seen your CV. Be very brief. Contacting email only This is an easy way of getting your CV across but is less effective as it is not guaranteed that it will get read or whether you are approaching the right contact, your ability to build rapport is decreases and it is unlikely you will get other suggestions of contacts to approach in the industry. It is a good way of getting your CV out quickly and reasonably effective when only contacting HR departments.

Step 5 – Utilising your database

You may have found a job and are no longer actively looking but the database you have developed is still a useful tool that you can use in the future. If you have recorded the companies that have jobs advertised on their website it can be worth checking these websites regularly to see if your dream position arises.