How to Cold Call Employers
Posted on Tuesday, May 16th, 2017
Today, we are going to talk about something intimidating. We’re going to talk about cold-calling potential employers to look for a job.
Yes, it is intimidating. But it is also a highly productive way of job hunting. By getting comfortable with cold-calling, you set yourself up to bypass all the job board, HR, and recruitment madness and make yourself stand out to your target audience—the people actually doing the hiring.
Because cold calling is this: picking up the phone, and calling the person doing the hiring directly, and asking them to their (phone) face if they are hiring and if they are, why they should hire you.
Here are 5 things to know so you do it the right way.
1. It is going to be scary.
Let’s get this out of the way right away: cold calling is not for the faint of heart. But armed with a plan, a script, and a goal, you can get your name out there and start making some connections with people.
Remember—employers want to like you. They want to find excellent and skilled employees to work at their organization—employees just like you! By making these phone calls, you’re showing that you are passionate and determined to make a positive impact at their organization.
It’s okay to be nervous, but remember: you’ve got this.
2. You’ll be better off if you do a lot of research first.
The first thing you want to do is figure out who you want to speak with. This may be an owner, manager, or human resources. You want to get their name, job title and, ideally, their phone number or extension.
You have a few options for doing this. LinkedIn is, of course, awesome. Many people list all that information right on their page, and it might serve as your best tool for tracking down the people doing the hiring.
Otherwise, Google is your friend. Find the company’s website and see if they list that information on their contact or employee pages. Write it all down, so you know exactly who you’re targeting.
You can also reach out to friends and family to see if they work at an organization who is hiring. They may be in a position to directly connect you with the person in charge of HR, so that when you call, you can say, “John Smith suggested I get in touch with you.”
Armed with this information, you’re ready for the next step.
3. It’s important to know your skills.
We talk about this so much on the blog, but knowing your skills is step one to getting any job. For a total breakdown of the benefits of figuring out your main skills, check out our Complete Guide to Branding Yourself (and implement it during your job hunt!).
You’re going to use your three top skills during your cold call to make the employers realize just how awesome you’d be at their organization. Remember, this call is all about telling the employer how you can help them, not just listing your abilities.
This means that you should take your top skills and figure out how they are going to benefit the employer. Do your incredible time management abilities mean that you’ll fit in awesome with their fast-paced environment? Are your teamwork skills so good that you’ll be a perfect fit into their existing teams?
Include those general skills, and then look at your industry-specific skills as well. Are you an awesome writer? A fantastic programmer? A standout designer? Write those down.
Simplify and Script
The truth is, you may not even get a chance to talk about your skills, but having them listed out will help you feel more confident and be prepared if the employer asks.
Take your top skills and distill it into a couple sentences. You want to write yourself a script to simplify your calls.
Something along the lines of, I am a BLANK co-op student from Algonquin College with experience in BLANK and BLANK. Are there any suitable positions at your organization right now? Can I send you my CV in case an opportunity opens up?
Your script should get your point across as succinctly as possible; remember, the people you’re calling are busy and you want to intrigue them, not burden them.
4. Practice, then make the call.
Like all things, practice makes perfect. Find a trusted friend or family member and go over your script. This will help get you comfortable with what you want to say, so you can sound confident and self-possessed on the phone.
When the time comes to make the call, choose a quiet area away from distractions. Be polite, and smile when you talk—it will make your voice sound warmer.
Remember too that you will run into rejections. Don’t let them discourage you too much. The more calls you make, the more positive interactions you’ll have.
5. Follow up after the call.
If you had a positive phone call, don’t forget to follow up with a thank-you email. This email should also be succinct, but you can include a link to your LinkedIn. All of this will help the employer remember your name, so even if they’re not hiring right then, there’s a chance they’ll remember you when they are.
Cold calling takes some courage, but the benefits are huge: contacts with hiring managers, excellent practice in networking, and on top of it all, the chance to interview at some places that you really want to work. You can do it.
Are you a student interested in taking a co-op program? An employer interested in hiring an Algonquin College co-op student? Get in touch with us in the co-op office! Visit our website at https://www.algonquincollege.com/coop/, connect with us at coop@algonquincollege.com or call us at 613-727-4723 Ext.7623.
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