Most of you are aware that cold calling is part of the daily work of sales professionals and recruiters, you might also have heard that it can also become a useful tool when you are job-searching locally or abroad. Taking in consideration that around 70% of the jobs are filled using referrals and contacts you might want to consider to give it a go.
What´s cold calling?
A cold call is when you approach someone you don´t know for work purposes and that person is not normally expecting your call.
Why should you use cold calling as a part of your job-search strategy?
I have introduced this technique as a relevant part of the course for graduate students interested in job-hunting abroad. I usually start asking them what are their thoughts about the concept. Most of them associate this action with people trying to sell them things, having to deal with heavy people on the phone and other sort of negative behaviours. So it´s understandable why most job-seekers are not eager to use this approach. So going back to our initial question, why should you use it if it makes you feel uncomfortable? Because the great majority of people who are looking for the same job opportunities are not willing to cold call employers either, so you can use that on your advantage.
If you would like to get some useful tips on how to prepare yourself for a cold calling strategy you can watch the “Art of cold calling video”
“For many the idea of cold calling is chilling, dialling up a complete stranger it doesn´t seem a logical way of doing a job search but when done correctly a call cold can showcase some professional treats like resilience, determination and interpersonal skills and in the best case scenario it can lead you to an interview”Brie Thiele – Job Channel Network
In summary what I consider key to your cold calling success:
- Become an investigator, identify target companies and key contacts. Social Media is a great method of finding decision makers.
- Prepare a script/marketing message before picking up the phone, if you are new to it don´t despair, practice makes perfect.
- You will need to be patient, people are busy so don´t expect to reach to them in your first call.
- Be aware you will need to train yourself to deal with objections and gatekeepers, take that in consideration when writing your script.
If you want to know more about how to cold call & building your script you can access to more information in these 2 detailded posts below.
Bear in mind that not every phone call will lead you to an interview, but it´s also good to build your network, so it might be interesting to develop that relationship and ask them for advice. In my opinion persistence and patience is key and it can help you to access to valuable information about the industry and the position you are targeting.
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