Aside from using the phone, your choices are making contact by (1) email... (2) fax... or (3) first-class direct mail. Going to someone’s personal email is inexpensive, but sometimes offends people. Sending them a note through a corporate email address works best in smaller firms. Making contact by fax can be effective and relatively inexpensive... if you can get access to a fax that goes to them. (The problem in large firms is that your fax may never reach the right person.)
Using the general fax number in a small or medium sized company works better. Contacting executives by first-class mail in an envelope marked “private and personal” is the best way but is also the most ex- pensive. As a rule, to have a mailing service do this will cost $2.00 or more per letter.
Granted, that means $2,000 to make 1,000 contacts. But what is the value of uncovering that handful of senior executive openings... and having them be interested in you? Another way to look at it is to consider how much money you may be losing by staying unemployed for just an extra month. So, for many people, the value is high. And, of course, these job hunting expenses are generally tax deductible.
I asked a friend of mine, a CEO of a high tech company, what he thought of direct mail. His response was, “Well, I get a lot of resumes and even some from my board members who pass on candidates. It works if the person really comes across well.” Another friend, a VP of Marketing at a Fortune 500 company, put it another way. He said, “I look at resumes. If something matches my needs, I usually respond directly. It’s a matter of timing.”
A third associate, the head of HR at a Fortune 500 company, sent me the following when I was updating this book. His comment was, “I would highly recommend direct mail. Third-party letters can be especially effective if the right person is writing for you. Just prepare a letter they approve for their signature. Make it easy for them to assist.”
Get more information about Robert Gerberg by reading his blog or following him on Twitter. Or check out great companies like SET Personal Marketing or ERI Personal Marketing.
