Selling yourself to strangers

Reprinted courtesy of TheCareerNews.com
DENVER, CO — When mounting a job search, after you have sent letters to personal friends, business acquaintances, and recruiters, use sales letters to pursue people you don’t know. The letter to friends is like the grand opening for a store. It’s the first step in your marketing campaign. It announces your candidacy to the world and launches your job search.
Write to recruiters second, because they are in the employment business. Although they’re paid by the employers they fill jobs for, they match candidates with employment opportunities all day long. There just might be a fit for you. If you skip the friendship and recruiter letters and start with direct mail to companies, you’re skipping two important building blocks in a campaign, and you may lengthen your job search unnecessarily.

Sales letters are letters of self-introduction. They make “cold calls” for you and open doors that appear closed. Use them to scan the market to see who might be interested in talking further. Save yourself from being beaten up on the telephone (although you must follow most letters with a call). Calling to follow up on a well-written letter is much easier than calling cold.
Article abridged from CareerLab.com, and reprinted from TheCareerNews.com. Get the latest breaking News, Tips and Tools for your job search, Free!