For Great Job Opportunities, Use Your Detective Skills

by Susan Zitron Woods
Zitron Career Services

Seek and Ye shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened to you.
-The Old Testament

Become a Job Detective

In order to uncover viable job opportunities in today's competitive market, you have to look into a variety of resources. Reading the want ads, talking with one or two recruiters and networking with your friends used to be sufficient effort in locating a good job, but not any more. Think of yourself as a detective or an investigative reporter. Your task is to uncover pertinent facts and clues that will lead you to solve the mystery-in this case, how to generate multiple interviews and land a new job that meets your personal and professional goals.

The 1, 2, 3's of Research

The best way to conduct research is to break it down into three manageable steps.

Search out information from the Internet, the library's Business Section, such as business directories, periodicals, trade journals, 'business trends' articles, and newspapers from a number of cities. Attend association meetings, conventions, job fairs, chamber of commerce events, business and networking breakfasts, brunches, lunches and dinners. Public companies provide annual reports for free. All you have to do is call and ask for one. Stockbrokers are always helpful sources. Just be sure to contact them after the market closes. Talk to everyone you meet and tell them you are in a job search. Let them know what industries you are interested in, along with any companies you are looking for, and ask if they know of anyone with whom you should be speaking.
Select information that is pertinent and relevant to your career objectives. Start with names, addresses and key contacts. Relevant corporate and industry information includes annual reports, 10Ks, 10Qs, current and new product information, product releases, competitive information, and sales and revenue figures-and whether the company is privately or publicly held. If a division, subsidiary or business unit, determine how it operates in conjunction with the core business of the parent company. Find out about the impact if there have been reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions or expansions.
Target companies from your select list. Eliminate those that are not a fit with your career plan, and create a list of companies and people who are. Armed with a target list of contacts, you are now ready to approach them.

The Approach

Research can seem overwhelming and time-consuming, but by employing a systematic approach, you can be more effective and cut down the time. The best method is to do what sales people do when they prospect companies to generate sales leads. They also source, select and target, but we can break it down even further. Here's how to apply this to the job search process:

Research an industry in which you want to work.
Discover all the companies in that industry.
A comprehensive resource for this is the SIC Code Directory (Standard Industrial Classifications) at the library. Companies are added to this list when they file their business licenses, providing you with a good possibility of identifying every company in a desired industry located in your area.
Identify as many decision-makers as possible.
These are people who have the authority to hire you. Sales and marketing managers are obvious decision-makers for people in sales, but some jobs report to not-so-apparent decision-makers. Network management positions could report to operations, information systems or network management. You may have to contact all three before you reach the right person.
Discover the company's hiring needs and determine how you can position yourself to be appealing.
For example, are sales people hired for the San Francisco territory based out of a regional office located elsewhere? If the company needs programmers, are they offering permanent or contract positions? If positions are temporary, what would create a need for permanent hires? If you live a long distance from your office, would you be permitted to base out of your home? Is the company experiencing a hiring freeze? What are their current and projected hiring needs?
Arm yourself with your current research and sell yourself to the company.
Describe how you can:
1. use your expertise to solve their problem
2. increase their business
3. improve their procedures

Increase Your Response Rate

Listed below are knowledge resources that can leverage material for writing enticing cover letters, or conducting telephone or fact to face interviews. Their initial goal is to enable you to conduct effective research about the company, itself. First, examine how to use that research effectively by asking yourself, "Is there anything here that would make my background more compelling to this employer?" Identify all those ways in which you can be of benefit, based on this research. The best way to significantly increase your response rate is to entice an employer with talents and accomplishments you have that directly relate to their objectives. Throughout your research, aim to discover the company's objectives, methodologies, technologies and customer goals. Other forms of resources include acknowledging their company's recent:

new product release
internal promotion
appointment to a position
article published by someone within the company
recent article about the company or it's people

Writing Exciting Enticements

Here's how you can employ this information into the opening paragraph of your introductory letter:

Example: Product Release Acknowledgment

Information located in a popular trade paper:

I have been following the development and imminent release of your new payroll software product through the trade press. I was impressed by the coverage you recently received about it in the March 14th issue of the San Francisco Business Times. As you take your product to market, you may discover a need for strong marketing professionals. My background includes over 10 years experience as a product marketing and management professional with XYZ Company, where I focused on marketing multi-sate payroll products to Fortune 500 companies ...

Example: Internal Promotion Letter

Information located under "People on the Move" in the Business Section of a local newspaper:

Congratulations on your promotion to Vice President of Engineering at ABC Company. I understand that the promotion comes at at time when ABC is expanding its mechanical engineering division. I have 17 years of mechanical engineering and technical liaison experience and am an expert in HVAC system design ...

Example: Recent Appointment Letter

Discovered in the "Moving On Section" in the San Jose Business Times

I read in the March 25th San Jose Business Times that Paul Smith was leaving your company to head up Administration for ABC Company. If you have not internally recruited someone to fill the vacant position, please consider my qualifications. In my most recent position as Director of Administration for the British Jelly Corporation, I created a 50% improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of our facility management. My research indicates that ABC Company has just acquired a number of new facilities. I believe my expertise would enable you to greatly increase the effectiveness of your new operations ...

Example: In Response to an Article Written by the Sales Manager

Discovered in Sales Management Magazine:

I recently reviewed with interest an article you wrote in Sales Management Magazine entitled, "Motivation Through Marketing Excellence." The marketing philosophy at Gilbert & Associates corresponds to what I have accomplished in my most recent position as Sales Manager. I taught this philosophy to the entire sales organization throughout the United States. It led to a 30% increase in sales within the first six months.

Due to the recent reorganization within your company, I am seeking an opportunity to explore the possibility of heading up your national sales team, a division, or a regional management role. The following highlights major achievements in my career....

This method of research is not only interesting, it can be a lot of fun, and will undoubtedly help you throughout the interview process from both an industry and company perspective.