If you’re like most job seekers, you’ve submitted a lot of job applications but you’re not getting nearly as many interviews as you should for those jobs (if you’re getting any at all). What should you do? Here’s how to get a job interview now.
The Trouble with Job Applications
For virtually every job posting you see, there’s a request for you to submit your application or your resume to the company online. This is the way almost everyone does it. The trouble is that this system is broken.
If you’re absolutely perfect for the job, you can still get passed up for an interview. It happens all the time (see Ed’s story). The computer databases of any given company can reject you based on any number of factors that you have no control over.
How to Get a Job Interview Now
The online application system turns you into a number in the database instead of a face with a name, and that hurts you in your quest for a job. So, skip the application for now and find the hiring manager for that job. Send your resume and cover letter to them directly.
Who’s the hiring manager? This is the person who would be your boss, or your boss’s boss. This is the person with the most knowledge about the job opening, as well as the most incentive to get that spot filled. The hiring manager is also the person who can best see how your skills could transfer into that role, especially if you don’t have a perfect background for it.
Even if you’ve already tried and failed to get the interview by submitting an application, going to the hiring manager can work (see what happened for one job seeker here).
How do you contact the hiring manager? You need to find the name and email of the individual who would be your boss (or their boss) so you can send your resume and cover letter to them.
The ideal way to do this is to find someone in your network who knows them and can introduce them or vouch for you. You can email, call or LinkedIn message everyone you know to find out if they have that information.
The next best way is to do the research and find it yourself. You can search using Google, LinkedIn, Facebook and other social media outlets, or even industry publications. It takes a little work, but the effort is worth it.
When you find their contact information, send your cover letter and resume to them.
Get More Help Here
Because figuring out how to find hiring managers and deciding exactly what to say to them can be difficult, I’ve developed a tool I can hand to any job seeker to help you know how to get a job interview now.
The Hidden Jobs Finder is the fastest, easiest, and best way to find a job today. It can put you in front of HUNDREDS of hiring managers within hours—in any industry, at any level.
As a bonus, it uncovers a large section of jobs for you that haven’t been posted yet (hidden jobs) so you gain a huge advantage by contacting the hiring manager FIRST.
Find out more about the Hidden Jobs Finder here.