"Do you Have any Vacancies?”
“Do you have any vacancies?” This is the most common question asked by employment consultants when contacting employers on behalf of their job seekers. It’s also the worst question that is often asked. This question does not engage the employer in a conversation, nor does it grab their attention or differentiate from the competition.
Now, I don’t want to make assumptions that every person reading this article is using this question. So, if you’re not in the habit of asking this question, give yourself a pat on the back for knowing better.
However, if you are one of the people who defaults to this question when contacting employers, I recommend you continue reading. I’m going to share three tips to help you stop using this generic question and instead get the employer’s attention, make them curious, and engage them in the conversation:
1. Research and Personalise Your Approach
Before reaching out, do your research: learn about the company (and the specific department you’re interested in) and about its current projects, challenges, goals, and roles, so that you can tailor your message accordingly. A way you can do this is by creating an ideal employer profile which gives you a snapshot of who they are as a business and what is important for them. If they have an active LinkedIn account, be sure to check out their profile to see what they have been posting, liking, and commenting on. If it’s an advertised role, it’s a good idea to study the job description so you can quickly match desired skills, and attribute to your job seekers. This research will help you be able to personalise your message and speak in a language that resonates with the hiring manager.
2. Highlight Your Value Proposition
State clearly what’s in it for the employer – what can your job service provider offer? How will your job seeker’s experience and skills benefit the employer? In other words, shift focus from what you want, to what you, your provider or job seekers can give: For instance, instead of: “Do you have any positions available?” You can say something like this:
“John has worked as a barista and consistently impressed customers with his bubbly personality and exceptional coffee-making skills, including creating impressive café art. As a result, the café noticed that many people were coming back just because of John.’’ Or,
‘‘I noticed on LinkedIn that Mario’s Italian is expanding its business and may be growing their digital marketing team. I have a candidate who has worked in digital marketing and has worked with targeted local SEO, social media campaigns and customer engagement that has led to an increase in customer foot traffic and online orders.’’ Opening statements like the above focus on how the job seeker can contribute to the business, customers, growth and team.
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3. Identify if There are Any non Advertised Opportunities
When helping job seekers with high barriers, at times it’s important to be able to not only rely on existing roles, but be able to create job opportunities within the labour market. So, asking questions like, “do you have any vacancies?’’ is not going to be that effective for identifying potential opportunities within the organisation. Instead, ask questions that will help you uncover different divisional structures, various roles, business gaps, challenges, and potential job opportunities. For example, if you’re contacting a decision-maker in finance within a manufacturing company, questions like these can identify opportunities and engage them in the conversation:
To conclude, we need to start working on shifting our approach from generic employer conversations to ones that are personalised, and value driven. By doing this you will start to have better conversations, uncover hidden job opportunities and create roles that align with your job seekers’ goals, skills and experiences.
Author's Bio
Rana Kordahi specialises in sales and reverse marketing training, coaching and strategy. For the past 10 years, she has coached and trained countless employment practitioners and their leaders?to achieve remarkable success when it came to helping more people into work. Rana has been featured as a Top 15 Sales Experts to Watch in 2021 by The Australian Business Journal, as well as Top 27 Sales Influencers You Should Follow in 2024 by Salesforce.
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