Are you waiting for companies to figure out what they need and shout it from the rooftops?
If so, you’re just putting yourself into the job post feeding frenzy.
So how can you cut the line to landing an opportunity, be it a full-time job or an internship?
Create the opportunity yourself! Millions of consultants do it every day.
It’s a straightforward process.
- Hone in on the industries in which you’re interested. Perhaps it's finance, advertising, or technology. This should be based on your research to determine which industries you find attractive.
- Identify key players who appear well-positioned. There are so many signals for this. Some good indicators are growth in employees/hiring (available on LinkedIn under company Insights and the presence of posted jobs), sales growth, new product or service introductions, recent funding rounds, geographic expansion, press mentions, etc.
- See what employees are saying about the companies. Glassdoor is a great resource for checking sentiments about a company and its management. You don’t want to be in a fast-growing company with a toxic culture.
- Try to uncover or anticipate potential pain points for each. If it’s an e-commerce company, it may be online marketing. If it’s a SaaS company, they may need SDRs (sales development reps.) You’re going to have to suss it out.
- Compare your skill set to solving those pain points. Is there a potential match between what you can do and what the company may need? Consider if you have the right tools or basic knowledge to help solve the problem.
- If so, make contacts within your target companies to have curious conversations. Some may call them networking meetings or informational interviews. I call them relationship-building opportunities. Some great ways to find people inside are to see if you have any direct (1st-level) LinkedIn connections there. Or you may have some 2nd-level relationships where you know someone who knows someone there. That’s a great way to get a referral in for a conversation.
- Reach out to people inside to get a video or phone call, or better yet, offer to meet up for coffee. You’ll be surprised by how helpful people will be if approached correctly. The message isn’t “do you have a job for me”, it’s “I’m interested in learning more about your company and what brought you there.” People LOVE to talk about themselves.
- Use your conversation to learn the inside scoop about the company. Explore how your skillset may be applied to helping the company achieve its goals. Remember, it’s not what the company can do for you, but what you can do for the company!
- Make a case for the value you can bring to the company. Put on your consultant’s hat and craft the job or internship you know the company needs, and you know that you can do. Then figure out who the right audience is at the company. In a smaller firm, it may be the CEO. In a larger company, the head of Sales or Marketing. Get in front of the right audience, and draw connections to some of the things you’ve done that apply to the current situation. They should be open to listening to you. Who doesn’t want to hear how someone can help them with a pressing need?
The message is simple. Don’t wait for a company to identify and recruit for a need. Instead, try to pitch your solution in an environment where you’re not pitted against hundreds or thousands of other applicants. You’ll greatly increase your chances of landing a job you love.
Do you or someone you know need help determining what kinds of roles and companies would be great work situations? Conducting an effective job search without endlessly applying online? I coach and advise people 1:1 and in hybrid 1:1/small group settings. Learn more through the link in my bio.
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