Cold calling.

It's a VERY powerful strategy that conjures up feelings of "yuck" in many candidates.

Because, frankly, many job hunters are frightened of calling people they don't know.

Before describing how to use the technique, it's important to consider the hiring "cycle."

A new hire doesn't appear out of thin air. Usually, the hiring process is a response to an executive, manager or supervisor trying to find the right person to fill a need. This need and the idea to fill it may have originated nine months to a year before the opportunity is advertised in newspapers or on the Internet.

Jobs that are filled before they're advertised comprise the "hidden job market." These make up about three-fourths of all available jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

So what's the best way to learn about hidden jobs? How do you locate positions that exist only in the minds of directors, vice presidents and company leaders?

One way is to network, but this process is slow compared to cold calling. And cold calling isn't as scary as it sounds. You're probably already thinking, "I don't want to sell myself. I'm not a telemarketer. Let them seek me out before I intrude on them. It's beneath my dignity!"

Stop.

Realize that when you make a cold call, you're doing the employer a favor. First, you're saving the company time. You're decreasing the time required for a new hire to be approved, reducing months of paperwork in human resources, weeks of advertising, and weeks -- even months -- of interviews to choose a candidate.

Secondly, you're reducing funds spent on productivity lost when between one and seven managers have to take time out of their regular workdays to interview potential hires. You'll also save the company on newspapers, magazines, Internet and trade- publication help-wanted advertising costs. Hiring is expensive!

One director of operations learned and rehearsed a phone script for making cold calls, then decided to test the technique at 7:30 p.m. one Friday. Who would work so late on a Friday? He was stunned when the company president answered. After the director repeated the phone script he'd rehearsed, the president said, "You want an interview? Come see me at 10 a.m. Monday." After a series of interviews, the director of operations was offered and accepted the job.

A consultant in vocational rehabilitation also tried cold calling and was invited to interview with a small company in Santa Cruz, Calif. She was hired to begin work two weeks later. When she arrived for her orientation, she learned she got the job because, unlike other professionals, she had made a cold call. It showed she was assertive and proactive, qualities the department head was seeking in candidates.

Some employers are so disarmed by a cold caller's guts that they can't say no. Others will have no problem turning you down. The vast majority of employers are likely to say no. However, when you consider the chances of gaining interviews through help- wanted ads, the odds are a vast improvement. You must expect rejection; toughen your skin; and don't give up.

Here's the magic telephone script

What can you say to make an employer want to hire you over the phone?

The script resembles the following (you fill in the blanks):

"Hello, my name is _________. I have _______ years experience as a ____________, specializing in _____________, ____________, and ______________. I have a (B.A., M.S., Ph.D., certificate) in _______________ and I recently completed (name a recent successful project with a measurable result). When can I come in for an interview?"

These words are so simple that you may feel foolish saying them. That's why practice is so important. "At first I didn't feel comfortable using the phone script. It seemed wooden, without spontaneity," says a computer hardware engineer. "Then I discovered it doesn't really matter how you say it -- rote, friendly or funny -- the words just seem to work. I got four interviews in 20 minutes."

Mr. Farr and a JIST Works group in Philadelphia asked hundreds of job seekers to use the script for an experiment during a recession in the early 1980s. About 96%, working on job-search activities for at least 25 hours a week, were employed within 2.03 weeks. During my 12 years in counseling, 90% of job seekers I've introduced to this cold-calling method have found jobs they wanted within two to six weeks.

Cold calling works. It just takes courage and practice to implement it into your overall strategy. Some tips:

Practice the script out loud a few times.

Say your whole script without small talk and without interruption as soon as the hiring manager answers the phone.

Don't say, "Can I come in for an interview?" Say, "When can I come in for an interview?"

Then, get out your schedule book and set the date!

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