Hi Everyone,
I just began to search for another job. There is a company that I would absolutely love to work for. I plan on sending my resume and portfolio as the job post requested, but I’m wondering if I should make a cold call as well. However, I don’t want to burn any bridges. Are cold calls looked down upon? Or do they help to get your resume and portfolio submission further up the stack of potential hires?
Thanks for your time.
In my experience a call doesn’t really help, a cold email, maybe.
I’ve never cold-called myself either. Would probably pick up more projects if I did but I try to let the work speak for itself. If it interests them and they think I’m suitable, they’ll call for more info. I’ll only call people that I have relationships with already or have shown some interest in samples I’ve sent them or website, etc. I feel like I’m being an annoying telemarketer cold-calling strangers first with no other previous interaction.
There are some people that it works well for, assuming it’s something you’re comfortable doing. If you’re not comfortable doing it, it’ll show through and may work against you. If you’re responding to a post, respond the way they say to or they may just screen you out for not following directions. If it’s a public post, they’ll be getting tons of responses and I doubt they want their phones ringing all day from hundreds of applicants calling while they’re trying to conduct business.
Send the printed materials, then after a week, a follow up call and/or email to confirm they received the materials. Good luck to you, take care.
emails- definitely emails. far less irritating. I think that you need a steady trickle of emails each with fresh material, that gets you at least 1 terse reply before you attempt a phone call.
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From some recent experience. I did a cold-“shot in the dark” email with a link to a pdf sample of my work. It worked for me. Keep it simple and def show some work. This will spark there interests. No one likes to read really long emails from people they do not know. Esp. when normally they are backed up in emails as it is…
maybe post some work for crit? Maybe that would help also…
good luck-
Mm
Cold calling is a great way to get a head’s up on jobs. It will also
give you a head’s up on the competition.
The link below explains cold calling and job search strategies with a sample script to use.
It works - I’ve called employers/recruiters introduced myself and got the job through contacts & networking.
Who would you rather interview? Someone you’ve talked to or a name on a resume? (each with the same qualifications)
You’ll surprised at the results.
http://www.effective-resume-writing.com/cold-calling-and-job-search.html
Press on to Success,
Jeff