ou’ve been dreaming of being a part of this top rated company – but the company never seems to advertise? What do you do?

Get out of your shell -  and connect. Yes, don’t be afraid to get in touch with a company you are passionate about working with. Think of it like this – you have nothing to lose and everything to gain! So take on the mantle and cold call. Doing a cold call – could be dropping by the company with your resume, it could be connecting with them on phone or it could be shooting across an email. But before you come to that, follow these steps to get success in your cold calling.

Find out who can hire you

The key - before you connect, is to find out who the decision maker for your kind of job profile is. Who has the power to shortlist you, or least get you to the interview door. It may not necessarily be the HR department, or even if it is, you must identify the specific person in HR, who will decide on who is to be invited for the interview. Often hiring would be in the hands of the immediate manager. So get activated and do some research to identify the person who calls the shots for a position like yours.

Build your network bridge

Identifying the right person is easier today and you have no excuse not to be able to do so. Use your social networks – LinkedIn or Facebook – to connect with someone in the company. Scan your Facebook friends of friends lists and second connections on LinkedIn for someone already in your dream company. Once you have found someone, seek their help to identify the person who is the decision maker for your kind of profile hiring. Today there are also social tools like My Parichay that help you connect and even refer friends of friends to suitable opportunities. So tap these options and make sure you get connected to the right person.

Ask for what you want

It is often said - you get what you ask for. So be straightforward and ask for the job you want. Do not be hesitant or beat around the bush on this issue. It is much better to be direct and show your interest and enthusiasm for the job. An employer obviously wants someone who is enthused about his/her job profile.

However don’t carried away and make a long speech! Whether you are calling up or emailing – make sure you keep things brief, concise and important –interesting!

Whatever the mode of communication make sure to communicate 3 things: who you are; why you are contacting them; and why they should talk to you. The last is your USP summed up in one or two concise statements, that makes the hiring manager realise you do have the potential to add value. You could also give a line or two about the latest happening at the company and your interest in the same, or how you could leverage if further, if it relates to your line of work.

Persistence does pay

Following-up is another important aspect of cold calling. Just shooting out one email and forgetting about it will get you nowhere. Give the person a week or ten days and politely inquire about your resume, and ask if there is anything else that is required.

You can follow-up on email, as that is less obtrusive and wait for them to reply. When you email a reminder, you can add something new- say a project you are working on, or something in the news about the company, as this shows your keen interest to work in the company.  However don’t get disheartened if you get a rejection.

It is important that you maintain an excel on all companies you are contacting, with hiring manager details; and keep track of whom you followed up with and when, so you don’t badger them too often.

In sum:

At the end of the day remember, job search is a long process and it is better to put time and effort into identifying and targeting 5 select companies, with well thought out and researched messages, than send out 50 copy paste generic messages that leave no impression. So get going and that dream job is sure to be yours one day!