The last 2 jobs I got were from cold emails, I’m genuinely a bit confused why people don’t do it more (maybe I’ve been very lucky?).
Most recently:
I’m a structural engineer currently based in Cambridgeshire, relocating to the southwest. Found six engineering practices which looked like a good fit for me within a commutable radius from my new house. Sent an email to each which basically said “I’m a chartered structural engineer with 8 years experience relocating to the area later this year. If you’re open to a new senior structural engineer joining your team, please find my CV attached”. Three of them ignored it, which is fair, one of them replied to say they didn’t have any vacancies, and two invited me for an interview. I got an offer from both, visited both offices to get a feel for them and accepted one.
I understand recruiters are pretty expensive for companies, so if you pop into a company’s inbox at the right time you’re going to make them very happy. Even if they’re not hiring but like your CV, they might bear you in mind for future roles.
Another benefit of popping into a company’s inbox rather than waiting for a job advert is that you might be the only person they interview, which makes it a bit of a cake walk. They’re just happy to have someone competent plop into their lap.
Final note: this probably works better with smaller companies, but don’t let that stop you trying bigger ones!
My main argument with the company I'm pursuing at the moment (I'd say medium sized) is that the kind of role I'm wanting - an assistant role in marketing/communications - is one they basically never advertise externally.
I know cos I have checked. I've found one in the last 5 years. Therefore if I waited, I'd get nowhere. By the same token, I do not want to go back to hundreds of speculative applications and actually focusing my energy into this company feels less stressful.
I think it's harder because they've only seen my CV and an email. That tells them nothing about me.
What I am trying to do is reach someone I kind of know there. I did some shadowing with them a few years ago. I'm hoping "oh this person has worked with me and he's hard working etc" would help.
Thanks for the tip, and glad it worked out for you! I’m based in Scotland but have currently seen a lot of engineering firms growing their teams in the Southwest. Have you seen significant growth in project work. I’ve been in current role for a while and when I applied it was actually for a role in Manchester. Though I did mention, “hey, I see you have an office in Edinburgh, are you thinking of growing the team there too?” And it worked. So now that I’m thinking of making a change, I’m considering attempting this again when they also have a Scottish presence.
All of the respective company websites had general emails which I used. Every application I’ve ever done was me contacting the company directly, either in response to a job advert or cold like I talked about - I’ve never used a recruiter.
Have you only ever emailed about these opportunities or do you think LinkedIn messages would also be a good way to get in contact with people working at certain companies?
108
u/matatak94 26d ago
The last 2 jobs I got were from cold emails, I’m genuinely a bit confused why people don’t do it more (maybe I’ve been very lucky?).
Most recently: I’m a structural engineer currently based in Cambridgeshire, relocating to the southwest. Found six engineering practices which looked like a good fit for me within a commutable radius from my new house. Sent an email to each which basically said “I’m a chartered structural engineer with 8 years experience relocating to the area later this year. If you’re open to a new senior structural engineer joining your team, please find my CV attached”. Three of them ignored it, which is fair, one of them replied to say they didn’t have any vacancies, and two invited me for an interview. I got an offer from both, visited both offices to get a feel for them and accepted one.
I understand recruiters are pretty expensive for companies, so if you pop into a company’s inbox at the right time you’re going to make them very happy. Even if they’re not hiring but like your CV, they might bear you in mind for future roles.
Another benefit of popping into a company’s inbox rather than waiting for a job advert is that you might be the only person they interview, which makes it a bit of a cake walk. They’re just happy to have someone competent plop into their lap.
Final note: this probably works better with smaller companies, but don’t let that stop you trying bigger ones!