Give Yourself The Best Chance Of Success
(Reading Time: 3 Minutes)
In todays’ competitive job market, you need to give yourself the best chance of success including calling a potential employer.
There are several ways to improve the quality of your job application, such as a well-written CV or cover letter, or including a portfolio of your work.
Yet, there is one thing that can help you stand out which applicants almost never do:
Call a potential employer on the phone before you apply for a job.
It sounds so simple that some people may think it couldn’t possibly make a difference. But it is well worth it, and such a small amount of effort can go a long way.
Why should you ring a potential employer?
With so many job adverts relying solely on paper applications, it can be hard to make it to a face-to-face interview, and you can fall short before even having a chance to introduce yourself.
The impression you make on a short phone call may be the reason you are chosen over another candidate or given an opportunity to interview.
You will be able to find the hirers’ contact details on the job advert or company website.
Find out who you need to be speaking to, often a hiring manager or someone overseeing a work placement. Know your audience – if it’s a large company you don’t need to try to speak to the CEO, just ask for someone relevant to the job that’s advertised.
Don’t be afraid to do a little digging. It may even show them you have taken extra care with their application by making the effort to find out this information.
Build a rapport with a potential employer
Sometimes old-school tactics work best, and the personal touch of a phone call can help you to establish a relationship with a potential employer.
Often, they will be keen to speak to you and offer advice. It’s in their interest to find the best person for the role they are advertising for.
They may be sifting through hundreds of applications, and it can be hard to distinguish between candidates.
There’s a good chance a hirer will remember your name if you’ve previously made the effort to reach out to them. It may be the factor that elevates you above the rest.
Our How to Get The Job will help you when you are calling a potential employer.
Understand more about the job
Make sure you know what you’re phoning for. Introduce yourself and tell them why you want to apply for the job.
Be creative with your questions and don’t just ask things which are already specified in the advert. You don’t want it to backfire by appearing clueless.
Do a bit of research on the company in case there is anything interesting you’d like to ask them about.
Tell them if you are enthusiastic about the role they are offering. As long as you are being genuine, they will want to hear that you value their opportunity.
If you build up a rapport with a potential employer, they may even trust you enough to give you a few tips for your application.
For example, they could tell you what skills they’re specifically looking for in a candidate, or what their work environment is like.
Show you are ambitious to your potential employer
Small actions can go a long way.
An employer will have put effort into their job specification so they can find the right candidate, and they don’t want to read through a generic ‘copied and pasted’ application form.
Phoning them demonstrates you care about the role and you’re willing to invest time to find out more about it. That shows you have ambition.
Immediately, you can come across as confident and someone who shows initiative.
Give yourself the best chance
Ringing an employer may not always land you the job, but it can give you an advantage over other applicants who don’t do it – and it may only take 15 minutes.
When competition for face-to-face interviews is so high, this is an easy and useful way to make a personal impression.
Employers don’t just want someone who’s a good candidate ‘on paper.’ They want to get along well with the person they decide to employ, and for the hiring process to be as easy as possible.
You can help by distinguishing yourself from the crowd. Who knows, if faced with a tough decision, your initial phone call might be the thing that gets you the role.
More advice for setting yourself up for a call with a potential employer.
