Career and Job Search Help Blog

Since the vast majority of opportunities are not advertised, you need to be able to talk to possible employers. That’s easy if you have a huge network. But what if you don’t? Use cold calling to find those openings! A cold call is a telephone call or letter to someone you do not know, even though the employer has not advertised a job opening.

Who should you contact?

Use your networking and company research to help you identify good targets for cold calls. And networking can'turn cold calls into warm ones.

• Find employers in your industry. Use business directories, either on-line or in print. There are directories and business news sources listed on the front page of JobHelp. Contact Toronto published by the Toronto Board of Trade lists private and public companies in Toronto. Scott’s Directories for Ontario business  (volume 1 is for Metro Toronto and volume 2 is for Toronto boundary) and Scott’s Ontario manufacturers is available at many TPL branches.

• Find employers who have hired your occupation in the past. The Potential Employers section of Canada’s Labour Market Information website has a list.

• Check out our earlier blog posts for information about networking and company research. Our Welcome post and Learn more about the hidden job market both give suggestions of books and websites about searching for employers and networking.

• Ask library staff for help. The business departments at Toronto Reference Library and North York Central business departments and librarians at other branches can direct you to information sources.

• Once you have collected the names of some company contacts, you can start cold contacting by sending a letter or telephoning them. Your goal: a face-to-face meeting or interview with the manager.

By mail:

Write a broadcast letter or send your resume with a targeted cover letter:

• Send the letter to the head of the department you want to work in. Send it to the President, Executive Director or other top position in a smaller organization. Some advise that you avoid the Human Resources department where your letter can be discarded.

• In your first paragraph, mention the job title or area you are interested in, what you can offer the company, and why the organization appeals to you.

• Include the name of the person (with their permission) who gave you the information.

• Tell them you will contact them, stating how and when; don’t leave the follow-up to the employer.

• Don’t use e-mail as a first contact. Company spam filters may block your email and it won’t get through. Use Canada Post or deliver it yourself. If you do hand-deliver it, be sure that you look interview-ready.

Help:

Use this website to develop your cold contact letter. The questions on the site guides your research into a company and helps you figure out what you can offer the company. It also gives more details about the format of a broadcast letter.

This comparison of cover and broadcast letters will help you see the differences.

See the on-line video on unsolicited cover letters and use the websites from Career Bookmarks.

Books with broadcast or cold call letter samples and with tips and scripts for telephone calls. Check your branch or the library catalogue for more.

By telephone:

Your aim is to get an interview with a manager that might be hiring. After you have researched for companies and managers, write a script for your telephone calls. Practise reading it until you feel comfortable. Yes, it is scary! Here’s help on what to say if an assistant answers or you get voice mail.

More help:

Warm up to cold calling   Writing your script.

Cold calling   Includes tips and sample scripts. For example, avoid Mondays and Fridays for phone calls.

Cold calling: a time-tested method of job hunting   Essential article on cold calling.

How to make cold calls and land a job   A good list of tips about doing it right.

Don’t get stuck in the web: cold calling in the Internet age   “Some would say that you’re better off skipping contacting HR and going straight to the managers who might be hiring. We’d say that it’s probably a higher risk and higher reward strategy. You are more likely to irritate the person and be totally ignored (it’s not part of their job to talk to you), but if you impress them, you’re much more likely to land the job. Make of that what you will.”

Make contact with the employer     An author on the hidden job market suggests the call-write-call approach: call for names, write letter and send resume, call decision-maker directly.