Strategies to Get Your Resume to the Right People

Do Your Research

Research is a big part of the job search process.   Whether it’s to find an opportunity or gather specific information about an employer, knowing how to investigate and look for clues will help you to achieve better results. 

Information on job postings can be limited.  However, there are clues that can help you learn more about an opportunity or the company that is hiring.  For example, you may come across job postings that only provide an email or fax number to respond to.  In order to get more information about the company or to personalize your cover letter, you will need to do some investigative work. 

Here are some tips that can help you CLUE IN.

If there is only a company name with a fax number and no contact name- You can look up the company name in the phone book or on the Internet.  Usually the phone number is similar to the fax number. 

Once you have a phone number, you can call the company and speak with the receptionist to obtain a contact name to forward your resume to. Receptionists are usually very helpful when you take a casual approach for assistance.  Simply tell them that you are preparing to submit your resume and cover letter for the available position and would like to know who you can address it to. 

If there is no company name, then you can just submit the resume and cover letter as instructed.

When there is only an email address provided and no company name, you may recognize the company name or website address in the email address itself.  For example:  johndoe@abccompany.com.  The company website in this case, would likely be accessible on the Internet at www.abccompany.com.  There you may be able to access a more detailed job description along with other interesting information about the company.  Sometimes you can also obtain the name of a Human Resources Officer or Manager.