Contacting the Employer

Use these tips to make the employer connection as successful as possible:

1. Conduct research on the employer. Learn about the organizational structure, various operations, profit and growth areas, professional growth opportunities, career path, and overall performance of products and services.
2. Match your skills to the target job position and organization. Look at the position descriptionand identify those skills that best correlate with your own. If a job description does not exist,do the same exercise for the organization. Target your resume and cover letter to the needs of the organizations and/or job position.
3. Send letters of inquiry and your resume to these employers. Use the names found through theemployer targeting process as the contact person for that particular organization. State in theletter that you will follow up with a telephone call to request an interview. If you have nocontacts, call the organization and ask them to whom this letter should be addressed.
4. Follow up with the employer within one to two weeks. Call and request an interview todiscuss present or future job opportunities. If the employer states he/she does not have any openings, ask to set up an appointment to learn more about the organization. If the employerstates he/she is too busy, ask him/her for a recommendation of someone else with whom tospeak.
5. Maintain contact with employers. Update your employer contact every month or so todetermine whether new opportunities exist.