Targeting Companies as a Job Search Strategy

“You can’t hit a target you cannot see, and you cannot see a target you do not have.” 

- Zig Ziglar

You decide that you want a new position, or the world has decided that you need a new J-O-B.  You are diligently spending time on the job sites and looking for the new job postings.  You have alerts that are set-up, and you keep scanning them.  It isn’t happening fast enough though, and you are disappointed in the lack of solid opportunities.  Suggest that you start targeting companies as a job search strategy.

Get out a sheet of paper (or if you must stay digital a Word or Excel blank page).  Now start to list down the companies that you believe would be a mutually good fit.  You have something to offer them, and they would be a place that you want to work.

Start from memory.  Who are the companies that you know from your prior work?

-        Vendors that you worked with.

-        Customers that you interfaced with.

-        Competitors that you know of.

-        Channel partners/resellers.

-        Companies that a neighbor or friend or relative works for.

Just start a running list and don’t worry about any particular order.  Be a little bit selective on this list of companies and be sure that you believe you could add value to them, and they would possibly find you interesting.   If your career has been in real estate, don’t put down an aerospace company but do list out a company that makes building components or sells to consumers.

Now you need to do some more research in a few different areas.

1. Work to find a contact at these companies. Start another column to write down people’s names next to the companies.  What contacts do you know at any of these companies? 

   1. Fill it out as best you can and understand there will likely be several blanks.  You hope that past business cards, contact lists or social media sites can help you. 

   2. Whatever blanks you still have, go to the company’s website and find the ‘contact us’ page and write down the e-mail address they have.

   3. A final step would be to search on Linked In (or something similar) to find the Human Resources person at the company and write that down. Here is a chance to use Google and LinkedIn for some research. 

2. Now is the right time to start to group the companies a bit.  The most likely groupings will be by industry categories.   Put like companies together and this will help you in the next steps of building out the list.  Food manufacturing companies vs. transportation companies.  Shoe companies versus on-line retailers. 

3. With this homework complete you can research more companies that you may have forgotten or that are adjacent to the ones you have listed out.

   1. You might do this with some industry research based on competitors or similar technologies.

   2. Finding a couple industry trade shows and looking for lists of attendee’s or exhibitor’s names is a good place to start.  Find a floor plan that has the exhibitors written in.

   3. There are typically industry journals that might be helpful.  These used to be paper magazines, but now most are digital.  Identify a few and look through some of their articles or get on their mailing lists.  Then you can scan them for companies that are advertising and those that are writing articles.

      

      
      

 "The archer who misses his mark does not blame the target.  He stops, corrects himself and shoots again.” 

-        Confucius

Use your network to refine your list.  Don’t start a conversation with your network contacts over a blank sheet of paper.  Bring your list and use the names on the list to jog their memory.  They will have ideas on companies to add to the list, names of contacts at companies and also, they will likely have some companies they suggest that you take off the list.  This should be an easy and non-awkward way to make effective use of people in your network and help pull them into the job search effort with you.

This list gives you a couple different options for use.

1. Periodically scan their job postings on their website.

2. Set up alerts on the job search boards for those companies.

3. Send your resume to them unsolicited…this is essentially a ‘cold call.’

4. Reach out to some people at the company and engage with them so they know your potential interest.  Find someone in HR or your targeted department to send the information to.

Targeting companies as a job search strategy can be a great way to be proactive in your efforts to find the next work opportunity.  Don’t be a victim of waiting around and hoping for something to pop-up…and for you to find it before a hundred other people apply.  Take some control of the situation and implement some strategy.

The timing on your interest might not be perfect, but there is always some interest in connecting with good people that may have needed skills to companies.  This approach may take a bit longer to materialize, but it can be an important part of your search effort.  As the great Wayne Gretzky is quoted as saying, “You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.”