How to Deal with Unresponsive Employers This Holiday Season
You’ve tirelessly tinkered away on your resume and cover letter. You’ve read up on the organization. You’ve sent out those winter job search applications. There’s just one problem: All you’ve got in response is, well, nothing. Nada. Crickets.
While you may have read that the first quarter of the year is one of the busiest for hiring, what can you do if you’re part of the 75 percent of job seekers who’ve applied to jobs using various avenues and didn’t hear back?
Here’s how to deal with unresponsive employers this holiday season:
Reach out directly
If you want to make an impact, think about reaching out to employers directly. Direct contact could mean a lot of things, such as using an email address instead of a contact form or picking up the phone and calling the hiring manager yourself. Plus, since fewer job seekers will be looking for work this time of the year, contacting decision makers directly will likely give you a faster turnaround.
Tip: Don’t just ask the status of an application during the holiday season. Whatever method you use, give hiring managers a reason to dig deeper. For example, if you decide to email the hiring manager about a marketing position, you could add the following: “My background in marketing includes interning with international organizations and winning numerous industry accolades and awards.” This can pique the interest of a hiring manager and opens the door to communication.
Use social media
Social media is, of course, a great way to find a job. But, what about using it as a way to deal with unresponsive employers? If anything, tweeting out a message or connecting with them on LinkedIn may not be a bad thing. In fact, studies show hiring leaders use LinkedIn 93 percent of the time to search, contact, and keep tabs on candidates in the hiring process. In addition, 65 percent use Facebook and 47 percent use Twitter to post about company culture.
Tip: In addition to the above, eight percent of hiring leaders use Twitter and 25 percent use Facebook to vet candidates after the interview process. So, if they use platforms like Facebook and Twitter to vet candidates after receiving an application or having a conversation, reach out to them using these channels! If they have a Twitter account or LinkedIn page, connect with them directly, send them messages, or involve them in your posts. By opening and later streamlining the conversation, you’ll have a better shot at being noticed and acknowledged by the hiring manager.
Stand out through innovation
If you’ve tried the above methods with no avail, you may need to get creative. This means being innovative, jumping on opportunities, and standing out in ways that will turn heads. The unusual is going to get noticed and will likely provide you with the results you’re looking for.
Tip: Go visual. Creating a quirky resume, spoofing a popular TV show in your application materials, or coming up with mock marketing campaign for the organization are all ways to go through the job search on your own terms. Essentially, you take back some of the control by going about the process in a different way, while showcasing why you’re a great candidate.
If you’re facing unresponsive employers this holiday season, don’t turn into a grinch. Instead, use this roadblock as an opportunity to stand out as a candidate and stay vigilant, without being annoying.
What do you think? Are there some other ways to deal with unresponsive employers this holiday season?
Image courtesy of Ed Yourdon; Flickr
