Don’t Send Out Resumes – Send Out Sales Letters
“It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain for himself.” – Epicurus (Vatican Sayings, third century B.C.)
If getting a better job is your goal, plan accordingly:
1. Target a limited number of potential future employers.
2. Study them.
3. Determine their goals, problems, and challenges.
4. Write to the person you’ll be working for.
5. Convince him you can help him achieve his objectives.
This advice applies to getting outside jobs as well as better jobs within the company you’re now working for. You can even use it to convince your current boss to give you a better job than the one you have now.
Your sales letter can be a formal letter, a personal note, an interoffice memo, or even an e-mail. The medium you use is a matter of what’s appropriate to the relationship. The fundamental nature of the letter should be the same.
A good letter:
* says something good about the company and the person you want to work for
* lets your prospect know that you know his goals, problems, objectives, etc.
* makes the claim that you are the person to solve/achieve them
* proves that you are
* requests a specific action (asks for the sale)
If you write the right sales letter, it’s OK to send a resume along with it. I’ll tell you more about how that resume should be structured tomorrow.