How to get the job that is not advertised at all
Good advertising convinces people to want something they didn’t even know about beforehand. This also applies to the speculative application. This is how Jurgen Hesse from the application specialists Hesse/Schrader explains it. Potential new employees would have to arouse the interest of the HR department even more than in the case of a regular application.
It starts with the subject line. "If you send the application by e-mail, the line should arouse curiosity," says Hesse. Formulations such as "speculative application as a secretary" or "application for office clerk" are considered too sober by the application coach. After all, the personnel manager is not waiting.
But you should also not exaggerate, says Hesse. "An application as a ‘gas-water installer with a passion’ looks unintentionally funny." Better examples are as follows: "Professional for your social media strategy", "I’ll get you to the top of the search engines" or "With me, you can also reach the young target group".
Applicants should know name of hiring manager
That presupposes however that job candidates informed themselves before well about the enterprise and know, whom it could need. In any case, they must know the contact person. Who writes that he absolutely wants to a company, should also have made the effort to find out the name of the personnel manager. Everything else looks untrustworthy. "You should have researched who makes the personnel decisions," says Hesse.
Maybe applicants have heard from an acquaintance that a new department is being set up in his company. "Before you refer to him in your application, you have to ask his permission," explains career consultant Maja Skubella. In addition, applicants should clarify exactly what they are already allowed to know. Those who carelessly refer to information that is still considered a trade secret are more likely to create difficulties for the employee than to secure a new position.
Whether job seekers should inquire by phone beforehand is controversial. On the one hand, they will probably only receive the information that the company is currently not looking for employees. On the other hand, you can refer to this in the cover letter and write "Our telephone conversation on 5 September was very helpful. April". In many councellors it is therefore recommended.
Who decides however for it, should really have questions. The personnel department notices fast whether the call is only an excuse, in order to bring itself into the discussion. "I find it inappropriate if they are standard questions that can also be answered by looking at the website," says, for example, the head of personnel marketing at coffee roaster Melitta, Jana Reineke.
Final sentence of the unsolicited application
If no job is advertised, applicants must describe their skills in such a way that they could fit several jobs or departments. This works well if you describe your competencies first and foremost, explains career consultant Skubella.
So instead of explaining that you have worked mainly in marketing so far, you can describe that you are communicative and well connected and back this up with examples. This gives the recruiter the opportunity to think about other jobs as well.
However, applicants should not position themselves too broadly either, because: "Then it is difficult for the personnel manager to assess which position might be suitable for the applicant," says Melitta personnel marketing manager Reineke. Applicants should ask themselves: Why do I really want to work there?? What can I offer the company?
The same applies to the unsolicited application as to regular applications: The concluding sentence should not contain a subjunctive mood. Career consultant Skubella advises an optimistic exit, such as "I’m looking forward to the chance of an exchange" or "I’m looking forward to an invitation to an interview." About two weeks later, you can call to see if the HR department is interested.
But beware: some companies don’t accept unsolicited applications; Bosch, for example, is one of them. In such cases you should also not send an application without being asked to do so. Firstly, this makes you look badly informed, and secondly, the company usually has good reasons for doing so. For example, because it records applications in a standardized way and cannot process a speculative application or does so poorly.
The new data protection regulation makes it difficult for companies to deal with unintentionally sent personal documents. Some reject unsolicited applications also for this reason. If you’re still determined to apply, you should call ahead and ask what options are available.
At Bosch, for example, all interesting applicants are considered by the HR department even for jobs they haven’t explicitly applied for. "Every application is therefore in principle also a speculative application," says human resources manager Marvin Max.