When you’ve finished slumming through all the relevant job board postings for the week – applying to positions that you don’t even want to think about accepting – what else can you do? Well, you could cast your visions of underpaid hum-drummery aside for a bit, and aim for the stars: seek out the companies you want to work for, not just the ones currently hiring. Put some A-grade effort into documenting how you would be an all-star addition to their teams, and then utilize the available tools (corporate sites, LinkedIn, relevant press releases) to get the contact info for the department and supervisor you should be sending your resume to.

We’re big proponents of this proactive (yeah, we just used that word… sorry) approach, for a handful of reasons:

1. It’s not uncommon for companies to be lax in posting new job opportunities, or to be simply unaware that they have a gaping hole in their staff until someone points it out. Just because an employer isn’t looking doesn’t mean they don’t need you.
2. If the company actually does respond positively, you’ve certainly got a bit more leverage than you’d have in other situations, because you’re the one who carved out the job opening in the first place.
3. Applying for an opening that doesn’t exist sometimes means you’ll skip right over the iron curtain that is HR, and get your document to land right smack on the desk of someone who actually gets paid to take initiative.
4. Isn’t it refreshing to be applying to something that actually interests you, and spurs you on to promote yourself creatively rather than fill out yet another cookie-cutter app? It’s a little peace of mind, if nothing else.
5. One of the basic tenets of networking: if you want to be lucky, be opportunistic.

We haven’t come across too many folks who would disagree with the above, but there are naysayers who would claim that what you send to a company in this situation could come off as desperate. Remember that you’ve got to make a big enough impression on your potential employer to get him/her to entertain the idea of adding a staff member… but think twice before you take your enterprising efforts to stalker-ish levels. For instance, writing up a competitive research document to send along with your resume might be construed as threatening or disrespectful rather than enlightening.

Hey, we never said it would be easy. Nevertheless, we’re convinced it should be one more weapon in your job search arsenal if you’re serious about staying on a fast track.