If you’ve been job searching lately, you’ve probably noticed how writing-intensive the process has become. It doesn’t matter what your occupation is — welders are writing just about as many letters as marketing professionals these days.
Anyone old enough to remember the transition from typewriters to computers knows why correspondence has proliferated to this degree: We write more because we can. And, because we can, more writing is expected. After all, what is an email account but a portal for writing and receiving letters?
Some of those letters are just casual notes to friends, and you could as likely send them via text or social media. But when it comes to job search, email still rules and crafted letters are still the right strategy.
That said, “crafted” doesn’t have to mean “slaved over.” One of email’s best benefits for job seekers is the way it can be used as an archive. It’s very easy to create boilerplate language that can be used many times. Of course, you need to modify letters before re-using them, but that task usually goes more quickly than composing from scratch.
If you haven’t already, now is a good time to build your own library of job search letters, to be customized on short notice whenever they’re called for. To be well-prepared, you’ll need about six different letters, although some won’t be used as often as others. We’ll look at one of those letters in this column, and review the other five in upcoming columns.
Letter No. 1 – Networking. The word “networking” covers a lot of territory, so you probably won’t be using the same letter for every circumstance. But you might be able to create a model that’s easily adjusted. Here are the elements it should contain:
• warm greeting, if you know this person, or an introduction if you haven’t met yet
• brief summary or catch-up on what you’ve been doing
• request (and reason) for a conversation
Sample for past acquaintance — Unless you know this person well, a short letter will be best:
“Jackie, it’s been at least three years since we were at the certification workshop together, so I don’t know if you’ll remember me. I think of that class often, and how impressed I was with your insightful questions.
“That’s one of the reasons I’m reaching out — I’d like to get your feedback and advice on something. Since we met in the workshop, I’ve been working at a marketing firm doing social media outreach. It’s been going well but I’m considering a job change to get into something similar to the work you’re doing.
“Would you have time for a conversation, by phone or in person, over the next few weeks? I’d appreciate the opportunity to run my ideas past you, and to get your perspective.”
Sample when referred by someone — If you know someone the recipient knows, that can be helpful to mention:
“Jackie, we haven’t met but our mutual friend Jorge Rodriguez thought you might be able give me some advice, related to working in your field.
“I’ve been working at a marketing firm doing social media outreach for the past three years. It’s been going well but I’m considering a job change to something similar to the work you’re doing.
“Would you have time for a conversation, by phone or in person, over the next few weeks? I’d appreciate the opportunity to run my ideas past you, and to get your perspective.”
Sample for a “cold” contact — If you have no connection to Jackie, the letter might look like this:
“Ms. Johnson, we haven’t met but I’m hoping you might have a few minutes for a brief phone conversation. I’m interested in advice you might have for me about potentially working in your field.
“I’ve been working at a marketing firm doing social media outreach for the past three years. It’s been going well but I’m considering a job change to something similar to the work you’re doing.
“Would you have time for a conversation over the next few weeks? I’d appreciate the opportunity to run my ideas past you, and to get your perspective.”
By now you’ve probably noticed that the main difference between these letters is in how you introduce the situation. The last letter also refrains from mentioning an in-person meeting, since that’s a lot to ask from a person you don’t know.
Come back for the next two weeks and we’ll look at the five other letters to put into your job search kit: the letter of inquiry, the cover letter, the post-interview follow-up letter, the letter you send after being turned down, and correspondence for confirming that you’ll take the job when it’s been offered.
Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.
