Ok, so you’re looking for a job.

Maybe your boss is insufferable, you don’t think you’re getting paid enough, you have no more soul left to suck, or you just want a change of scenery.

Regardless, you’re probably going to start doing one or many of the following:

Applying through job sites, such as Monster (does that still exist?) Using a headhunter or recruiter Looking at careers pages of specific companies Reaching out to connections and hoping for the best

These methods work, but not very efficiently. How often do you hear people lamenting the number of resumes they’ve sent out, versus the number of times they’ve heard back?

There’s a better way.

The alternative is simple, but not necessarily easy.

When I first graduated from university, I had some experience in pharmaceutical communications through a co-op placement. I did research on the handful of competitor agencies I knew in my city, and emailed either the HR person or someone with some type of decision-making power.

Unless there is absolutely no conceivable way, always address the email to an actual human being. This requires a tad of research, but you can do it, I believe in you.

Here’s my first contact with the company that I landed my first full-time job with. There was no job posting at the time.

After some back and forth, I started two months later, October 2015.

Five months went by; I changed my mind.

I realized I wanted to work in a tech start up.

Experience in tech? Zero.

My only knowledge from this industry came from HBO’s Silicon Valley and intently listening to my friend talk about the awesome start up she worked at. Thus while I was still working at this initial job, I devoured any book and podcast that I get my hands on.

At this point. I was quite sure I wanted to be in marketing, or if we’re going to be buzz-wordy, a “growth hacker”.

Then I started sending emails like this,

this,

and this,

(Yes, I swore. Do your research and know your audience!)

Sometimes the replies were favourable:

See, people respond to humour!

Especially proud of this one… :)

And sometimes not:

The emails that I sent were pretty frickin’ long, right?

Who cares? They did what I needed them to.

If your email copy is engaging, people are going to read it, regardless of length.

For the type of company I was after, being casual was okay. Maybe not for the type of job you’re looking for.

The takeaway is to know what your recipient values, and show your potential.

The best part is that you don’t need experience to demonstrate what you are capable of.