| The idea about writing some speculative letters is a | | | | employers as you can on the basis that if you cast |
| good one, writing to possible employers which may | | | | your net wide enough, you may catch something. That |
| have jobs that you don't know about has got to be | | | | may be true and if all you want is a job (or ANY job) |
| worthwhile. After all, they may have already | | | | you could find it works for you, although it can be |
| advertised and you didn't see their advert, or they may | | | | expensive mailing all those letters. |
| be about to advertise, in which case you might just get | | | | Ideally you would address, print and sign each one |
| in first. | | | | individually which can be quite tedious if you are |
| Typically a speculative letter might go like this: | | | | sending out dozens of speculative letters, so don't cut |
| Dear Sir, | | | | corners by producing a standard 'Dear Sir' letter to |
| I am writing to enquire whether your organization has | | | | photocopy as that will lose you a lot of credibility all at |
| any vacancies for which I may be considered. I am a | | | | once. |
| reliable and responsible individual with 2 years of | | | | I recommend that you only use this speculative letter |
| general office duties experience. | | | | approach for entry-level jobs or junior office type jobs |
| This experience includes answering the telephone, | | | | which may be common to a number of organizations. |
| dealing with general enquiries, transferring calls, meeting | | | | A far better way for experienced or senior or older |
| and greeting visitors to the office, keeping the | | | | people is to understand and use the direct approach |
| reception area clean and tidy, dealing with inbound | | | | targeted letter - a radically different approach from |
| outbound post. | | | | what many people think of and is now the only way to |
| I am always eager to learn new skills and I am | | | | succeed in today's tough job market. I'm sure you |
| someone who works well in a team. | | | | already know that there is so much more to getting a |
| If you are looking for a new member of your office | | | | new job than just sending out hundreds of letters. |
| team, I hope you will contact me. I can attend an | | | | However, you can make things happen by applying |
| interview at your convenience. | | | | my direct approach which involves doing some careful |
| Yours Faithfully, | | | | research and targeting appropriate organizations by |
| Anne Applicant | | | | putting together a carefully crafted direct approach |
| So there is nothing wrong with writing a speculative | | | | sales letter. |
| letter like this, but a WORD OF CAUTION... | | | | This type of letter is ten times more likely to get a |
| This is NOT the best approach for everybody. | | | | response than any speculative letter that you might be |
| When you write a speculative letter like this, you will | | | | tempted to send out. |
| probably want to send it to as many potential | | | | |