With this assumption, review your list of resume submissions from the last quarter. Visit each companies’ web site to see if the same—or a similar position—is still open. If you don’t see the opening at the web site, don’t despair. See if you can contact the hiring manager or someone else in the company to inquire about it. This gives you a perfect opening in your call or email.

As with all planned contacts, prepare your elevator pitch so that you offer a compelling and well-spoken introduction. You will need to conduct research on the company in order to do this well. Check out their press releases, the Wall Street Journal, Google them, etc., so that you know of any pertinent changes in the company that you can relate to yourself.

Consider this opening line:

Hi Mark, this is Jane Smith. A while back you were recruiting for a [fill in the blank: job title] in your group, and I was wondering if you were able to fill that position. One of your recruiters had called me back then to discuss it, so I’m following up to see what the status is.

Mark responds in one of two ways:

1. Yes. We did fill it. Thanks for calling.

2. No, we did not fill it. Please submit your resume to HR.

Here is where the second part of your elevator pitch comes in. If Mark says the job is filled, how would you reply?

Uh, no, don’t say thank you and hang up.

In fact, no matter which reply you get, your reaction should be the same. You should reply in a way to elicit a lead from him for other opportunities in the company.

You might say:

That’s good to hear. I was recently reading [fill in the blank: press release, company news, etc.) and see that ABC Company is expanding into (fill in the blank: product, territory, etc.). I’ve been keeping an eye on ABC’s changes and would love an opportunity to get involved with this new activity. I’ve done similar (fill in the blank: jobs, industries, etc.) at XYZ and LMN companies – is there anyone in your organization that might have a few minutes to discuss?

The result of this activity can yield hidden jobs. Why? Because if a job was put on hold pending budget approvals, there’s a chance that the company is now preparing to fill the position. If so, you might be the first – and possibly only – candidate to inquire about it.

Consider this insightful advice from the Harvard Business Review’s How Not Achieving Something Is the Key to Achieving It:

Anyone can do anything. As long as three conditions exist:

1. You want to achieve it
2. You believe you can achieve it
3. You enjoy trying to achieve it And if you don't enjoy the trying part you'll never do it long enough to reach your goal.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

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