Speculative application

[Frenchsalesadministrator]

Hi,

Having recently been made redundant, I am in the process of contacting local businesses to find out if they have any available job vacancies.
Not wanting to waste anyone's time, I will target relevant businesses for my skill set.

I was wondering what is your reaction to speculative applications?
Do they work?
What do you consider a good application?

Many thanks
Fabien

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

Turn up at the yard, offer a days work for free.

Even if the business doesn't have work currently, if you impress then they will be quick to recommend you to anyone else.

 

[estwig]

Turn up at the yard, offer a days work for free.

Even if the business doesn't have work currently, if you impress then they will be quick to recommend you to anyone else.

The good old days, when you could rock up on site and start loading a skip, or carrying stuff around until you got noticed. Then take the p*ss outta the old boys, until someone gave you some work to do.

It ain't like that no more, H&S killed it off!

 

[The Byre]

Everything depends on your skillset. Some skillsets such as general office work and hotel and restaurant trades are available in over-abundance and others, such as experienced building trades with all the right paperwork are sought and hard to find. Some, such as film and TV trades, are sitting around waiting for this C19 nonsense to go away so that the starting gun on a thousand dormant projects can be fired. When that happens the employment market will look very different.

There is nothing wrong with firing off 101 CVs to every employer and his dog, but when you do this, research the prospective employer FIRST and talk about them.

Remember the 12 points about writing any letter asking people to buy something or do something.

1. It's all about the employer and what you can do for them. Talk about them and how you admire their company/products/ethic/whatever!
2. Headline. You have two seconds to make your job app stand out before it goes in the bin!
3. One SHORT paragraph on what it's all about at the top. Ten seconds of copy.
4. Keep it simple. Short sentences, short paragraphs and no jargon.
5. Be specific and factual. None of the honest and hardworking nonsense!
6. Appeal to the emotions with words like success and achievement.
7. No gimmicks or gags.
8. Be fulsome. If it takes 1,000 words to explain who and what you are, use 1,000 words.
9. Be honest.
10. Keep it interesting. Boring job apps don't get read!
11. Repeat your call to action such as to call you on the telephone.
12. Give them a logical reason to employ you. Why are you writing and why would it benefit them to employ you!

When you've done all that, test it on as many people as possible. Test, test and test again!

Right now, things look pretty bleak and may get a lot worse - but remember the words of HG Wells - "Today's emergency is tomorrow's joke!"

Good luck! (You're gonna need it!)

 

[Alison Moore]

It depends... if a business is short staffed at short notice, a phone call offering your services could be just what they're looking for. But expect a lot of knock backs at the moment, anyone not looking for staff won't appreciate their day being interrupted, as there's a lot of stress and worry on a lot of business owners at the moment. We've employed people who've just turned up and impressed us, not very often, but the right time, right person can work.

 

[Aniela]

Turn up at the yard, offer a days work for free.

Even if the business doesn't have work currently, if you impress then they will be quick to recommend you to anyone else.

So turn up to a business and offer the company to break the law?

Showing your age a bit there.

 

[Aniela]

Everything depends on your skillset. Some skillsets such as general office work and hotel and restaurant trades are available in over-abundance and others, such as experienced building trades with all the right paperwork are sought and hard to find. Some, such as film and TV trades, are sitting around waiting for this C19 nonsense to go away so that the starting gun on a thousand dormant projects can be fired. When that happens the employment market will look very different.

There is nothing wrong with firing off 101 CVs to every employer and his dog, but when you do this, research the prospective employer FIRST and talk about them.

Remember the 12 points about writing any letter asking people to buy something or do something.

1. It's all about the employer and what you can do for them. Talk about them and how you admire their company/products/ethic/whatever!
2. Headline. You have two seconds to make your job app stand out before it goes in the bin!
3. One SHORT paragraph on what it's all about at the top. Ten seconds of copy.
4. Keep it simple. Short sentences, short paragraphs and no jargon.
5. Be specific and factual. None of the honest and hardworking nonsense!
6. Appeal to the emotions with words like success and achievement.
7. No gimmicks or gags.
8. Be fulsome. If it takes 1,000 words to explain who and what you are, use 1,000 words.
9. Be honest.
10. Keep it interesting. Boring job apps don't get read!
11. Repeat your call to action such as to call you on the telephone.
12. Give them a logical reason to employ you. Why are you writing and why would it benefit them to employ you!

When you've done all that, test it on as many people as possible. Test, test and test again!

Right now, things look pretty bleak and may get a lot worse - but remember the words of HG Wells - "Today's emergency is tomorrow's joke!"

Good luck! (You're gonna need it!)

Right...

Not the 11 points or the 13 points to letter writing success. It has to be 12 or it's not going to successful. A lot of those points hold no basis in reality and show you've been reading too many marketing books/blogs.

Follow advice like the above and you'll likely get no job.

Most CV's are pointless from the get-go. Unless a job has a specific requirement (like a license etc) and you need to show it on your CV, it's pretty much all random luck.

There's no science or art to it, as you don't know what the person reading the CV is looking for and likes/dislikes.

Just apply to as many jobs as you can and you'll get interviews at some point.

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

So turn up to a business and offer the company to break the law?

Showing your age a bit there.

I'm thirty two. This is the real world. There is no law against volunteering for a day, and in the real world, away from the HR departments and suits, honest graft stands out.

I despair at you and truly hope no young person on here listens to your 'advice'. You're like the boomer parent telling their kid 'just go to Uni and get good grades, then you'll get a career. It worked for me, I bought my first house at twenty two!'.

Or even worse, on the subject of dating- 'Just be yourself!'

 

[Aniela]

I'm thirty two. This is the real world. There is no law against volunteering for a day, and in the real world, away from the HR departments and suits, honest graft stands out.

I despair at you and truly hope no young person on here listens to your 'advice'. You're like the boomer parent telling their kid 'just go to Uni and get good grades, then you'll get a career. It worked for me, I bought my first house at twenty two!'.

Or even worse, on the subject of dating- 'Just be yourself!'

If you're offering a free days worth of work as a way to prove your suitable for a paid job, that's not considered volunteering. You can't use the word 'volunteering' to get around employment laws.

There's a lot more to it then just being able to say they're a 'volunteer'.

Anything other than the exceptions is illegal and can land the employer in jail in serious cases.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Well targeted speculative applications can be very powerful.

In certain field, so can just turning up and offering yourself for work.

You will need a thick skin however, as by the nature of things, most people won't be interested at the time you write, and there is no protocal requiring them to repond. (Mnd you, feedback I'm getting is that even requested applications don't get a response these days)

If you can elabourate on the kind of work you are looking for, it would help

 

[Frenchsalesadministrator]

Thank you for all your feedback so far.

Please remember not to diverge too much from the main subject. Thank you.

 

[Frenchsalesadministrator]

Well targeted speculative applications can be very powerful.

In certain field, so can just turning up and offering yourself for work.

You will need a thick skin however, as by the nature of things, most people won't be interested at the time you write, and there is no protocal requiring them to repond. (Mnd you, feedback I'm getting is that even requested applications don't get a response these days)

If you can elabourate on the kind of work you are looking for, it would help

Yes Mark, I do agree with you about targeted speculative applications. I am not aiming at sending hundreds of random applications just for the sake of sending my CV out there.

I was made redundant from a tour organiser role after 12 years with the business. It's within this role that I have the most work experience.
The skills and experience that I have developed there are in (inbound) sales, administration and customer service. I am also a native French speaker.
There is no chance for me to find a job in the travel industry at the moment.
I think the best role for me based on my skills and experience would be sales administrator. I have had several interviews for French speaking sales administrator but from the feedback that I have received there was always a candidate with more experience. By this, I think that they meant that candidates with experience in selling actual products rather than holidays would have a better edge.

I don't plan to give up but carry on to follow this path. I am planning to get in touch with manufacturers that are exporting to France.

From the interviews that I had, it was clear that the language was a barrier for these businesses to enter the French Market and it was necessary for them to have a French speaker.

I found The Byre's post above interesting. I have been thinking about getting in touch with manufacturers that don't (yet) export to Europe or France.
Having a French speaker would really benefit them but is that sufficient for them to decide to export to France, I am not sure about that.

I am not sure where to start or how to convince them but I need to start somewhere.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Yes Mark, I do agree with you about targeted speculative applications. I am not aiming at sending hundreds of random applications just for the sake of sending my CV out there.

I was made redundant from a tour organiser role after 12 years with the business. It's within this role that I have the most work experience.
The skills and experience that I have developed there are in (inbound) sales, administration and customer service. I am also a native French speaker.
There is no chance for me to find a job in the travel industry at the moment.
I think the best role for me based on my skills and experience would be sales administrator. I have had several interviews for French speaking sales administrator but from the feedback that I have received there was always a candidate with more experience. By this, I think that they meant that candidates with experience in selling actual products rather than holidays would have a better edge.

I don't plan to give up but carry on to follow this path. I am planning to get in touch with manufacturers that are exporting to France.

From the interviews that I had, it was clear that the language was a barrier for these businesses to enter the French Market and it was necessary for them to have a French speaker.

I found The Byre's post above interesting. I have been thinking about getting in touch with manufacturers that don't (yet) export to Europe or France.
Having a French speaker would really benefit them but is that sufficient for them to decide to export to France, I am not sure about that.

I am not sure where to start or how to convince them but I need to start somewhere.

Sounds like a sensible, thought-through approach

I might add - can you add something to showcase your linguistic ability in an interesting/engaging way?

Byre's post makes a lot of sense. Highligh benefits to them.

To re-iterate, it won't be easy, but it will set you aside from the many thousands who simply press the 'send CV' button.

Best of luck

 

[forevergroup]

Personally, particularly if you are targeting specific local businesses, I would have thought the best option would be to call them directly and tell whomever answers this:

"
I have experience in <<skill set>> and I am currently looking for a job.

I feel that I would be a good fit for <<company>> because <<common ground between them and your skill set>>.

Who would be the best person to speak to about any vacancies please?
"

I would have thought this would get you far further than dive-bombing emailed or posted CVs.

Best of luck in your search.

 

[Frenchsalesadministrator]

Personally, particularly if you are targeting specific local businesses, I would have thought the best option would be to call them directly and tell whomever answers this:

"
I have experience in <<skill set>> and I am currently looking for a job.

I feel that I would be a good fit for <<company>> because <<common ground between them and your skill set>>.

Who would be the best person to speak to about any vacancies please?
"

I would have thought this would get you far further than dive-bombing emailed or posted CVs.

Best of luck in your search.

Thank you.

Any constructive feedback is worth trying.

 

[SillyBill]

I'm thirty two. This is the real world. There is no law against volunteering for a day, and in the real world, away from the HR departments and suits, honest graft stands out.

I despair at you and truly hope no young person on here listens to your 'advice'. You're like the boomer parent telling their kid 'just go to Uni and get good grades, then you'll get a career. It worked for me, I bought my first house at twenty two!'.

Or even worse, on the subject of dating- 'Just be yourself!'

Subject to a vacancy being there, I'd gladly welcome anyone into my business who showed such initiative. I'd be less worried about what HR or HSE thinks about such a vile misdemeanour than I would be impressed at the endeavour of the person at hand. Working for yourself is great as you can think for yourself... And quite frankly if HSE or some other agency of government were to bother taking a broom out of a guy's hand and wrapping my knuckles on such a non-event it would only serve to make me even more determined to (legally) dodge as much tax as possible and to be as (legally) obstructive as I could be in any other matter that requires my co-operation. Choose to waste tax money on stifling that sort of effort then they'd deserve every penny of tax avoidance in return.

 

[Aniela]

Subject to a vacancy being there, I'd gladly welcome anyone into my business who showed such initiative. I'd be less worried about what HR or HSE thinks about such a vile misdemeanour than I would be impressed at the endeavour of the person at hand. Working for yourself is great as you can think for yourself... And quite frankly if HSE or some other agency of government were to bother taking a broom out of a guy's hand and wrapping my knuckles on such a non-event it would only serve to make me even more determined to (legally) dodge as much tax as possible and to be as (legally) obstructive as I could be in any other matter that requires my co-operation. Choose to waste tax money on stifling that sort of effort then they'd deserve every penny of tax avoidance in return.

It's not about wasting tax money on stifling effort.

It's to ensure people get paid money they're entitled to, for the work they're doing. It's to ensure disgraceful, unethical and morally bankrupt business owners don't abuse people by getting them to work for them for free, when they legally should be paid.

It's designed to stop evil people abusing their power of control over another person, by taking advantage of their position.

Twist it how you like to make yourself feel better but it's unlawful for a reason. To protect people.

 

[Bob Morgan]

I often wonder how we used to manage!

 

[Annoying Donkey]

It's designed to stop evil people abusing their power of control over another person, by taking advantage of their position.

You mean like politicians...
Or Union leaders... (Politicians by another name).

 

[Joseph K]

Hi Fabien, I think speculative job applications can work. If you are able to speak to the Director/Manager directly that can work on your favour. Make your CV stand out more, specially at the beginning, because the HR Managers spend little time going through lots of CVs they receive.
Wish you all the best on your job search.

 

[bodgitt&scarperLTD]

It's not about wasting tax money on stifling effort.

It's to ensure people get paid money they're entitled to, for the work they're doing. It's to ensure disgraceful, unethical and morally bankrupt business owners don't abuse people by getting them to work for them for free, when they legally should be paid.

It's designed to stop evil people abusing their power of control over another person, by taking advantage of their position.

Twist it how you like to make yourself feel better but it's unlawful for a reason. To protect people.

You just cant see the wood for the trees can you? What about internships? The work isn't black and white, it's many many shades of gray, but you're like a computer. 0 or 1, nothing else. I guarantee you're employed, not self employed. You just can't think for yourself.

You'd best report me. (I know you love doing that). I had a young lad come by the yard looking for work a few years ago. I got him to give me a hand all day, gave him a go at driving the forklift at the end of the day. I didn't pay him.

I did, however, invite him back the next week and paid him. And for a whole year after that, until he left to attempt to reconcile with his family back home (troubled background)

 

[Darren_Ssc]

I was wondering what is your reaction to speculative applications?

I am not looking to hire anyone, I have a girl who does a bit of remote work and that's it. However, if someone knocked on my door asking if there was anything going I would certainly have a chat and see if there was anything I could do to help. Depending on that person's skill set, I could offer some part-time work or a few one-off assignments.

Certainly nothing to lose.

 

[Aniela]

You just cant see the wood for the trees can you? What about internships? The work isn't black and white, it's many many shades of gray, but you're like a computer. 0 or 1, nothing else. I guarantee you're employed, not self employed. You just can't think for yourself.

You'd best report me. (I know you love doing that). I had a young lad come by the yard looking for work a few years ago. I got him to give me a hand all day, gave him a go at driving the forklift at the end of the day. I didn't pay him.

I did, however, invite him back the next week and paid him. And for a whole year after that, until he left to attempt to reconcile with his family back home (troubled background)

Internships is a different setup and agreement all together. What I was discussing is something completely different.

In your situation, you broke employment laws. If that's how you operate a business, then it says a lot about you and the business more than anything else.

 

[The Byre]

If someone knocked on my door they would be very welcome! Trouble is, the ones who do are useless! 200 a year and universally useless!

 

[Bob Morgan]

If someone knocked on my door they would be very welcome! Trouble is, the ones who do are useless! 200 a year and universally useless!

. . . and Doctorates in Futility!

 

[The Byre]

. . . and Doctorates in Futility!

I remember advertising for a sub-editor for German language copy in Germany. A sub-editor checks for grammatical mistakes and boxes copy into readable shape. We got a whole host of applications from people with doctorates, many of whom made grammatical mistakes in their letters! I mean - grammatical mistakes when applying for a job as a sub-editor???

In the end, we went with a woman who left school at 16 and was a furniture restorer.

Within a year or so, we ended up with three - two were MAs in German Literature and the furniture restorer - you can guess who was the best and by a long way! She was with us until she died of cancer.

 

[Vin Gupta]

Hi,

Having recently been made redundant, I am in the process of contacting local businesses to find out if they have any available job vacancies.
Not wanting to waste anyone's time, I will target relevant businesses for my skill set.

I was wondering what is your reaction to speculative applications?
Do they work?
What do you consider a good application?

Many thanks
Fabien

Hi Fabien. It won't hurt to make speculative applications. 90% of you applications won't geat read (just being honest). Business owners are busy and have overflowing inboxes.

If you do send some specultive applictions, just be persistent. If it doesn't work after a few weeks, don't get disheartened. And make sure you try some other strategies to find work.

Good luck!

 

[Financial-Modeller]

A couple of thoughts...

I am planning to get in touch with manufacturers that are exporting to France.

From the interviews that I had, it was clear that the language was a barrier for these businesses to enter the French Market and it was necessary for them to have a French speaker.

Firstly, don't limit yourself to France if you can communicate effectively with people in other French-speaking countries.

As you go on to suggest, you need to identify UK-based manufacturers who don't yet export, but have the appetite to devote time, money and effort to do so, and capacity to supply forthcoming orders.

Those prospective exporters might not be inclined to take on an employee right now, so perhaps consider making yourself available on a consulting basis.