Marketing Yourself to Employers

Professional Correspondence
In order to have an effective career search, it is essential to develop professional job searching skills and correspondence. You must create a resume tailored to your career area and the specific skills, qualifications, and experiences that make you an ideal candidate. In addition to a resume, you will need to develop a basic cover letter that can be easily adapted for each specific position and company.

Contact Employers
After you have determined specific employers or types of employers with whom you would like to work, you need to contact them. This is most often done by sending your resume along with a strong cover letter stating why you are interested in them. Here are some ideas:

Applying for Posted Vacancies
The most obvious method of learning about available jobs is to look for posted vacancies. These may be advertised in several ways: newspapers, professional/trade journals or magazines, jobs newsletters, etc. The Career Resource Center in the Office of Career Services has several resources for job listings, and career advisors may be able to help you find additional sources.

Unsolicited Applications
You should also apply to employers which interest you even if you do not know whether they have vacancies. "Mass mailing" is a technique whereby you send these unsolicited applications to many employers at once. However, this standardized approach is not one of the more effective ways to jobhunt.

Employers receive large numbers of inquiries and applications. Therefore, if you use this technique, you need to give them good reason to single you out of the stack. Your letters should be individually prepared and directed to a person, not just to an organization.

Developing Your Mailing Campaign
To approach employers effectively by mail, you must customize your letters to each employer, letting them know why you are particularly interested in them. This can draw more attention to your application. If you are familiar-- and impressed -- with their products or services, mention this in your letter. If someone from your network suggested you contact a specific person in the organization, mention that person by name in the first sentence of your letter.