Getting the interview or just a foot in the door calls for a unique approach.

These are difficult times in our country and creative and memorable methods of marketing yourself are required. If you want to stand out from the crowd you must step outside the box. The norm keeps you in a category along with every other job seeker in the world. Okay, so you have a dynamite resume and cover letter, easily there are hundreds or thousands of people competing for the same three positions. They too have the same tools. What are the odds that you will be chosen; a thousand to one, a hundred to one, ever? If I were a gambler those odds would suck big time. Getting a living is not a game but does require a winning hand.

Several years ago, I was introduced to a Marketing Tool I never knew existed. I thought Cold Calling was something only salespeople and market researcher and telemarketers did. I could not have been more uninformed. Initially I thought, "Right, this will not work for me." It seldom did during my time as a telemarketer. Needless to say I was not employed long. I was totally turned off by it; in my mind it was an intrusive method and should have been banned!

Well, in my desperation I decided to try it. Heck, I would have stood naked on a roof top in reindeer socks if that would've gotten me an interview.

Here are the things that worked for me.
I wrote down a short list of skills and abilities i.e. five plus year's mid-management/supervisory experience. Two years budget management. Six years as a database coordinator. I carefully skewed my skills toward the type industry I was contacting. As you know many skills are transferable across many industries.
I wrote a short introduction keeping in mind my call should take no more than 3-5 minutes and every word spoken should illicit thought on the part of the potential employer. My introduction delivery needed to be confident and to the point. Writing it down was insurance so to speak. There was no room for mistakes or rambling due to a case of nerves.
I located several companies via the yellow pages. Yes the yellow pages. Bottom line is you will find companies there that do not post to the traditional job sites i.e. Monster, Hot Jobs or Yahoo Jobs, but that does not mean they are not open to hiring and /or even creating a position for a real self-starter. One with enough confidence to make a cold call. It is an uncommon occurrence and designed to impress.
I contacted these companies to learn who the key players are, in terms of the hiring process. I sought out titles and names. I encountered numerous gatekeepers which are always expected. Gatekeepers are not the enemy; they can be an ally; as long as they do not feel their position is threatened. Come on it's a jungle out here and every man for themselves and stepping on toes will not get you to where you need to be.

The next day I began. I ended up having to leave voice messages. Which I thought didn't have the impact I was hoping for. Again I could not have been more wrong. My first return call came a couple days later. The caller said they were impressed with the way I had presented myself, and that they had never had such a call and would like to invite me out to complete an application and wanted a copy of my resume.
I had gotten a foot in the door of a company that wasn't even advertising for any open positions. I was able to take a look inside before having completed an application. Cold Calling does open doors.

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Learn more about this author, Anna Walters.
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