Making a speculative job application
Nearly 70 per cent of jobs aren’t advertised. One of the only ways to tap into this hidden graduate job market is to write a speculative application. Just like applying for advertised vacancies, this needs a targeted approach to be productive. The next six points will help you get started on your speculative application strategy today.
1. Draw up a shortlist of employers
If you are looking for jobs within a specific industry or profession, you need to look up employers in the graduate career sectors that interest you, eg charities, publishing houses, market research companies, local engineering firms, science park start-ups, etc.
Nearly 70 per cent of jobs aren’t advertised. One of the only ways to tap into this hidden graduate job market is to write a speculative application.
For entry-level roles in more generalist career areas, such as finance, marketing, sales, administration, IT support and HR, you might choose to focus on listing employers within a particular region.
Sources of employer information include:
- local and national newspapers
- specialist business and trade publications
- magazines of professional associations
- online business directories such as Kompass UK and Kellysearch.
For regional research, try your local council or library for local business directories. If you still have access to your university’s careers service, it’s also worth looking through the information they have on local employers, including reports from alumni.
Careers fairs and recruitment events are another good way to select employers to follow up – particularly as you will meet recruiters and company representatives face to face. However, if the company already has a formal graduate programme, don’t waste your time applying speculatively.
- Use our career sector advice to search for employers and vacancies in top professions and access application tips
2. Prepare to apply 'on spec'
Once you have your employer shortlist, you need to do your research. You need to not only find out details about the company, but also get a feel for the kind of work they do.
It can be useful to look at an employer’s current vacancies, even if they are above your level of experience. You can sometimes infer from these the types of roles, areas of work and skills used within the business. You may also pick up on keywords that are used in all the organisation’s recruitment advertising, as well as typical traits they like to see in all applicants.
3. Establish a personal contact at the company
Finding a named contact is the number one rule of making a speculative job application. ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ letters sent to HR departments have a high probability of being ignored.
Speculative application rule number 1: find a named contact.
You may be able to get a specific referral from networking or from a recruitment event, but if not, a quick phone call to the company to ask for the name of whoever is responsible for recruiting will enable you to personalise your letter. Be sure to check the spelling.
4. Be focused, but also open-minded
You need to be clear about what you are looking for when contacting potential employers speculatively. Use the speculative job-hunting approach to:
- find permanent vacancies, temporary or part-time jobs, work experience or work shadowing opportunities.
- arrange a time for a brief visit/half-hour chat on the phone or the opportunity to meet a recent graduate or employee of an organisation.
However, you also need to keep your options open. While your ultimate prize may be a permanent position, you don’t want to close down the opportunity of a temporary job or miss up an opportunity to meet with someone working in the business. These could be a springboard to getting to your goal if a permanent job doesn’t exist.
- What is work experience? Your options, from work shadowing to internships
5. Tailor your covering letter and CV
Most students and graduates make contact with an organisation by sending their CV, and this should be accompanied by a covering letter. These will be similar to a standard covering letter and CV, and they still need to be tailored even though you do not have an actual job advert to respond to.
It’s essential that your speculative covering letter is concise and that it emphasises what you can do for the employer rather than what you want from them.
Typically you should start with some brief information about yourself and why you are approaching the employer. If you have got the person’s name as a result of a contact made from a phone call or a careers fair for example, then state this early in your letter.
Based on your research of the organisation and what skills you think they would find attractive, you should also point the reader to the skills, abilities and experience you have outlined on your CV.
6. Follow up your application: it’s good to talk
To improve your chances of success, follow up your speculative application with a telephone call a few days after you have sent it. You might get some rebuffs but personal contact can be very useful. Even if the employer cannot help with your main request, talking enables you to explore if there are any future opportunities coming up, how the organisation typically recruits and where you should look out for their job ads.
It should go without saying, but be polite in all your dealings with an employer.