October 27, 2009

Approaching the 'unapproachable' for job leads

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After sending out countless resumes, squirming through interviews and slowly building up your network, it's tempting for job seekers to fantasize about cutting out the "middleman"--about walking right up to the CEO, offering a firm handshake and talking about how you, alone, are the answer to their staffing needs.

That's madness, right? Surely, only in a Hollywood movie could you approach the top decision maker without going through the proper "gatekeeper" channels.

Nonsense, says career psychology expert Paul Anderson of ProLango Consulting. Those executives who appear to be the most "unapproachable" are usually the ones who give you the best chance of landing a job--if you approach them in the right way, he's quick to add.

"You should never ask for a job specifically," Anderson advises. "Instead, you should give them value proposition statements. Talk about solutions or ideas that can solve their problems, not yours. Then, sit back and let them do 90 percent of the talking."

In his career seminars, Anderson tells his students to identify the companies for which they want to work and to talk to at least 10 corporate contacts, three of whom must be unapproachable. "I let the students use their own definition for what 'unapproachable' means," he says. "It could be a VP, a CIO or a well-known author."

Anderson is also a big proponent of online tools like LinkedIn, that can show you how many contacts you already have in a company and give you background on the people in charge. Find out who the hiring managers are, he says, and research their work histories, their alma maters, their outside interests or any financial problems they're trying to solve.

Getting around a firm's official gatekeepers is always a challenge, but Anderson recommends calling hiring managers before 7 a.m. or after 6 p.m., when those in charge are usually still around, but their assistants have either not yet arrived or already left.

"Just ask for 15 minutes over a cup of coffee," Anderson says. "If you ask for 30 minutes or more, you're never going to get it; they're just too busy. But 15 minutes is a magical amount that gives you enough time to explain what you can offer." Some of his students, he says, have asked for 15 minutes and wound up speaking with CEOs for hours.

But don't these management folks find such aggressive behavior off-putting and self-serving? Not necessarily, Anderson says. "Often, successful businesspeople have a psychological need to acknowledge what they've achieved," he says. "Besides, most of the discussions they have are with salespeople or about customer complaints, so many of them would prefer an opportunity to talk with you and give back."

And even if the meeting doesn't lead to a job, don't despair. "Seattle is so small that there's only two-and-a-half degrees of separation between everyone in upper management," Anderson adds. "Odds are you'll come away with a wealth of great contacts at other firms."

This coming Monday, Nov. 2, Anderson will discuss more success stories about how to approach powerful people at Prolango's latest Career Mixer at Maggiano's in Bellevue. Space is limited, so be sure to register early.

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.

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