Most people who apply for jobs just apply directly on LinkedIn or on the company website and then wait and see if the company gets back to them. Chances are, the company doesn't — with a sea of applicants, it'll be much harder for you to stand out. What if I tell you there's a way around this?
Here's what you should do instead:
- For example, if you want to land a UX Design role at Smart, go on LinkedIn, and type "UX Designer Globe" on the search bar. A list of people who currently work at Globe will then show up.
- Go to the person's profile and send him or her a LinkedIn connection request. Also, send him or her a personalized note. That way, the person you're connecting with knows why you are connecting with him or her. Doing this also increases the chance of your connection request being accepted.
- In the personalized note, introduce yourself by writing 1-2 sentences of who you are and what your background is. Mention that you'd like to have coffee with this person (online) and that you'd like to learn more about what's it like working at Smart, as well as the person's career journey.
- Hit the send button, and wait for this person to reply to your message.
Why this method works:
- Having coffee chats with someone working at your dream company gives you insider information like what the job is like, the skills they're looking for in a potential hire, the skill gaps the team is trying to fill, and the problems the company are solving. Knowing these will come in handy during your interviews because you now have a deeper understanding of the company and an idea of how you might position yourself as an applicant.
- You build rapport (and an internal connection) with people within the company.
- You now stand out from the competition, because you're the only one who did this among all the other applicants (Trust me, many don't do coffee chats because they're shy).
- This shows companies that you're proactive — that you went out of our way to learn more about the company even if it's not required.
