Step 19 of 21: Connecting with Your Dream Companies and Reaching Out to Potential Contacts Artwork

The FlexJobs Podcast: Career Advice & Job Search Tips

Remote job search tips and career advice from FlexJobs.FlexJobs is a job board highlighting only the best remote, hybrid, and flexible schedule jobs ranging from entry-level to executive, freelance to full-time, and local to global. Our team of trained researchers hand-screens every job listing to ensure legitimacy.In 2007, FlexJobs founder and CEO - Sara Sutton - was looking for something better after losing her full-time job. She was already seven months pregnant with her first child and needed something that was going to be flexible but still help further her career. That’s when the idea for FlexJobs came: A site where job seekers could find professional-level work-from-home jobs, without the ads, scams or junk found on other sites.Subscribe to this podcast to get inside tips from our career experts on how to find and land a remote job. FlexJobs - Find A Better Way To Work. https://www.flexjobs.com/

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The FlexJobs Podcast: Career Advice & Job Search Tips

Step 19 of 21: Connecting with Your Dream Companies and Reaching Out to Potential Contacts

August 17, 2023 • FlexJobs • Season 2 • Episode 19

Step 19 of the job search challenge focuses on contacting 2-4 people at the companies you are targeting. By researching company websites and using LinkedIn's search features, you can identify the right people to connect with based on location, school, job title, and more. Personalizing your connection request is essential, highlighting any mutual connections or commonalities. Being friendly, genuine, and relevant in your message increases the likelihood of a positive response. This step helps you build valuable connections and gain insights into the company, increasing your chances of landing the job you desire. Check out the linked resources for more guidance on crafting effective connection requests and making the most of your outreach efforts.

Important Links:
• How to Make Cold Inquiries for a Job (Phone and Email Samples): https://bit.ly/3DEhXxq
• LinkedIn Etiquette: How to Connect With Intent: https://bit.ly/3OAXlMG
• FlexJobs Webinar | How to Research Employers to Find Your Next Great Job: https://youtu.be/JMOByIIiCpY

FlexJobs is a subscription service for job seekers that features flexible and remote jobs. With an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and a 4.7 rating from over 10,000 reviews, FlexJobs ensures that customers have a safe and positive remote job searching experience - without the ads, scams and junk found on other job sites.

FlexJobs | Find A Better Way To Work

Today, we’ll work from the list of your top companies and move forward to begin contacting people from these targeted organizations. To identify the ‘right’ people at your target companies, you will need to do a little research on both the company website as well as a platform like LinkedIn to identify appropriate contacts.
These contacts can be someone with whom you have some sort of connection or something in common with - like, perhaps you attended the same college or university. Or, it could be a potential member of the team you’d be interested in working on.
There are search features on LinkedIn company pages that allow you to filter people who work at the organization by location, school, job title, and so on and this can help you identify folks that you’d like to connect with. We at FlexJobs have a great webinar on this very topic and we’ve linked below to gain more information on how to do this.
Once you have a list of the few people you’d like to contact, here are some strategies to take when reaching out:
First and foremost, it’s important to personalize your request. We know that people are more likely to accept requests for connections when they are personalized, and genuine. That could sound something like:
Hello Ms. Ramirez. Our mutual connection Ben Barnaby recommended I reach out to you because I’m applying for a position with your company, Global Services. I’d love to hear about your experience working there and any advice for my application or who else I should connect with. I appreciate your time very much!
The content of this message is also friendly and relevant. And, this is the right approach. People are generally happy to help out, especially if there is a genuine interest from the contacting party.
We’ve also included a few additional resources linked below to help you formulate appropriate connection requests and move forward in reaching out to your target companies.