Calling an employer

[GalileoG]

Hello all,

About two months ago I cold called the structural department manager of the biggest consulting office in the city. I asked if I could come in and introduce myself and he agreed, but asked that I should call back in two weeks to determine the date of such a meeting. In two weeks, I called about 5 times but never got a hold of him (he is, after all, a busy man.) I never was able to get a hold of him since. Well, more than two months later I'd like to contact him again. What would you do?

Clansman

If a builder has built a house for a man and has not made his work sound, and the house which he has built has fallen down and so caused the death of the householder, that builder shall be put to death." Code of Hammurabi, c.2040 B.C.

 

[hokie66]

You'll never know if you don't try. Be persistent, try at different times of the day.

Actually, I would try the approach of presenting myself in person at his office and asking for an interview. If he is not available, leave a resume. Wait two days, call again.

 

[Zapster]

Write him a letter.

Make a few cold calls at his office in person.

Determine what professional organizations, charities, sports, etc. he is interested in and track him down. Note it is not stalking if you do not become obsessive. Do not confuse persistence with being obsessive.

You should be in some type of professional organization that structural types go to. Certainly if they are the largest consulting engineer in your town, some of their engineers go to the same meetings. Ask one of these folks about work opportunities at their company.

Find someone that you know that knows him and arrange for an introduction.

Talk to his secretary or receptionist and explain your plight. Ask them for advice as how you should proceed. You never can tell, sometimes these folks will bend over backwards to tell you how to proceed.

Have you taken the time to research the consulting office's business to determine the management structure, type of work they specialize in, and determine all of the public/private contracts that they have been awarded in their recent history? You will be at a significant advantage if you know their business prior to talking to him.

After working all of the above angles, I would be very surprised if you could not generate a meeting. Most important, be prepared. If you waste a busy man’s time, it will be difficult to gain access for additional consideration. You should be able to tell the manager how it would be a benefit to him if he takes the time to meet with you (Note that I did NOT say that you should tell him; but you need to know enough about his businesses and yourself to be able to). Once you know that much about yourself and their business, the pitch should come naturally with ease and confidence.

 

[GregLocock]

I think Zapster's advice is just plain weird. If someone contacts me a few times and I want to talk to them, it'll happen. There again I'm no big shot.



Cheers

Greg Locock

SIGlease see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[asixth]

Give them a call. The worst they can say is that the are not looking for employees at the moment.

 

[ivymike]

Sounds a bit like the scene from Swingers when Mike calls Nikki the same night he met her (synopsis quoted from the internet at craigerscinemacorner):

...Reaching in to grab a hold of his troglodyte impulses, Mike goes in “for the kill” and actually gets the girl's phone number. Now what? Mike has been out of the saddle so long that he does not know when to call... Mike decides (blast him!) to call the girl prematurely before the “industry standard” time, but is cut off abruptly by the her answering machine. What does he do? He calls back, gets the machine again, and explains what he was trying to say the first time and build up the courage to ask her out until…the answering machine cuts him off again. The scene snowballs miraculously from bad to worse as the foolish Mike calls her back over and over and over again and leaves her message upon message. After what appears to be his fifth or sixth message (I lost count), the girl picks up and tells Mike (who she thinks is a vile stalker) to never call again.

 

[ScottyUK]

I would be more than a little unhappy at anyone tracking me down in the manner Zapster suggests. It would guarantee they would got a very direct answer and it would not be the one they wanted. Like Greg says, 'weird'. Maybe it is cultural thing.


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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[jmw]

If you have trouble getting him on the phone, I presume someone answers the phone for him.

Your problem is getting past this person; that is, to establish a time when he is most likely to be available or even making an appointment for a phone call with the guy.
He will hopefully not break that appointment.

The "not there" tactic probably serves to keep intrusions to a minimum and he will only talk with someone who is either persistent or steals a march. Making an appointment to talk o him by phone is a phone call he cannot then duck.

I would suggest also reading a sales training book - they usually have lots of tricks fro getting round obstructions and they might have some ood ideas for dealing with this situation.



JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[Zapster]

Greg, yes I am weird in that I am not constricted in business dealings by limiting my options for success to some perceived social norm. Clansman asked “what you would do” to meet/get-a-hold-of someone again (the second time). I could never imagine doing all of the things that I stated one after another to get some face-to-face time with an engineering manager. However, I would pick the one that would have the greatest chance for success and then do it. I cannot determine what might work for Clansman so I posted all of the ideas that came to mind; AKA brain storming. If I were Clansman, I would not give up after his one brief face-to-face encounter with the manager. Note that my perspective is not from a typically employee. I started my first business prior to graduating high school and since then, over 35 years later, only worked as an employee long enough to acquire the regulatory requirements to become a PE. So yes, I am weird compared to most folks that can be happy being employees.

I also stated that you need to understand what you are trying to sell. If Clansman missed the opportunity to make a good impression the first time he met the manager, he wasted valuable face time. Now it will become more difficult to have a meaningful face-to-face again if he intends to sell himself. I never intended to suggest to Clansman to repeatedly stalk the manager. The advice was how to get a hold of someone for a second time when the typical office telephone calls never gain the engineering manager’s attention.

 

[hokie66]

Count me weird, too. Zapster's approach, or at least some of them, have worked for me in the past.

 

[TenPenny]

One suggestion that I had from an old boss, if you're trying to reach someone, try calling them 10 or 15 minutes before their day officially starts - often people are there a bit early, and meetings haven't started yet. It's often the best time to reach someone.

That said, I hate it when I walk in the door and someone expects me to be there answering the phone already. So yes, I'm a bit of a hypocrite, but I don't use that technique on people anyway.

 

[dvd]

Make sure he still works for that company. He may have known that he was leaving and told you two weeks. Are you calling the front desk, or his extension? Ask the receptionist to page him.