Utilizing Your Non-Existent Network To Get The Interview

Every job posting has a requirements section glaring back at you, telling you that you aren’t good enough.  It’s easy for a young professional to get intimidated by a job posting that requires 4-5 years of experience in a specific field and an MBA in a related field.

The question then becomes: “How do I get an interview for a job that I’m under qualified for?”

The requirements section is meaningless

First and foremost, I want you to get it in your head that every job requirement section is completely meaningless.  You must do this for two reasons:

1. It’s important to have complete confidence in yourself and visualize yourself getting the job.  Any hint of self-doubt will prevent your from getting the job interview and landing the job.
2. It motivates you to aim for your ideal job positions, not just the ones you think you can get based on your resume.

I will tell you right now that I landed a job out of college that I was completely under qualified for.  Below are the methods and tactics that I utilized to secure the interview.  I will talk about exactly what I did during the interview to land the job in a future post.

Utilize an introduction when possible

Absolutely nothing is more effective than an introduction to secure a job interview.

Note: I know many of you THINK that you do not have an introduction to your ideal job. Continue reading because I’ll teach you how to get an intro.  

Starting point: Identify your target 10 companies that you’d like to work for

If you have no idea, then a list such as the Top 100 Companies to work for should help.

Add connections via LinkedIn:

Go to the add connection section of LinkedIn and import all of your contacts

Discover how many connections you have into a company:

When I search for Google on LinkedIn, I can see that I have 4,591 professionals in my network and 464 college alumni that work for Google.  This of course takes into account 2nd connections and group members.  If I filter the search, I can see that I have directly connected to 16 professionals.

Set up a phone call or take them out to coffee:

Don’t simply send an email asking for an introduction.  Schedule a phone call or coffee meetup with your connection to learn more about their role at the company, what the culture is like, what the interview process like, and to request an introduction to the hiring manager.

What if you don’t have an introduction?

If you don’t have an introduction, then you’re going to have to create one.

For example, lets say that you want to work in the marketing department for Google.  I just did a quick search on LinkedIn for “marketing Google” and filtered people that currently work at Google and that live in the San Francisco Bay area.  LinkedIn returns 2,506 people that fit my criteria.

Option 1: Utilize an introduction from a shared connection

If you have a shared connection, then utilize the “Get introduced” feature from LinkedIn to get an intro

Option 2: Get a pro LinkedIn account to send direct InMails

I currently utilize the Business Plus account which allows me to send 10 messages per month directly to LinkedIn members without having their emails.  FYI: The plan costs me $49.95 per month.

Option 3: Hustle and contact a professional through other channels

There are plenty of ways to find a professional online:

1. Facebook – send a Facebook message to the professional
2. Twitter – send a Tweet to the professional
3. Google the person and you might find his or her email

Option 4: Get clever

If I know that a company uses firstname@company.com, then there is a good chance that this professional has a similar email.  For example, at RewardMe, everyone in the company uses firstname@company.com.  My email is jun [at] rewardme.com.  If you want to send an email to my Co-Founder Yu-kai but don’t know his email address, then you can logically try yukai [at] rewardme.com.

You can also try every single combination and hope for a result:

• yukai.chou [at] rewardme.com
• ychou [at] rewardme.com
• yukaic [at] rewardme.com

Utilize humble confidence to get a meeting with the professional

You would ideally set up a coffee meetup, but a phone call will do as well.

Send the following message to the professional to set up your meeting:

Subject: Hi Name – I’m a young professional looking to connect

Hi Name,

My name is Jun and I’m a young professional from Mountain View, CA.

I’m emailing you today specifically because I found you via LinkedIn and noticed that you work in the marketing department at Google.  I’d like the opportunity to take you to coffee to learn about your experience at Google and what you do as a Marketing Coordinator.

I am available the following days and times to treat you to lunch or coffee:

Thank you very much in advance and I look forward to speaking with you.

–

Utilize the above strategies, and you’ll be able to get a job interview with almost any company.

Author:

Jun Loayza is the Co-Founder of RewardMe, a digital rewards program for restaurants and retailers. In his entrepreneurial experience, Jun has sold 2 internet companies and lead social media technology campaigns for Sephora, Whole Foods Market, Levi’s, LG, and Activision. Jun currently lives in Mountain View, CA with his girlfriend and startup team. Jun writes about job interview questions at his blog.