Wouldn’t it be great if you knew someone at your target company? Then they could personally hand your resume to HR and you’d be first in line. That would be best case scenario, right? It would actually be a best case scenario for your contact too, because they would likely get a bonus check for making the referral.

Employee referral programs are the 2nd most popular way to find a job. That means LOTS of companies have them, and their employees are eager to cash in.

It’s time to use that fact to your advantage. I’ll share a 2 step process here involving LinkedIn that unquestionably can help you land a job faster. It piggy backs off an idea I shared in my last blog about creating your own luck. Please check that blog out if you haven’t already.

A new member of SpeedUpMyJobSearch.com, in just her 3rd day, sent me an email responding to my question if she had watched the “Planning Your Day” video, which I feel is the most important of the whole program. She said she did not watch it yet, and in her words…

“…for good reason. I used your suggestion on finding LinkedIn connections prior to applying for a job. It’s worked well for me and I’ve already spoke to 3 companies since yesterday. Kind of hard to plan your day when the phone keeps ringing and emails from potential employers randomly come in. All good though, I feel fortunate companies are already connecting with me.”

This will work if you try it.

Using LinkedIn.com, find employees who work in the department at the companies you are targeting. Your first step is to send them this message:

Hi [Joe], I found your name through a connection in LinkedIn. I was about to apply to a position within your company, but before I did I was hoping to find out more about the company and the culture there. Since you are currently working there, I was wondering if you could share some thoughts on what you think of the place. I appreciate your time and any insight you might provide.

Does that strike you as a spam message? No, it’s a request for help. It’s human nature to want to help. This might not get a response 100% of the time, but your percentage chance of getting a response is very high.

When they do respond, you need to Thank them, Ask them, and Offer them.

Reply with this message below (replace your name/title where the brackets are, and I’ve inserted notes to you inside the letter in parenthesis, so be careful not to just cut/paste this).

Thank you [name], I sincerely appreciate the response. Based on your feedback, I will go ahead with my application to the [title] position.

Do you know who I should talk to about applying for the role other than just sending a resume through the online application?

(NOTE: if they just answer this and tell you who to send your resume to, you will definitively be WAY ahead of all the other applicants who sent resumes in for this job. We’re not done yet, keep writing…)

Actually, does your company offer any sort of employee referral bonus? If you take a quick glance at my profile on LinkedIn, and think it makes sense for me to apply, if you like I can send you my resume directly and you can present it to the appropriate person to potentially earn that bonus if I’m hired.

Thanks again, I appreciate your consideration.
Paul

If they agree to that, then you’ll have an internal employee lobbying on your behalf to help you land the job! Of course they’ll be doing it selfishly to get that bonus, but so what?! They are a trusted employee helping you from the inside.

If you tried this tactic with all of your target companies, do you think you would land a job faster than if you just clicked apply through the online applications?

Want to try this yourself? We will even write the messages for you! Just update the fields below and put these powerful messages to work for you!

You’re job search doesn’t have to last so long! This is just 1 strategy of many dozens that I teach on SpeedUpMySearch.com, a resource with tips, tools, motivation and collaboration, all focused around strategies to help you find a job faster.  

The key to this LinkedIn strategy is having LinkedIn connections within your target companies, which means you need a larger network.

Share this article and invite others to connect.

People change jobs all the time. How many of your connections today will be working at your target companies tomorrow? Does it stand to reason that more people can help you if you are connected to more people? Connect to more people!
It works and IS working for members of SpeedUpMySearch.com.