Can this be true?? My experience says yes it can. I have encountered job seekers this year who have achieved this feat by doing the following three things:

Send a letter of introduction. That's right don't wait for an advertised opening to contact an employer you are interested in working for. Do your research and send a letter stating your interest and asking for an opportunity to talk with the decision maker or contact person you have identifed in this company. See our last post for more information about this letter of introduction.

Follow up with your Cover Letter and Resume. Make sure to outline what you can do for this company in the cover letter. Address the cover letter to a specific person. Show off your research by mentioning the Company's mission statement (found on thier  website) or some other specific information you have learned about the company through your research. Close the cover letter with a promise to follow up with a phone call in 2 weeks.

Call to follow up as promised. Make the call on time and when you said you would. Ask to schedule an interview to explore all the positions that you could successfully fill for this organization.

You will be surprised at how well this works. You have no way of knowing who just announced a retirement or resignation. It just could be easier to hire you than go through the process of advertising the job, interviewing, etc..... See you have already saved them time, money and man hours.

These steps are outlined in Dan Miller's 48 Days to the Work You Love.

Happy job seeking!! If you have found other successful strategies, please post them here for others to see too. We would love to hear from you.