Unsolicited application: Is it possible?

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Unsolicited applications...
...Are great and gives you job interviews 40%  40%  [ 2 ]
...Are a waste of time 60%  60%  [ 3 ]
Total votes : 5

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Deinonychus
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18 Oct 2017, 4:09 pm

My job counsellor wants me to try unsolicited applications. I have tried a little bit of networking on LinkedIn, and also tried to Google companies that may need a guy like me. It was to no avail: People on LinkedIn only give vague answers to questions, and the text I find online is shallow, i.e. it tells me that "X Company" makes "Y product" using "Z process".

I can't recognize tasks or problems that I can solve. I feel that because of my autism, I am not able to grasp something as important as networking. What am I supposed to tell people when I meet them? That I enjoy working? That I am good at something? How do I do that when I am unemployed and zero self confidence?

Have you tried unsolicited applications and do you know how to do it?


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starkid
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18 Oct 2017, 8:35 pm

They could work for someone who has great, in-demand skills, the ability to sell herself, and either the perseverance to send out many applications or the luck to send one to the right company at the right time.

I didn't bother with them when I was looking for a job, partially because I needed money too badly to waste time tossing applications into the void. If you have a lot of free time on your hands, impressive skills, and the patience to deal with jobs you likely won't get, it might be worth your time.

Normally people don't meet anyone when they send out unsolicited applications. All you'd need to say is the typical stuff people put in a cover letter. If you get an interview, it would be like an informational interview: you'd have a list of questions to ask about the company and you'd politely ask that they keep you in mind if they start hiring. It could be easier than a regular interview because you don't have to worry about being rejected for a job.



C2V
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22 Oct 2017, 4:07 am

My current job was through an unsolicited application.
However - and this is the real stinker - it was through someone else telling me that they heard through someone at their job that this small business was looking for employees, and suggested that I contact them and just ask.
I hate being told things like "80% of jobs are not found through submitting your resume or formal application, but through 'word of mouth.'"
Which this was. Because it means if you don't know any other people and don't/can't socialize, then you basically have no chance of finding a job.
So yes an unsolicited application can be successful if hitting the right person at the right time, but there always also seems to be a tip-off involved.


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Deinonychus
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22 Oct 2017, 6:19 am

Thanks for the advice to both of you.

C2V: What exactly do you mean by "tip-off"?


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C2V
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24 Oct 2017, 7:48 am

^ As in, you have to have heard from someone who heard from someone else that there was an opening. An inside job. A byproduct of "networking" and "knowing the right people."
I never had success with "cold canvassing" before this, when that element of connection to the job through other people wasn't there. Which sucks, in my opinion. It just makes it seem like isolated autistics are doomed all over again.


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Deinonychus
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26 Oct 2017, 1:54 am

I think I get it now. Well, it's really hard to network your way to success, since the job market is so closed up. So far I'm applying for jobs that are already posted, but maybe I could get some counselling about networking.

I wouldn't describe myself as shy or isolated, I'm just too damn busy with work to ever give networking a chance. I mean, hard work doesn't mean talking, it means doing. The whole bragging game doesn't make sense to me.

Thanks again for the advice.


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