Here’s how I got on the radar of brands I wanted to work for….even when they didn’t have a job advertised

It’s the most frustrating thing about job hunting. 

You have your list of companies you want to work for. 

You are refreshing their job site every day (even though you have the job alerts set up). But no matter how much you will it to happen, the jobs you want are just never being advertised.

Either they aren’t available. Or they aren’t being advertised.

And trust me, plenty of jobs never get advertised and just go to people who are already on the radar of the brands you want to work for. 

So, how do YOU get on their radar you might ask? 

Well I’m going to show you what I did back in 2014 when I spent 8 months job hunting. On the Creative Career Level Up programme we call this ‘The Big Tactic’. Because of all the tactics you employ, this is the BIG one.

Step 1 - Pick a brand

You can’t use the Big Tactic on 100’s of brands. It takes too much work. So you’ll have to pick the one or two you REALLY want to work for.

Step 2 - Research

You want to go DEEP on understanding what is happening at the brand right now. Research online, listen to podcasts with the Founder/Senior Leaders, network with current and past employees. Get as much information as you can.

Step 3 - Identify a Pain Point

Using all the research you have done, you want to identify a pain point for the brand. What is something that is causing them issues right now. What is keeping the CEO awake at night. 

Step 4 - Craft a Solution

Once you have identified a pain point for the brand, you want to craft a solution for the pain point.  And you want to really show your thinking around how this pain point might be solved.

For example, the brand might be losing share with Gen Z. You could propose ways in which to win this consumer back.

Or they might be launching a new product soon. You could propose an innovative launch plan.

Step 5 - Get it to key decision makers

Whatever format you decide to craft your solution in - video, Twitter thread, PDF, physical document - you need to get it in the hands of the right people.

Find 5 key people in the brand who are in the area that your solution would be of interest to ie the CMO and their Senior Leadership team.

Send via whatever means make sense - email, Linkedin message, Tweet, post.

Make sure you include a call to action - ‘I’d love 30mins of your time to take you through my thinking’

Step 6 - Follow Up

Hopefully you hear back from at least one person. But don’t despair if you hear nothing. I’d send a gentle follow up a week later and propose having a chat.

So, are you going to try it?

I’ve seen the Big Tactic used to great effect many times in the job hunts of my clients - it really works to get you on the radar of the brands you want to work for.

And where did I get my inspiration for the Big Tactic? Two of my colleagues from Nike secured their roles using a version of the Big Tactic.

Hopefully that's all the proof you need!