Un­so­licit­ed ap­pli­ca­tion: Com­mit­ment leads to success

Many companies don’t of­fi­cial­ly advertise all their job openings. First, they look for suitable can­di­dates in­ter­nal­ly and in their networks. This is often due to the high effort involved in ad­ver­tis­ing job openings – and can be a stroke of luck for ap­pli­cants. With these openings, you have the op­por­tu­ni­ty to land your dream job with an un­so­licit­ed ap­pli­ca­tion. But it’s not that easy. When you send in an un­re­quest­ed ap­pli­ca­tion it has to be es­pe­cial­ly con­vinc­ing.

The term “un­so­licit­ed ap­pli­ca­tion” makes it clear what this kind of ap­pli­ca­tion involves. You apply of your own accord and not as a reaction to a specific job opening. For ap­pli­cants, it presents an op­por­tu­ni­ty to get their foot in the door for jobs that are often only cir­cu­lat­ed in­ter­nal­ly or filled with the help of head­hunters. Companies often try to make the process as simple as possible, and first look at the can­di­dates that have already put them­selves forward.

This is a lot more common than you might think. Es­pe­cial­ly more chal­leng­ing positions, that require spe­cial­ist knowledge in very specific fields, are in­creas­ing­ly being filled this way. Generally speaking, we can assume that the higher up the corporate ladder, the greater the pos­si­bil­i­ty that the position will be not ad­ver­tised publicly. Companies try to keep the number of un­qual­i­fied ap­pli­cants as low as possible, so that they reach the most suited can­di­dates from the get go. In this way, they not only diminish their workload but also save costs.

Un­so­licit­ed ap­pli­ca­tions are sent with hopes of finding the job of your dreams. At the same time, the prob­a­bil­i­ty of being rejected is also far higher than with a normal ap­pli­ca­tion. That’s why an un­so­licit­ed ap­pli­ca­tion requires par­tic­u­lar­ly thorough prepa­ra­tion. It has to convince HR straight away, and show them that the applicant is a perfect fit for their company.

The cover letter of an un­so­licit­ed ap­pli­ca­tion is the most important part. It has to make clear that you’re familiar with the company, and that you can benefit the company with your qual­i­fi­ca­tions and your pro­fes­sion­al ex­pe­ri­ence. You can convey this by referring to company-specific details and by tailoring your cover letter to the company.

These sources will help you in your prepa­ra­tion:

• Company website: The online presence of a company is a good starting point to get in­for­ma­tion on specific job areas, the structure and or­ga­ni­za­tion of the company, as well as the names of key contacts.
• Job openings: Many companies advertise job openings on their website. This can help you find out more about the re­quire­ments set to employees, and what for­mal­i­ties are valued in an ap­pli­ca­tion.
• Business news: Industry-specific news portals and magazines provide neutral back­ground in­for­ma­tion on companies, as well as their com­pe­ti­tion. You can get a feeling for the direction in which the industry is going, and what skills might be needed to bring their vision for the future to life.
• Call the head office: In case the website doesn’t clearly state to whom the ap­pli­ca­tion should be sent, it’s worth calling the head office. Find out who your point of contact is in the HR de­part­ment, as well as who is re­spon­si­ble for the de­part­ment that you want to send your ap­pli­ca­tion to. If you get the op­por­tu­ni­ty to speak with the person in charge and tell them about your ap­pli­ca­tion, this can work in your favor.

Once you’ve collected relevant in­for­ma­tion, it’s time to get down to work – writing the cover letter and compiling your ap­pli­ca­tion documents. As you’re applying of your own accord, you can decide for yourself how and with which documents you do so. It gives you the freedom to apply in a more un­con­ven­tion­al way than is normally required. The stronger the (positive) im­pres­sion your ap­pli­ca­tion makes, the greater the chance that you’ll land an interview or that you’ll be contacted later, as soon as there’s a job opening.

When it comes to un­so­licit­ed ap­pli­ca­tion cover letters, it’s in­cred­i­bly important that your cover letter stands out. What motivated you to send your ap­pli­ca­tion to this par­tic­u­lar company needs to come through. That’s why you should never just copy a template – you should only ever use them as in­spi­ra­tion for your own ap­pli­ca­tion.

When sending your un­so­licit­ed ap­pli­ca­tion, you can also send your regular, tabular resumé. If you like, you can describe your pro­fes­sion­al ex­pe­ri­ence and soft skills that are of par­tic­u­lar interest to the company in a little more detail or just emphasize them a little more.

What’s even more important, though – and this applies to all ap­pli­ca­tion types ­– is that your resumé doesn’t have breaks in it and that it’s up to date.

You can decide for yourself if you want to send your cover letter and your resumé (short version) only, or all your ap­pli­ca­tion documents at once. Besides key school reports and grades, a longer version might include employer ref­er­ences and cer­tifi­cates in further education or ad­di­tion­al qual­i­fi­ca­tions.

If you decide to send all of your documents, you should be smart when it comes to the selection, as they should be relevant to the job you want. HR doesn’t need to see your in­tern­ship cer­tifi­cate as a yoga in­struc­tor from 20 years ago, which you did in your spare time (unless there is a direct con­nec­tion to the company). Con­cen­trate on the documents that reflect your pro­fes­sion­al strengths in relation to the company you want to work for.

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