Now that you have marketing material and you’ve identified target employers, the next step is to get an interview.

Obviously, that’s easier said than done.

Just because you identified a company as one you’d like to work for, that doesn’t mean they have any open positions.  And, if they do, they might not be advertised.

Most open positions are NOT advertised!

We are told that the majority (i.e., as high as 80%) of all open positions are filled without ever being advertised.  So, if you were thinking you’d find your next job in either the newspaper or on Monster.com, don’t hold your breath!

You will need to approach identifying prospects and getting the interview in different ways.

Identify Advertised Positions

The easiest positions to identify are obviously the ones that are advertised.  There are lots of ways to do this.  Obviously, there are newspapers.  But, the Internet provides many ways to identify open jobs.  You can use the resources listed here to find them.

]

Apply Online

Getting an interview for many of the advertised jobs will mean first submitting a formal application – many of which will be online.

NOTE: Some larger companies will hesitate to interview someone who has not submitted a formal application.  So, be prepared to deal with the online application process.  Make sure you have all the information you need on your work and education readily available before you start the process.

Second, find the positions not yet publicized.  This will obviously be more difficult.

Publicized Positions

Positions can be publicized in a number of obvious ways.  They include:

• Help Wanted section of local or national newspapers – this can include local newspapers like the Baltimore Sunpapers