The pain of applying for jobs over and again can be unbearable.
How many of us scour LinkedIn, Craigslist, Indeed, and AngelList applying for countless positions? It’s time-consuming, takes a relentless drive, and the uncertainty of hearing anything back puts us under constant stress.
What if all this pain could disappear in just twenty minutes?
I was working and miserable. The worst part: I didn’t have time to apply for jobs. I only sent out a resume or two a week. I was stuck.
I needed a better way. But how can you submit a cover letter and resume to companies without actually doing the work?
Then it hit me: I should let someone else do it for me. Instead of countless hours applying for jobs, I could spend twenty minutes and $100 to submit my resume to a thousand positions. And here’s how you can do it too:
Outsource a huge list of emails for companies in your niche – I suggest the freelancing sites Elance and Upwork. It’s crucial that you send a clear message to freelancers for what you require of them.
Creating a list of relevant companies is rather easy. For instance, it can be as simple as Googling “top digital marketing companies in the U.S.” On the first page, I found a list of hundreds of digital marketing companies in the U.S. right here.
Now when you post your job request on a freelancing site, make sure to include the link to your list of companies. When you do this, the freelancer will realize that collecting the leads will be easy, so they will charge you less.
When you post the job description, this is the template you should use:
“Hey,
I want to source a list of a thousand leads for [certain type] companies. You will have to use either an Excel file or a Google Spreadsheet. The columns need to be separated by company name, address, email, name and email of the hiring manager, and a recent blog post title. If you can’t find the email or name of the hiring manager, that’s fine. To give you a head-start, I found a list of the companies to collect data from: (list URL) and (list URL #2).”
Once you receive your list of leads, now the fun begins. If you pick a niche for your job search, you don’t need to change-up your cover letter too much – just company name, company address, and the hiring manager name. Also, the resume you’re sending out doesn’t have to change if you’re applying to a niche.
The first step is to set up a Gmail account that’s separate from your personal one. This will be the account the freelancer uses to send out emails. Make sure the email looks professional and includes your name. So if the normal one you use is johnsmith@gmail.com, your new one might be john_smith@gmail.com.
Now create another job posting on a freelancing site with this template:
“Hey,
I have a list of companies I want to send my resume and cover letter out to. I attached an Excel file (or Google Spreadsheet) with company names, company emails, and hiring manager names and emails, and recent blog post titles. I also attached my resume and cover letter, too. I need you to send out an email using my Gmail account to these companies with my cover letter and resume attached to each one.
Before you send out each email, I need you to change the company name, address, and hiring manager name on the cover letter to match the recipient. If there’s a hiring manager email for the company, then send the message to only that email.
For the email, you will use this template.
Hi [Hiring manager name, if no name, then change intro to ” To whom this concerns,”],
I’m deeply interested in your company, and I love your recent blog post, [blog post name]. I’m a [your profession], and I’m currently looking to make a career change. Your company is one of my top choices, and I think I can add immediate value.
I have attached my resume and cover letter for your consideration.
Looking forward to speaking with you,
[Name]
For subject lines, you should use this one: [Position name] – requested job application
Even though the job application was not requested, it’s critical to have the email opened, otherwise you won’t even get a chance.
Once the freelancer accepts the job, send them the login info for your newly created Gmail account so they can start sending out your applications. Also, make sure to check the first ten emails they send out, so you know they’re following the template.
There you have it: a Google search, several templates, and two freelance job postings, and now your resume will go out to a thousand companies.
A little warning: When I used this tactic, I received multiple phone calls every day for two months. On the plus side, I’m employed!
