Our final result from our survey is one of the most interesting. Despite the rise of social media and the increased focus put on networking, speculative job applications are still being made. Within PR for graduates and students, 60 per cent of those surveyed say they do send speculative applications to employers. 40 per cent said that they do not. Our pie chart below shows how this divide looks like.
Tanya de Grunwald, a careers expert and founder of Graduate Fog says: “Speculative applications always feel like a long shot, but they can be a brilliant method of job hunting, especially when done by email as it’s so quick to do. The ‘hit rate’ isn’t high, but you don’t need it to be. If you send 100 emails and get five back saying ‘Maybe’, that’s still five strong leads that you didn’t have before.”
When sending speculative applications, Tanya suggests: “It pays to make sure you’re emailing the right person. If you’re targeting large companies, avoid emailing HR. Instead, find the name of the person running the department you would like to work in. If you’re approaching smaller companies, use their website to get a feel for who might be the best person to approach.”
To get the tone of your speculative just right, “Make sure you’re clear on exactly how you can help them, this is something graduates often get wrong. They’re not going to give you a job because you need experience. They’ll give you a job because they think you can help them.”, Tanya says.
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