Many graduates drastically limit their search by restricting themselves to
large organisations and advertised jobs.
But up to 60% of jobs are never actually advertised in the first place, and
many of those jobs are with small-to-medium-sized organisations (SMEs). Unlike big
corporations, SMEs may never advertise their jobs nationally – or at
all. With far smaller recruitment budgets, these organisations prefer local or specialist
publications, recruitment agencies or direct applications.
Speculate to accumulate!
- Approximately a third of SMEs rely on speculative applications from individuals
who have researched the industry and the company.
- Do your research - send a well-written cover email and CV to a specific individual
(e.g. the head of the department you’re interested in working in) explaining
why you’re interested and what you have to offer. This sort of confident approach
can really set you apart from the competition.
Why target an SME?
In a smaller firm you'll have
- the benefit of a less structured selection process
- less competition for entry
- earlier responsibility
- more opportunity to make an impact with your ideas.
Where do I start?
You will need to be creative and resourceful to find companies to target speculatively,
but some simple online searches can provide an enormous amount of information.
Networking is also critical in accessing this market. For many graduates this seems
like a daunting prospect, but there’s a huge amount to be gained from developing
your professional contacts in terms of gathering industry knowledge, finding work
experience and hearing about those never-advertised positions. [More
about Networking]
