3 of 3 · How to get in

The job application is the front door. Find another way in.

Most job searches follow the same process.

Find an opening. Submit a resume. Wait.

That is the front door.

There is nothing wrong with using it. The problem is that thousands of other people can use the same door.

Sometimes it is worth finding another way in.

Start with the company, not the application

Imagine you find a 10-person healthcare consultancy that interests you.

They have recently won a major hospital client and hired a new practice lead. There is no analyst role posted.

You could move on.

Or you could figure out who runs that part of the business and introduce yourself.

You are not asking them to invent a job for you. You are starting a conversation with a company that may have a reason to grow.

That distinction matters.

Cold outreach works best when you have a reason to reach out

The worst cold emails are generic.

Generic Hi, I am looking for opportunities at your company. Please let me know if you are hiring.

That gives the other person very little reason to respond.

A better message starts with something specific.

Maybe the company just launched a new product. Maybe a consulting firm is expanding a practice. Maybe a startup just raised funding for US expansion.

Now you have context.

Specific I saw that you’re expanding the healthcare practice and recently brought on a new practice lead. I’ve been working on healthcare analytics and found what your team is building interesting. I’d love to learn more about the practice and where it’s headed.

You are still looking for an opportunity. You are just approaching it like a conversation rather than an application.

Reach the person closest to the problem

At a small company, that might be the founder.

At a consultancy, it could be the practice lead.

For a data role, it might be the Head of Data. For marketing, the VP of Marketing. For engineering, an engineering manager.

The goal is not to contact the most senior person you can find. It is to find the person who actually understands the work you want to do and may eventually need someone to do it.

And do not email everyone at the company. Sending the same message to five or ten people can quickly look like spam. Pick the person most relevant to the role or team and write to them first. If you do not hear back after a thoughtful follow-up, then consider reaching out to someone else.

Do not wait until you need something desperately

Cold outreach becomes much harder when every message has to produce a job immediately.

A better approach is to start earlier.

Find companies you genuinely like. Follow what they are doing. Reach out when you have a real reason to introduce yourself.

Some conversations will go nowhere.

Some will turn into advice or a useful connection.

And occasionally, you will reach someone at exactly the moment they are starting to think about hiring.

That is the opportunity most people never see.

The application is still useful

You should still apply to good jobs when you find them.

The point is not to stop applying.

It is to stop assuming that an application is the only way into a company.

Sometimes the role is already posted but barely visible. Sometimes the company is hiring through its network. Sometimes the need exists before anyone has written the job description.

If you can find the company early and reach the right person, you give yourself another way in.

The front door will always be there.

You do not always have to wait in line for it.