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3 tips for applying for an unsolicited job or internship

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3 tips for applying for an unsolicited job or internship

Published online: 16.05.2023

Network, collaboration, and direct inquiries. These are the 3 most typical ways to get hired outside of an advertised position, Ballisager's recruitment analysis shows. It can be a good guideline for you who are looking for a job or internship.

News

3 tips for applying for an unsolicited job or internship

Published online: 16.05.2023

Network, collaboration, and direct inquiries. These are the 3 most typical ways to get hired outside of an advertised position, Ballisager's recruitment analysis shows. It can be a good guideline for you who are looking for a job or internship.

Unsolicited job-hunting means reaching out to a workplace to offer them your labor. It is therefore your task to convince them that they have a need - and that you can solve it.

  1. 1

    Who do you know and where do they work?

    If you are considering unsolicited search, be aware of where your network works. It is the most widespread entrance to employment without a job advertisement: the employees' network. You can, for example, use LinkedIn to investigate who works where.

  2. 2

    Get a foot inside

    Getting a foot inside the company also leads to many hires. This can be, for example, through project collaboration, internship (project-oriented course) or study job. You can use that tactically. For example, think about where you would like to work in the long term - how can you get a foothold in it?

  3. 3

    Get in touch!

    Finally, there are also many who get jobs by simply making direct contact with the workplace. You can do this in many ways – for example by reaching out to an employee on LinkedIn, calling the recruitment officer or sending them an application/and CV.

Bonus tip: Get career guidance

If you need advice to get started with applying unsolicited, you can get career guidance at AAU.

The path to a job without a job advertisement: 60% Network, 41% Collaboration (e.g., internship and student job), 40% Direct inquiries, 20% LinkedIn, 13% Career fairs etc., 12% Never happened in our company.

Unsolicited job search

If you apply unsolicited, you must do a little extra, but you may be the only applicant. You must tell the company why and how you want to be the right fit. But you are starting from the beginning, when the company might not even know they need a new employee, so how do you go about it?

Juliana got a student job though the company was looking for an intern

Arriving in Denmark, Juliana was determined to find a relevant student job. She went to career fairs, and used LinkedIn, but the decisive move was when she started researching growing companies and found a company looking for an intern. She convinced them to hire her instead of an intern.

Denis found his student job through unsolicited job search

When Denis was looking for a student job, he decided to do something different from all the other students looking for a job. He looked for new small companies, applied unsolicited and got the job. But it took a lot of work: He researched thoroughly, and he found a way to show them that they needed him.

Source: Ballisager's recruitment analysis 2022

This article is based on Ballisager's annual recruitment analysis, which examines the recruitment process, attitudes, and preferences of Danish companies. 1002 companies have answered the questionnaire in 2022. See the entire Ballisager recruitment analysis and its data base (in Danish)