Part 11 of 15 in How to Find a Job: Stop queuing on portals. Show an employer the value you can add.← Part 10Part 12 →
This chapter explains how to focus your job search on a small number of companies instead of applying to thousands of vacancies. It helps job seekers identify and target organizations where they can add value.
- Apply to twenty specific companies instead of thousands of vacancies.
- Use local resources to identify potential employers in your area.
- Research each company thoroughly to tailor your application.
- Prioritize companies where you have access to decision-makers.
- Maintain a simple tracker to manage your job search effectively.
Choice is a skill, and the queue trains you out of it. Two thousand applications feel like ambition. They are a refusal to choose. Bolles asked readers to name the organisations they would be glad to help, and only then to look for a chair. In India, start with the Lotus and a map of where that work already happens within your real geography.
Build the list in an afternoon
Take the six-line portrait from Chapter 3. List organisations that already have that problem, within the cities you will actually work in. Sources that are better than a portal’s “recommended jobs”: association directories, industrial-estate maps, exporter lists, CA firm finders, clinic chains, company websites’ client pages, local business newspapers, shops you already use, and the employers of the alumni who replied to you. Write twenty names. For each, write the likely problem in one line, the person who owns it if you can find them, and the proof on your site that touches it.
Arvind had an MBA from a second-tier institute in Lucknow and a list of two hundred applications that had taught him nothing. He cut the world down to fifteen mid-size exporters in Kanpur and Moradabad: leather, brass, textiles. His site held a sample buyer follow-up sequence and a simple costing sheet he had built from public freight rates, labelled as a model. He did not pretend he had run their factory. He showed he could do the desk work their foreign buyers create. One leather exporter had a coordinator leaving after marriage. The role was shaped around the sheet Arvind brought to the meeting. That is what a short list makes possible. A long list never gets as far as a sheet.
Study them enough to be specific
For each of the first five, spend ninety minutes. What do they make or sell? Who is the customer? What has changed in the last year, a new plant, a new regulation, a new branch, a public complaint? What words do they use for the work? A job description on their site, if they have one, is a dictionary, not an order. Use their nouns in your note. A founder can feel a generic paragraph in the first line.
Rank by access, not by fame
A famous company is a worse first target than a company where you can reach a human. Score each name on three marks. Does the Lotus fit? Can you reach a person who feels the problem? Do you have proof they can recognise? Chase the high scores first. Keep one or two famous names on the list if you want them, and treat them as a longer campaign, not as the test of your worth.
A tracker you will actually open
A notebook is enough. A sheet is fine if you will update it. Columns: organisation, person, problem in their words, proof you will send, date of first note, date of reply, next step, date of next step. Review it every Sunday for twenty minutes. The review is the job search. The scrolling is not.
A warning about bonds and consultancies
If a company or an agent asks you to pay for the job, walk away. If a bond is large and the training is a week of shadowing, ask what the bond is really buying. Desperation signs bad paper. A short list gives you the dignity of a second option, which is the only reliable negotiating position a fresher has.
Frequently asked questions
Why should I apply to only twenty companies?
Applying to twenty companies allows you to focus your efforts on organizations where you can add value, rather than spreading yourself too thin.
How do I identify companies to target?
Use local resources like association directories, industrial-estate maps, and company websites to find organizations within your area that align with your skills.
What should I research about each company?
Research what the company makes or sells, their customers, recent changes, and the specific language they use in job descriptions.
How do I track my job applications?
Use a simple notebook or sheet to track organization names, contact persons, problems, proof of your skills, and follow-up dates.