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Good advertising convinces people that they want something they didn't even know about before.
This also applies to speculative applications.
This is how Jürgen Hesse from the application specialists Hesse / Schrader explains it.
Potential new employees should arouse the interest of the HR department even more than with a regular application.
It starts with the subject.
"If you send the application by email, the line should make you curious," says Hesse.
The application coach considers phrases such as “unsolicited application as secretary” or “application for office clerk” to be too sober.
After all, the hiring manager isn't waiting for it.
But you shouldn't overdo it, says Hesse.
“An application as a 'passionate gas-water installer' looks involuntarily strange.” The following examples are better: “A professional for your social media strategy”, “I'll get you up in the search engines” or “With me you can reach also the young target group ”.
Applicants should know the name of the hiring manager
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However, this assumes that job candidates have been well informed about the company beforehand and know who it might need.
In any case, you need to know the contact person.
Anyone who writes that they really want to join a company should have taken the trouble to find out the name of the hiring manager.
Everything else seems implausible.
“You should have researched who makes the personnel decisions,” says Hesse.
Applicants may have heard from someone they know that a new department is being set up in their company.
"Before you refer to him in your application, you have to ask his permission," explains career advisor Maja Skubella.
In addition, applicants should clarify exactly what they are already allowed to know.
Anyone who carelessly invokes information that is still considered a trade secret is more likely to create difficulties for the employee than for a new job.
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Whether job seekers should inquire by phone beforehand is controversial.
On the one hand, they will probably only get the information that the company is currently not looking for employees.
On the other hand, you can refer to it in the cover letter and write “Our phone call on April 5th”.
This is why it is recommended in many guides.
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However, whoever decides to do so should really have questions.
The HR department quickly notices whether the call is just an excuse to start the conversation.
"I find it unsuitable when there are standard questions that can be answered by looking at the website," says Jana Reineke, head of personnel marketing at the Melitta coffee roaster.
No subjunctive in the final sentence of the speculative application
If no vacancy is advertised, applicants must describe their skills in such a way that they could fit in several positions or in several departments.
That works well if you primarily describe your skills, explains career advisor Skubella.
So instead of explaining that you have mainly worked in the marketing area so far, you can describe that you are communicative and well networked and prove this with examples.
This gives the HR manager the opportunity to think about other positions.
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Applicants should not position themselves too broadly either, because: "Then it is difficult for the HR manager to assess which position might be suitable for the applicant," says Melitta HR Marketing Manager Reineke.
Applicants should ask themselves: Why do I really want to work there?
What can I offer the company?
The same applies to unsolicited applications as for regular applications: The final sentence should not contain a subjunctive.
Career advisor Skubella advises an optimistic exit, for example: "I'm looking forward to the chance of an exchange" or "I'm looking forward to an invitation to an interview." About two weeks later you can telephone to ask whether the HR department is interested.
But be careful: some companies do not accept speculative applications, for example the technology group Bosch.
In such cases, you shouldn't send an application without being asked.
Firstly, you then seem ill-informed, and secondly, the company usually has good reasons.
For example, because it records the applications in a standardized way and cannot process an unsolicited application or process it poorly.
The new data protection regulation makes it difficult for companies to deal with unintentionally sent personal documents.
This is one of the reasons why some reject speculative applications.
If you still want to apply, you should call in advance and ask what options are available.
At Bosch, for example, all interesting applicants are considered by the HR department for positions for which they have not explicitly applied.
"Therefore, every application is in principle also an unsolicited application," says HR manager Marvin Max.
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This article was first published in May 2019.
Read more articles from our guide series on the subject of application letters here:
Everything about the application letter