Cold Visits

I'm about to go visit a publication here at Berkeley...I'm going to call it a "cold visit" because it's like a "cold call" but in-person. I'm not really into cold visits, but I figure I have no job and I don't really have anything to lose.

I don't really consider myself an outgoing person, which is part of the problem. I'm not the type of person to walk up to somebody random and strike up a conversation. It's just not me, although I have been trying harder to break out of that shell. People who know me know I can be quite talkative, it's just under what context, what type of situation I'm in. I think that's why I like to write so much, I can express what I'd like to say without having (as many) reservations. I'll put it all out here, you think about it, then respond.

Problem is, writing is just not as spontaneous or as improvisational as a face-to-face conversation. Which is why I'm making this cold visit. I can express things in-person that I simply cannot through my resume or cover letter.

I made a major mistake though on Wednesday. I actually called the job coordinator of this publication, but bungled the message I left on her voicemail really badly. I was just like, "Hi (insert name) this is Kevin Lee, I hope your search is going well (what the hell does that mean?), you don't need to call me, just e-mail me, hope to hear from you soon, buh-bye."

Hahaha, ridiculous right? You ever have a time in a bar when you approach a girl with a complete gameplan set up, then you get to the girl, and your mouth turns to mush? That's basically what happened. I got lost in the situation.

For all you job newbies out there (including myself):
1) Leave a number. Who cares if they don't call you. The point of this is that you're checking up on them. Put the ball back in their hands. Really stupid of me not to do that. What do I have to lose if I do leave my number?

2) At least leave some means of returning the call. I said "just e-mail me"...but then didn't leave an e-mail address! Just because I submitted an e-mail, doesn't mean she's actually looked at my resume and actually extracted the e-mail address from it! As applicants, it's our jobs to make the job search as easy as possible for the coordinators. Give them as many ways as possible to contact you. Don't give them an excuse not to.

3) Make sure you're in the right of state of mind to make a call. Know what you're going to say, then say it. I had a lot on my mind when I made the call, and I wasn't really focused on what I needed to say to the job coordinator, and it showed.

So now I'm going to set up a game plan for the cold visit.
1) Re-iterate my interest in the job. "Your publication seems like a great place to learn about journalism because..." "The subject matter in your publication interests me because..."

2) Tell why I'm a good fit for the job.

3) Offer ideas of suggestions for the publication to show you've been paying attention.

4) Keep things friendly and open. Offer contact info. again.

I'm going to approach this like an interview, and if it goes well, and if it doesn't...well the search goes on.

Wish me luck!