Speculative applications

It is possible to ask an employer whether they can offer a job or work experience even when they are not advertising any positions. This is known as making a 'speculative application'.

Why make a speculative application?

The main reason to make a speculative application is that many jobs are not advertised by employers. This is especially true in competitive sectors like journalism, broadcasting, and publishing.

Additional reasons for making speculative applications include:

Small employers may not recruit graduates onto a graduate scheme.
Work shadowing opportunities (especially for first and second-year students) are often created on the basis of a speculative application.
Employers may create a work experience opportunity in response to receiving a speculative application.
University research projects often consider speculative applications.

How to make a speculative application

Structuring your application

When making your application, you will usually include both a CV and cover letter. In your cover letter, you should:

Explain why you are writing and state that you are sending a CV. State your current year of study (or that you are a recent graduate), and what you are looking for. Try to be specific about the opportunity but flexible about the length of time – a day’s work shadowing could lead into a summer’s work experience if you are successful. For example, “I am looking to gain experience in digital marketing and I am open to any opportunity, from a day’s shadowing to a summer placement”.
Make clear why you have chosen this organisation to write to. This is another opportunity to show you have done your research. For example, “My motivation for applying is the innovative way your organisation uses digital marketing: your latest YouTube viral video for Guinness, which has reached over 3.5 million views…”.
Describe the relevant skills and experience you have which would benefit the organisation. Don’t just repeat information on your CV, but expand on it. For example, “As you can see from my CV, I have been actively involved in creating marketing campaigns for local charities using social media…”.
Create an engaging email subject line. It doesn’t matter how good your CV and covering letter are if your email isn’t opened. Make sure the subject line is relevant and the message is clear to the reader. If you have found your contact’s details through someone who has a personal connection with your contact, make sure you mention this. For example, “Professor Brown recommended I contact you regarding summer opportunities” or “Suzy Golding recommends me – a bilingual student with strong social media skills”.

Tailoring your application

You should match your speculative application to the organisation you are applying to and provide good reasons why they should employ you. Focus on what you have to offer them, including the skills you have which match the company’s needs. You could also suggest a specific project you could carry out for them.

You also need to show you have done your research and outline why you want to work for that specific company. This could include working with their clients, participating in the innovative work they do, or having the opportunity to work with a particular person at the organisation.

Think about how to capture the organisation’s attention, since they are not expecting to hear from you. To increase your chances of success, rely on any previous links between yourself and the organisation. For example, if you have spoken to representatives of the company at a careers fair or read a recent news article about them, this would be something to mention in your speculative application. 

Finding a named contact at the organisation

When writing your cover letter, try to avoid using the impersonal address “Dear Sir/Madam”. Instead, find a named person. This might be the managing director if it’s a small organisation, or a head of department or HR representative if it’s a larger organisation.

There are several ways you can find a relevant, named contact at the organisation you want to work in:

Connect with alumni – alumni from St Andrews work at leading organisations all over the world. Use Saint Connect, LinkedIn and academic staff to identify key contacts.
Attend events organised by the Careers Centre such as employer events and careers fairs.
Use social media, especially Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn – many companies have a social media presence, which you can use to find contacts.
Communicate directly – contact the HR team at the organisation and ask for a key contact’s name and email address.

For further help finding contacts, including using Saint Connect and LinkedIn, see the make a connection page.

Follow-up

If you haven’t received a reply to your application after a week, follow up with an email or phone call to check it has been received.  Remember to always be polite in all your communications with employers.