Can anyone help in what to say when approaching potential employers by telephone from the UK. We are going on a recce in May and I have sent some emails but I think I may be taking the wrong approach so I want to try the more personal touch and ring. What I am struggling with is the fact it is so alien for us to be so direct in the job market front and its just a little daunting. I'm sure once i've got through to a couple of people it will be fine, its just knowing how to approach it for the first time.

Any information anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Hi

I would approach something along the lines of...................................

I sent an email a few weeks ago, we are from the UK, heading over on xxxxxxxx and would really welcome an opportunity to meet with someone from your organisation for an informal chat. I would really like to learn more about the industry in Nova Scotia and wonder whether anyone would be willing to meet me.

Good luck

Thanks Nikki. It sounds so simple - lets hope it works.

Thanks again.

i do not know whether this is of any use to you, but from my limited and temporary experience.....

we went on a vancouver recce a little while back, with shed loads of resumes and our shiny shoes.

to apply 'the personal touch' to its fullest, we fired off our resumes by e-mail and then called into the offices in person a few weeks later, with paper resumes ready to hand out.

admittedly, the offices were of employment agencies (but hey, if they don't have a foot hold in this invisible job network, who does?) and all were more than willing to receive our resumes and give out business cards.

the quick chats and 'official meetings' we ultimately enjoyed, gave us the impression that this global recession was being treated with optimism by most / all Vancouverites, although no job offers were made.

however, an insurmountable stumbling block came in the form of our being there only temporarily; it seemed impossible for us to impress upon wouldbe employers that our move to canada was to be a permanent one, when we felt obliged to be honest with them, by explaining we were merely 'reconnoitering' their city.

it seems that once you make this golden first impression, any employer would prefer to 'try before they buy' by employing you on a probationary contract period. this is especially true now, in a climate of 'hiring freezes'.

recce trips are of course damned useful things and whilst we made a ton of contacts and gained a fist full of business cards, nothing more than that seems possible until you are out there for good.

i say all of this not to dissuade you from your current course, but to forewarn you that once you overcome the awkwardness of being 'so forward', you may not find the immediate rewards you had hoped for. we were disappointed by how little seemed to have been achieved..... but maybe in the long term it will pay off?

best of luck and try to make at least 50% of your trip pure vacation time

just go for it,
start with a company that's not your number one choice to get some practice.

When I finally went from staring at my phone to punching in numbers and calling up people (took me a while to do), it turned out much easier than I thought it would.

I went with this:
they answer the phone,
you ask for a certain person/ ask for the HR department
you identify yourself and state shortly (1 sentence) the reason of your call
and the rest just follows, is a normal conversation (do you have time now/ can I come in for an informational interview in two weeks' time..., can I call you later?...)

However, my goal in my cold calls is to gain an informational interview, to get hints for my jobsearch, insights into qualifications needed, etc -- rather than find an open position -- when contacting potential employers.

For recruiting agencies, I ask whether they have a position matching my profile, and that I am very interested in getting an informational interview.

To my big surprise the calling was much easier to do than anticipated, and everyone I placed those calls to was very friendly, and apparently very used to getting these calls.

Good luck!