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How to Get Your Foot In the Door When You Don’t Know Anyone, with Kathleen Davis

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Getting in front of a hiring manager can be tricky unless you have a personal connection inside the company. If you don’t, there are ways around that, says Find Your Dream Job guest Kathleen Davis. Kathleen suggests going to LinkedIn to find the names of people you may be speaking with if you apply. It’s important to follow to the letter the application directions, while also seeking to connect with those who can help further your resume. Kathleen also stresses the need to write a unique cover letter for each position, stating your experience and the value you can add to the company. 

About Our Guest:

Kathleen Davis is the deputy editor at FastCompany.com where she writes about careers, hiring, and other workplace topics. 

Kathleen also hosts The New Way We Work podcast.

Resources in This Episode:

Transcript

Find Your Dream Job, Episode 497:

How to Get Your Foot In the Door When You Don’t Know Anyone, with Kathleen Davis

Airdate: April 16, 2025

Mac Prichard:

This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life.

I’m your host, Mac Prichard. I’m also the founder of Mac’s List. It’s a job board in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career.

Every Wednesday, I talk to a different expert about the tools you need to get the work you want.

You know the difference that connections can make when you apply for a job.

But what do you do when you have no contacts inside an organization?

Kathleen Davis is here to talk about how to get your foot in the door when you don’t know anyone.

She’s the deputy editor at FastCompany.com, where she writes about careers, hiring, and other workplace topics.

Kathleen also hosts The New Way We Work podcast.

She joins us from Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Well, let’s jump right into it, Kathleen.

What do you mean exactly when you talk about getting your foot in the door?

Kathleen Davis:

What I mean is, and I’m sure a lot of job hunters have experienced this, I certainly did when I was looking for a job, if you don’t know anybody, especially if you’re trying to break into a new industry. My industry is media, and that’s incredibly competitive. A lot of it, you’ll find, is who you know. There’s that saying: It’s not what you know, it’s who you know, and if you went to a certain school and you have an alumni network, if you interned at a company then you already have those connections, but if you don’t, you don’t have those connections, and you can feel like you’re sending your resume out into a void, and how do you get somebody to actually notice you?

Mac Prichard:

Tell us more about why building those connections is so important and what stops job seekers from doing that, from making those connections.

Kathleen Davis:

I think that what stops people is that you don’t know who to reach out to, how to reach out to them, and the importance of it is that any open position has hundreds if not thousands of people applying. A lot of people don’t apply smartly, they just sent their resume out to whatever job.

You’re certainly not going to stand out, and of course, you don’t even know if a human is going to be reviewing your resume or if it’s going through an applicant tracking system and no one looks at it. The importance of having that connection, knowing that a human will actually look at your resume, that you’ll rise above those other hundreds of candidates is important.

I think a lot of people make the mistake of either writing a generic cover letter, first of all, which I think is a big no-no, but also addressing it “To Whom It May Concern.” It does not take a lot of work to figure out who that whom is. If you’re applying for a marketing position, who is likely going to be the head of marketing, the hiring manager? Is it the HR person? Is it the hiring manager doing that little bit of work to figure out who it is?

I think a lot of people kind of stop with, “Well, they said to send it through this portal, and I’ll send it through this portal.” They don’t take that other step to think about, “Well, who is that actual person that I should make that connection with?”

Mac Prichard:

Talk more about how you find the people that you are going to connect with and what difference can using LinkedIn make when you’re trying to do that.

Kathleen Davis:

Yeah, I think that LinkedIn is a great tool, other social media platforms could be useful as well. LinkedIn is really the go-to one. When you’re looking at a job opening, finding the right person and the right department and seeing what they post about, seeing how frequently they post, sending an email to that person, reaching out to that person, but not with a, “Let me pick your brain,” or, “Can we go out to coffee?” Or not going to them with an ask, but I think it’s really important too, if there was a job posting and it said, “Send your application through this portal.” Follow the rules, send your application through that portal.

Then, to take the extra step to find who that hiring manager is and as I said, it doesn’t take a lot of work. It’s a research skill that a lot of people can do, even if they haven’t done it before. Find who that person is and make that connection.

“I saw this job posting, I was really excited about it. I applied through the portal as required, but I just wanted to raise my profile with you and mention my enthusiasm towards this job to you.”

Mac Prichard:

Say more about that message that you send out to the person. You’re expressing enthusiasm. Is that the extent of the communication or do you have a specific ask?

Kathleen Davis:

Some of these connections can happen in advance of a job posting, so if there is a company that you’re really interested in or there’s an industry that you’re trying to break into, it might make sense to start to see who those folks are before a job is even posted. Try to make a connection with them, see what they’re posting about, try to post industry-specific/related content, share ideas on their posting, building up a genuine, actual connection.

“I am a thoughtful person who is thinking about these things.” Then, when, hopefully, down the line, there is a job posting, and you reach out to them and say, “I just want to express my enthusiasm,” you’re not a stranger. Maybe they’ll know who you are.

If you do want to do that informational kind of set up in advance, I think it’s good not to say, “Hey, can I pick your brain? Can I meet you for coffee?” Maybe making a big ask of their time. I think giving a couple of different options, “I would love to talk more about these opportunities and these types of things. Could you do a 15-minute phone call or email?”

Give busy people options and be very specific about what you’re asking for. The “pick your brain,” the “let me know,” kind of thing that really puts the onus on that person of: “What do you want from me? What are you asking me for?”

Mac Prichard:

Why does being specific and saying, “I want to have this amount of time to talk about this topic.” Why is that better, Kathleen, than asking someone to coffee or asking to pick their brain?

Kathleen Davis:

Because you’re setting expectations on exactly what you’re asking of them. Something very vague of “Can we go out for coffee sometime?” It’s like, “I don’t know who you are. I have a million things to do.” Everybody is so busy, but if it’s, “I’d really like to break into this industry, and I’ve had this experience before, and I was wondering if you had ten minutes to talk about this, this, and this.” They know exactly what they’re getting.

“Ten minutes? That’s not very much time. You’re asking me these three questions? That’s doable.” But the vaguer, the worse to figure out, the easier it is for the person to say no, basically.

Mac Prichard:

You mentioned cover letters a moment ago, and you encouraged people to not write “To Whom It May Concern.” Find out who the hiring manager is. What are some other tips that you think are important for job seekers to remember when putting a cover letter together?

Kathleen Davis:

Yes, I’m a big proponent of cover letters. We’ve written about it quite a lot at Fast Company. I know there’s kind of two-divided train of thought. A lot of people don’t like cover letters, they feel that they don’t get read. A lot of people will outsource it even more so now to AI, or they’ll write one generic cover letter and send it to every job. I think that’s a big mistake. Even if it doesn’t get read.

If there is a chance that it will be read and it will really tip your resume and your job application over the edge, the cover letter is a great opportunity to explain what your resume doesn’t. It’s also a great opportunity to get very specific about what about that job particularly inspires you and makes you interested.

You should craft your cover letter to each job that you’re applying for, and it really gives you the opportunity to explain anything on your resume that maybe doesn’t make sense if it’s a career switch or an industry switch. You can talk about the transferable skills that you have. Your resume is just a list of what you’ve done and where you’ve done it.

You can also talk more specifically about what connects you to that company’s mission or ideas that you have if you were to get the job. It’s a really great opportunity to make yourself appear more human, to show who you are.

Mac Prichard:

Terrific. We’re going to take a break.

Stay with us.

When we come back, Kathleen Davis will continue to share her advice on how to get your foot in the door when you don’t know anyone.

We’re back in the Mac’s List studio. I’m talking with Kathleen Davis.

She’s the deputy editor at FastCompany.com, where she writes about careers, hiring, and other workplace topics.

Kathleen also hosts The New Way We Work podcast.

She joins us from Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Kathleen, before the break, we were talking bout how to get your foot in the door when you don’t know anyone, and we finished up that first segment by talking about the difference that cover letters can make.

One point that you made earlier in the segment was the importance of following directions. Why does following directions when you’re applying for a position help you get your foot in the door when you don’t know anyone?

Kathleen Davis:

I’ll say that it will definitely differentiate you from the hundreds if not thousands of other applicants. I will share that I’m a hiring manager, and when I post, especially for editing and writing positions, I will put in the job description, “Please include a resume, cover letter, and two story ideas.”

It is shocking how many people either just send a resume, maybe send a resume and cover letter, and very few send the story ideas. For me, the position like that, that was a little bit of a test, I was seeing if you have attention to detail, but also, I put that in there because I want to know, have you looked at the website, do you understand the company, do you understand the type of job that you’re applying for?

That type of attention to detail can really set you apart as a candidate. It goes part and parcel with don’t have typos in your resume and cover letter. Slow down. I know when you’re applying for the job, sometimes you apply for a lot of jobs, it’s very tempting to take shortcuts, but really reading through, not once but twice, to make sure that you checked all of the boxes, really does set you apart because so many people don’t do that.

Mac Prichard:

Can doing more than what an employer asks for help you stand out and get your foot in the door, as well?

Kathleen Davis:

You know, I think it depends. I think that you don’t want to over-burden somebody, so you don’t want to be too extra. If they ask for a cover letter and resume and you send them a video they might be like, “This is not what we asked for.” I think sending exactly what they asked for, the format that they asked for, following the rules, and then, as I said before, you’re welcome then to follow up and find that personal connection, do a little bit extra on that end.

If they are telling you to apply through the company website using a PDF of your resume, you better apply through the company website using a PDF of your resume because it’s a very bad first impression to say, “Yeah, I know that’s what you asked for but I’m going to do it this way instead.”

Mac Prichard:

What about your network, Kathleen? Everybody has a network. How can your network help you, especially if you don’t know anyone at a company, make connections, and get in front of employers?

Kathleen Davis:

Yeah, I think that people, when you say that everybody has a network, I’m sure that some people are listening and thinking, “Well, no I don’t. I just have my former coworkers and that sort of thing. I don’t have this great professional network.”

Especially if you’re trying to change industries or change careers, but the more that you dig, the more you’ll realize that you do have a network. As I said before, you can feel like you’re at a disadvantage if you don’t have…you didn’t go to the same college as some of the people who work there, you haven’t previously worked at the same companies, because unfortunately, a lot of hiring managers still do that, “Well, who do we know?” Tap that bar for internal networks.

Through a site like LinkedIn, Indeed, and social media, you can start to see your common connections and start to make those common connections, start to reach out to those people, so if you see you previously worked with someone who also previously worked with a person that’s at the company that you want to apply for, you can reach out to that common connection and ask, “Do you know Kathleen? Can you introduce me? Can you put a good word in for me?” To start to make those genuine connections so that you don’t feel like you’re cold calling people so much.

Mac Prichard:

What are you asking for? Say more about that. As you ask for an introduction, for example? What do you do when your contact makes that introduction and how’s it going to help you stand out from your competitors who are looking to work at that place?

Kathleen Davis:

Because then you have a person in common, you don’t feel like a total stranger. If I’m very interested in working at this company and I do all of the advice that I just gave, but I reach out to that person and they don’t know who I am, that’s still a little bit of a leap of faith that you’re asking them to take, but if it’s, “Oh, we both used to work with Jill and I’m reaching out as Jill has recommended me. I see that we have Jill in common.”

You are finding that common ground. That first step of common ground is a really great place to start, and if it’s “We both went to the University of Michigan” or “We both used to live in New York City,” common ground makes someone feel like less of a stranger and makes the hiring manager a little more apt to say, “Okay, I’ll actually take that 15-minute call. I’ll give your resume a closer look.

Mac Prichard:

I know, Kathleen, you’re a big fan that when job seekers network, that they not only ask for help but that they also offer something of value as well. Why is it important to do that? And what can job seekers offer to others?

Kathleen Davis:

I think why it’s important to do that is because you don’t just want to ask, ask, ask, ask, ask. Give me. What do you have that you can give me? Relationships are two-way streets, and especially, when you’re making connections, you’re making friends, any part of your life, it’s not just, “What can you give me?” It’s a give and take, and so when I say offer some kind of value add, I think about many years ago when I was looking for a job I started posting things about the sorts of content that I was interested in and giving kind of the thoughtful story ideas and that sort of thing, and I met an editor and we were you know exchanging kind of ideas and then she said, “Oh actually there’s this job opening that I have that I haven’t even posted yet.”

And because I was already kind of putting myself out there with valuable ideas, it wasn’t just me kind of asking her for something.

Mac Prichard:

Networking can be a long game. How do you recommend that a job seeker balance building a relationship with others versus the urgency of needing a job now?

Kathleen Davis:

It is a long game and when you need a job now, you don’t want to spend your time kind of doing all of these networking things; you want to get a job. So, I think the time to start is before you are so desperate to get a job. I think, hopefully, it’s while you’re still in another position, that you are building up your profile. It is a long game as you say, so if you want to be seen as a marketing expert it’s not, “Okay I left my job and I need a new job desperately now. I’m going to suddenly become seen as a marketing expert.”

You build that profile up. You build that expertise up as you are doing your job. You’re laying that groundwork, so when you are in the position of you really wanting to find a job, you’re not starting from scratch.

Mac Prichard:

You’ve mentioned LinkedIn a number of times now. What’s your best advice for someone who wants to get their foot in the door somewhere where they don’t know anyone, and how they might use LinkedIn to do that?

Kathleen Davis:

Yeah, so as I said before, it’s looking at the companies that you’re interested in working for and finding the people there, sending a connection request, and again, if you’re sending a connection request, I get a million connection requests that are blank. You can send a message with that, and explain why want to connect rather than just firehosing it out and friend-requesting every single person that works at every single company that you’re interested in.

Really be thoughtful about it and then it has the feature of, “You’re connected to this person, you might also know this person.” And it snowballs from there.

Mac Prichard:

Well, it’s been a terrific conversation, Kathleen. Now, tell us, what’s next for you?

Kathleen Davis:

So, yeah, I am hosting the new season of The New Way We Work. We are in our 13th season. This season is all about how AI will change your job including how it will change how you look for a job and will change how you do your job.

I’m also writing a weekly column called Pressing Questions where it’s about all of the most pressing workplace questions that everybody experiences from every stage of your career. From getting your job, to once you’re in your job, to leaving a job, and all of that can be found on fastcompany.com.

Mac Prichard:

Well, terrific, we’ll include a link to fastcompany.com in the show notes and the website article, and I know, Kathleen, that you also invite listeners to connect with you on LinkedIn, and when you do reach out to Kathleen, I hope that you’ll mention that you heard her on Find Your Dream Job.

Now, Kathleen, given all the great advice that you shared today, what’s the one thing you want a listen to remember about how to get your foot in the door when you don’t know anyone?

Kathleen Davis:

I think the bottom line, if you don’t remember anything else I said, is to remember to follow the directions of the job posting, write a personalized cover letter, and find a real human to reach out to you and have a real personal connection with them.

Mac Prichard:

Next week, our guest will be Laura Knights.

She’s an executive coach, a speaker, and a trainer.

Laura is also the founder and CEO of two companies, Black Woman Leading and Knights Consulting.

You can’t rely on your credentials alone when you look for work.

Employers also want to see that you have a track record of solving problems.

Join us next Wednesday when Laura Knights and I talk about how to explain your value to an employer.

Until next time, thanks for letting us help you find your dream job.

This show is produced by Mac’s List.

Susan Thornton-Hough schedules our guests and writes our newsletter. Lisa Kislingbury Anderson manages our social media.

Our sound engineer and editor is Matt Fiorillo. Dawn Mole creates our transcripts. And our music is by Freddy Trujillo.

This is Mac Prichard. See you next week.