You've heard the statistics about how many applicants there for each job. It all depends on your industry, of course, but there is no doubt, it's tough to get noticed in all that traffic. So how do you get to the head of the line? Get there before there is a line. One way to do that is via a "spot opportunity." What is a Spot Opportunity? It's a position that:

· is about to be created due to the company expanding, restructuring, launching an IPO, developing a new product or receiving an infusion of new capital or

· is still in the development stage in a company or

· is found at the beginning of a hiring process and may not even been identified to employees yet

Once you know where hiring potential exists, write a "spot opportunity" letter directly to a company decision-maker. In this specially-created letter you can accent how you can provide solutions to the company's challenges and let them know yoy want to work with them and for them. Companies appreciate a candidate's effort in researching their company and identifying ways they can add value.

It is standard for companies to interview "in house" candidates prior to advertising externally for the position. Identifying signs of movement or change within a company can open the door to approaching them even before their own employees are aware of pending opportunities. Even if those candidates are aware that positions may be opening up, the informed job seeker is still miles ahead of other external candidates by bringing their skills to the attention of the decision-maker before the positions are posted. Call it a pre-emptive strike to target the company's upcoming opportunities and avoid being just one in the flood of applicants responding to a posted ad. And you add a benefit right off the bat by saving the company the expense of doing a traditional candidate search later.

Using such a direct approach had additional benefits in that it circumvents the company's Human Resources department. The screeners in Human Resources and the Managers who make the decisions look at candidates in a different way:

· Human Resource departments benchmark against a set of "criteria" meaning they'll look at how you fit into a job description.

· Key decision-makers benchmark hiring decisions against "profits" meaning they'll look at how you'll contribute to reducing expenses and increasing revenues.

Here's a tip: Ending a letter with "I look forward to hearing from you." puts the ball in their court and they may not act on it. Instead, indicate that you will follow up with them in the next few days and then absolutely do it! Follow through and doing what you say you'll do make positive impressions.

Going after Spot Opportunities does require extra effort and a disciplined, creative approach. This approach can significantly increase the amount of quality interviews you get.