Cold Calling by Email
Terror.
Unanticipated reactions. Outright and multiple rejections. Over-thinking. Dread about how much work is involved. Past and multiple failures. The fear of wasting an employer’s time. All of it conspires to make most people, including me, fearful of “cold calling.”
How many times have we wanted to do something but ultimately didn’t? An email is sitting unsent. A phone number was requested and saved, but it was never called. The fear our minds generate as we spiral into thinking, “What if they think I’m annoying?” Not to mention the physical reactions from stress and anxiety, the tight chest, sweaty hands, and racing thoughts.
Cold calling, knocking on doors, asking if an employer is thinking of hiring now or in the near future, is difficult and often fraught with rejection … but what if it could be easier?
Slaying the Dragon: Start with honesty
If we were ranking outreach strategies, walking in, and speaking to someone face-to-face is still the strongest approach. Telephoning is likely a distant second. Relying solely on email probably comes in third.
However, “third best” does not mean ineffective.
For some people, cold call emailing makes the dragon smaller.
For job seekers who live with social anxiety, neurodivergence, mobility challenges, caregiving demands, language barriers, or simply an intense fear of real-time rejection, email creates something powerful: space.
Space to think. space to draft and revise. Space to regulate our emotions before pressing send. Space to act without the pressure of someone watching.
Cold outreach by email is not about replacing every other strategy. It is about supplementing them. It is about creating momentum where paralysis once lived.
And let’s not pretend cold calling is the same as applying for a posted job. It isn’t. Between 70 to 80% of jobs are never advertised. If we rely only on postings, we are limiting ourselves to the smallest and most competitive portion of the job market. Cold calling, even by emailing, creates an edge or advantage for us.
That means we have to adjust our expectations and stop trying to think for employers.
Know this: feeling anticipatory anxiety, fearing rejection, worrying about saying the wrong thing, and engaging in catastrophic thinking are all natural responses. Reaching out to employers for current and future opportunities can initially feel like a high-stakes gamble.
In reality, with proper preparation and planning, email outreach is a low-risk, high-opportunity strategy.
By utilizing cold call emailing, no one sees you hesitate. No one hears your voice shake. You control the timing. You control the message. You control when you press send.
And sometimes, that control is exactly what makes the dragon small enough to approach.
Slaying the Email Dragon: Preparations
Preparation is the key to success in almost every venture or dragon-hunting campaign, and it is no different for any kind of cold calling. Begin by creating a list of employers that you are interested in working for. Focus on employers that align with your skills, experience, and/or career goals. Use all of the tools available, such as LinkedIn, company websites, business directories, social media, and job boards, to find contacts.
Next, research those employers, learn what they do, how big they are, what their culture is like, what they are proud of, and what their policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion are. Check for recent news, expansions, or projects; anything to indicate hiring needs. As you research, look for names of hiring managers, department heads, or Human Resources people to address your emails when you are at that point.
Dragon Slaying Tip: Slaying dragons and cold calling is not just a problem for anxious people. Even highly successful professionals avoid outreach, delay networking, over-edit their emails, and fear bothering people. These concerns are universal; however, they are not insurmountable.
Slaying the Email Dragon: Reframing Cold Outreach
Part of preparation includes setting your expectations. Cold Calling isn’t about sending an email and getting a job immediately, no more so than slaying a dragon with your first sword thrust. It is a process, it has a start, middle, and finish; you are not asking for a job, you are starting a conversation about opportunities, now and upcoming. You are not imposing on them; you are inviting a discussion about how your skills and abilities might be able to provide value to them and about how you can help them achieve their goals.
Remember, you are not selling yourself; you are exploring alignment with the employer.
Dragon Slaying Tip: Try not to fall into the dragon trap of feeling that you are behind or that you have to overcompensate for your barriers. Cold outreach is not about proving worth; it’s about discovering fit.
To determine fit, an important key is to find the right contact. With the previous step, finding the right contact will often be discovered during the research phase. If not, double-checking websites, LinkedIn, other networks, and even calling or emailing the organization for the name, position, email, and correct spelling will work easily.
Slaying the Dragon: Sharpening your sword or drafting your email.
Structure and a plan lower anxiety. As our aim is conversation, we initially aim for learning, not approval. Sending five imperfect emails is better than not sending a perfect one. Each time you draft an email, you get better.
Dragon Slaying Tip: Most organizations are always interested in strong talent, even when they are not actively advertising. By focusing on providing value, listening, and asking questions, you will be seen as a potential problem-solver for the employer. Remember, all conversations help you to learn and improve your skills. You are not wasting their time.
When drafting your email, start simply. Create a clear and concise subject line: “Interest in Current and Upcoming Opportunities.” Use a basic greeting. If their name is John Smith, use “Dear John. “In the body of the email, state who you are, and your relevant experience based on your research. Explain why you are reaching out. Highlight 1 or 2 key skills and achievements that could benefit the employer. Create a “call to action” asking for their advice or guidance on opportunities or their application process. Then have a good closing, thanking them for their time and consideration.
Dragon slaying tip: Use AI to help draft your email; however, remember, AI is algorithm-based, and it is important to customize and massage the message until it sounds like you and what you want.
Subject: Interest in Current and Upcoming Opportunities
Dear John,
My name is Sarah Thompson, and I am a recent Business Administration graduate with experience in customer service and administrative support. I have been following your company’s recent expansion into the Ottawa market and was impressed by your focus on community partnerships.
I am writing to introduce myself and to inquire about any current or upcoming opportunities within your operations or customer relations teams. In my previous role at ABC Services, I supported a team of five managers, coordinated scheduling, and helped streamline client communications, which reduced response times by 20%.
I would appreciate any guidance you might be able to offer regarding potential openings or the best way to apply for future roles within your organization. If helpful, I would welcome the opportunity to briefly speak by phone at your convenience.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Sarah Thompson
Phone number & Email address
Dragon slaying Tip: List your contact information but also attach a copy of your resume to the emails as well.
Slaying the Dragon: Check your sword before confronting the dragon.
After creating your email, proofread it for spelling, grammar, and professionalism. I would recommend using AI to rate the effectiveness of your email and make changes; accordingly, however, avoid the temptation to use AI to write the email. Your dragon will win if the employer cannot see your authentic self in your words and thoughts. Tailor each email for each employer and always send your emails one at a time.
Dragon slaying tip: Before engaging the dragon, you can reduce your anxiety through more preparation by starting with one employer to “test the concept.” You can also create a tracking spreadsheet to track dates and follow-up information.
Slaying the Dragon: What if you miss the target?
Even the best dragon slayers miss sometimes, and even cold calling in person doesn’t always work. It is very unlikely that you will receive responses to all your emails; you may go several times without any response. That happens to everyone who does cold calling; it doesn’t mean that it won’t work, and it doesn’t mean you are doing anything wrong. Not getting a response does not mean you have been rejected. It is not a personal judgement, and it certainly does not mean you do not have value.
When approaching employers, keep in mind that if you have 10% response rate, that is normal, and if 20% respond, that is excellent.
Dragon slaying tip: You can improve your chances of getting a response by following up with the employer 5-7 business days after your initial email.
Following up takes the form of a polite email to the same person: The subject line could be:
Subject: Following Up – Interest in Opportunities
Dear John,
I hope you are doing well. I wanted to briefly follow up on my email from last week regarding potential current or upcoming opportunities within your operations or customer relations teams.
I understand how busy things can be, particularly during periods of growth, but I remain very interested in learning more about your organization and how my administrative and client support experience might contribute.
If there is someone else I should connect with, or a preferred way to apply for future roles, I would greatly appreciate your guidance.
Thank you again for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Sarah Thompson
Phone number & Email address
Slaying the Dragon: Becoming a Dragon Slayer
Congratulations, by even getting this far, you have taken some big steps forward. This will help transform you into a person who takes initiative, a person who creates opportunities for yourself, and someone who makes things happen instead of waiting to be chosen.
Doing cold outreach changes the power dynamic in your job search and allows you to actively pursue opportunities you want instead of applying for those jobs that just happen to be available when you are in the labour market.
Slaying the Dragon: Your Legacy
We began this post with the word “Terror.” Doing email cold-calling means you don’t have to be fearless; you just need to be consistent. You don’t have to love doing cold outreach; you just need to try it and be persistent.
Know that the first email is the hardest, the tenth is easier, and the fiftieth will feel normal.
Dragon Slayer Tip: To All Dragons: We have used dragons as a metaphor for overcoming the fears we all have when we do things that are difficult, and to help ourselves accomplish our goals. If you receive an email from a job seeker who is looking for a conversation about opportunities, please take a few moments and take a chance and respond to them. The opportunity to share your knowledge and advice will make more of a difference than you will ever know.
“Go make the dragon smaller.”