I had a friendship with the Vice President of Labor Relations at Lockheed Martin. She told me the company was anticipating layoffs and referred me to Dan Buschmann, the Vice President of Human Resources. This was my first e-mail after the referral. If it sounds like a fishing expedition, it was.
Giant bureaucratic corporations are not always the best prospects for small consulting firms, because they often use national vendors, and the competition for work is lengthy and punishing. Even when working for Fortune 500 companies, I prefer to work on small projects that can be awarded quickly by local executives.
Subject: Referral from Gerri Jernigan
Date: 15 Feb 20— 16:24:44 -0700
From: "William S. Frank" <wsfrank@careerlab.com>
To: daniel.buschmann@lmco.com
Dan,
I'm good friends with Gerri Jernigan at Lockheed Martin. I spoke with her regarding upcoming layoffs, and she referred me to you.
You may be besieged by outplacement vendors, but I encourage you to take a look at us.
In business 20 years, we've worked for more than 200 US corporations. If you have a vendor to handle large groups, you might want to consider us for the managers and senior executives—our greatest strength.
In the past, you've done outplacement internally through a career center. Do you still use that model?
Our 700-page career megasite at http://www.careerlab.com is loaded with free information for employers and job seekers, so I encourage you to take a look, even if you've got outplacement planned.
I'd appreciate a brief update of your plans.
Thanks,
:B