Open application: how to apply for a job that isn't advertised

Most people apply for jobs that are already advertised. The problem is that everyone else does the same. On a popular ad you compete against a hundred other applications, and most of them are fairly similar.

An open application turns this around. You contact a company you want to work for, before they have advertised anything, and suggest yourself how you can contribute. Then you compete against few or no others. This guide shows you what an open application is, why it works, how to find the right person, and gives you a template you can copy and adapt.

This is a job search strategy, not a legal procedure. There are no rules for what an open application should look like. The advice below is what works in experience.

What an open application is

An open application, also called an unsolicited application, is one you send when there is no advertised job. You don't write because they ask, but because you want to work there.

That sets it apart from a normal application on one crucial point. In a normal application, you answer a need the company has already described in the ad. In an open application there is no ad, so you have to define the need yourself. You tell them which problem you can solve, and why it is worth talking to you.

It sounds harder than it is. But it means an open application can't be generic. It has to show that you have thought about this particular company.

Why it works: the hidden job market

It is easy to think that every vacancy gets advertised. That isn't true. A large share of hires in Norway happen without the job being advertised publicly. This is often called the hidden job market.

Figures cited by NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, suggest that around 42 per cent of companies did not advertise the position the last time they hired. Other estimates are higher, and some suggest that well over half of all jobs are filled without an ad. The figures vary a lot, and nobody knows the exact level, but the direction is clear: a significant share of jobs never become an ad you can click on.

Why? Because hiring costs time and money. A manager who already has a good candidate doesn't have to advertise, read a hundred applications and run several rounds of interviews. Many jobs are filled through networks, internal candidates, recruitment agencies, or people who got in touch on their own initiative.

This is where the open application gets its power. If it lands on the right desk just as a need is emerging, you can be the candidate the manager chooses instead of advertising. You are not late for a competition, you arrive before it starts.

How to find the right contact person

An open application sent to a shared mailbox such as post@ often goes nowhere. If it is going to be read, it has to reach a person who can do something with it. This is where the groundwork lies.

Start by choosing the companies

Don't spread yourself thin. Make a short list of companies you are genuinely interested in, where you can picture yourself thriving and contributing. Five well-considered approaches are worth more than fifty identical ones. If you need to find relevant companies, you can use current vacancies as a starting point, including the ones that aren't a perfect fit, to map who is hiring in your field.

Find the person

Once you have the companies, find a named person to send it to:

• The manager for your field. If you want to work in marketing, the head of marketing is often the right recipient. They know the need best.
• HR or recruitment in larger companies, where there is a department for it.
• The managing director in smaller companies, where one person often makes most of the decisions.

Use LinkedIn and the company's own website to find names and roles. Search for the company name on LinkedIn and see who works there. Check the "about us" or "contact" page on the website. If you know someone in your network who works there, that is the shortest way in.

Consider calling first

A short phone call before you send it can do two things at once: find out whether they see a need, and give you the name to send it to. Ask to speak to the person responsible for recruitment in your area, and ask whether they see a need for your skills going forward. Note down the name and email address. If the phone isn't your thing, a well-targeted email works fine on its own.

How to write the open application

The structure resembles a normal application, but it is shorter and has to establish on its own why you are writing. If you need the basic recipe for a normal application first, you will find it in the guide on how to write a job application.

Four things matter especially for an open application:

• Say early on why you are writing. The recipient isn't expecting an application from you. Make it clear in the first sentences that this is an open approach, and why them in particular.
• Define the need yourself. Since no ad tells you what they need, you have to suggest it. Link what you can do to something concrete about the company: a direction they are growing in, an area that looks understaffed, a task you see them taking on.
• Be specific about your contribution. Not "I am an asset", but "I have set up accounting routines for three small businesses and can make their numbers easier to steer by".
• Ask for a conversation, not for a job. You are not asking for a job that doesn't exist. You are asking for a short chat to find out whether it could be relevant.

If you have little experience to show, motivation and transferable skills matter all the more.

A template you can copy

Replace everything in square brackets. Keep it short, ideally half a page.

Hi [name],

I am getting in touch because I have followed [company] for a long time, and especially [something concrete: a product, an initiative, a value]. I haven't seen an advertised position with you, but I wanted to ask whether you might have use for [your role / skills].

I work in [field], and among other things I have [one concrete result or responsibility, preferably with numbers]. When I read that you [something they do or plan to do], I thought I could contribute [a concrete contribution linked to it].

Briefly about me: [one or two sentences about your background and what drives you]. My CV is attached, so you can see the rest.

I know an open approach comes without you having asked for it. But if it could be relevant, I would be glad to have a short chat about where I might fit in. You can reach me on [phone] or [email].

Kind regards [name]

Two things about the template. First: the paragraph about the company and your contribution is the most important one, because that is where you prove this isn't a mass mailing. Spend most of your time there. Second: the ending asks for a conversation, not a yes. It is easier for a busy manager to say yes to a coffee than to a hire.

Common mistakes to avoid

• The generic open application. The same text to twenty companies with the name swapped. It shows, and it ends up in the bin faster than a normal application, because nobody asked for it in the first place.
• Sending it to a shared mailbox. Without a recipient who owns the need, it is rarely read. Spend time finding the person.
• Asking for too much. You are not asking for a job that hasn't been advertised. You are asking for a conversation. That is a much lower threshold to say yes to.
• Too much text. An open application that fills a whole page doesn't get read. Spark interest, and the rest can come in the conversation.
• Giving up after one try. If you hear nothing within one or two weeks, a short and polite reminder is entirely appropriate. People are busy, not necessarily uninterested.

In summary

An open application is how you reach the jobs that are never advertised, and that is a large share of them. It works because you arrive before the competition, not after. The key is to choose a few companies you actually want to work for, find the right person to send it to, and write briefly and concretely about which need you can meet. You define yourself why they should talk to you.

Use open applications alongside normal applications, not instead of them. If you want a complete plan for your job search, see the guide on planning your job search. And once you have found the companies you want to contact, browse current vacancies to map who is hiring in your field.