You find a company doing work you care about. Their mission fits. Your skills fit.

There’s just one problem: they aren’t hiring.

Most job seekers move on. Strategic job seekers start a conversation instead.

A letter of interest (also called a prospecting letter) is a short, targeted email you send to a company you want to work for, even when no jobs are posted. Instead of competing with hundreds of applicants, you introduce yourself early and show how you could add value. (This isn’t a cover letter.)

1. Do your research
Understand the company’s mission, priorities, recent news, and challenges so you can connect your skills to their needs.

2. Contact the right person
Send your email to a department leader or hiring manager, not a general inbox.

3. Keep it short and value-focused
This isn’t your life story. Focus on how you can help them.

4. Ask for a conversation
Request a brief informational conversation about their team or future needs.

5. Follow up
One or two polite follow-ups can make all the difference.

Paragraph 1: Why them + your value
Show you’ve done your homework and mention a relevant achievement.

Paragraph 2: Key qualifications
Highlight 2–3 relevant accomplishments or skills (bonus points for measurable results).

Paragraph 3: Conversation request
Ask for a brief call and mention you’ll follow up.

• Making it about why you want a job instead of how you help them
• Sending generic messages
• Writing too much
• Forgetting to ask for a conversation
• Not following up

Pro tip: Include your LinkedIn profile instead of a resume since there’s no specific role.

Starting from scratch can be difficult, so the letter of interest samples below will give you some ideas on how to structure your own letter. 

Dear Ms. Smith:

My former co-worker, Sam Peterson, suggested that I write to you to discuss your accounting department needs and priorities. He speaks highly of ABC Company and your recent industry recognition in Accounting Today, backs this up. 

In my most recent role as junior accountant, I oversaw the month-end reporting, accounts payable team and receivables team. I have worked within several different SAP systems and regularly use advanced Excel functionality. Many of the procedural changes I helped implement resulted in a reduced collection period from 65 days to 34 days and overall improved the ease of use and access to reporting.

I’d welcome the opportunity to talk with you about your accounting department needs and will follow up next week to see if you have time for a brief call. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, 

James Duncan
(585) 555-1212
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesduncancpa/

See more samples here How To Write A Letter Of Interest

Pitch Yourself Like a CEO! - Junette Caloroso 

A PItch Deck is a tool that can be used either before or after a job interview. See this example and why it worked to land a job at Facebook (back in the day). This isn’t a generic resume-ish tool, as June says:
“A well-crafted pitch deck can be a powerful tool to:

Will you give it a try?”

How to Tailor a Resume to a Job Description in 2026 - Sam Wright, Huntr

You MUST tailor your resume. Here’s why: Job seekers who tailor their resumes see a 1.6x to 2x increase in application-to-interview conversion rates compared to those who submit the same resume for every role (based on Huntr’s analysis of 1.7 million).

Why You’re Avoiding Networking (And How to Fix It in 15 Minutes) - Greg Roche, The Introverted Networker

If you don’t subscribe to Greg’s newsletter, you MUST! Networking is vital to your long-term career success and he consistently provides tips for networking that are actionable! This is a great example. It’s relatable and real. We all put off networking, but it’s never too late to start! 

How To Find Jobs NOT In LinkedIn’s Jobs Tab - Jessica Hernandez

Instead of just relying on the LinkedIn Job tab, try the steps laid out here to discover job opportunities. You see, not everyone want to pay for job listings on LinkedIn and you never know who is sharing news about a job you hadn’t heard of.  

LinkedIn is the most-cited domain for professional queries in AI search - Kelli Hrivnak

FYI: LinkedIn jumped from #11 to #5 in ChatGPT citation rankings in just a few months. The link to this research is included in Kelli’s post. It’s pretty important for anyone interested in the new SEO tactics (GEO).

LinkedIn Strategies for Thought Leadership: Avoid the “Tryhard” Trap - Sarah Johnston

For anyone trying to overcome the fear of posting on LinkedIn, this is a must read. Sarah features insights from LinkedIn Top Voice Micheal Quinn and messaging strategist (personal branding guru) Ryan Rhoten.

4 Frameworks for Tell Me About Yourself - Paula Christensen

If you struggle to answer this question, you MUST read this post! Paula lists 4 different ways to answer this question so it concisely and clearly explains your qualifications (and captures the interviewer’s attention).

How to Use AI for Labor Market Research - Marie Zimenoff, Career Thought Leaders

This article gives career coaches and pros a step-by-step plan for using smart AI tools, specifically Gemini and Perplexity, to find real-time, local job market information. That way, they can stop giving vague advice and start helping their clients navigate today's changing job market with precise, data-backed strategies. Job seekers will benefit too! 

ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, According to a New MIT Study - TIME

A warning: AI is stealing our brain power. A 4‑month MIT‑affiliated EEG study (2025) asked 54 adults to write multiple SAT‑style essays under three conditions:

Writers using ChatGPT exhibited the lowest overall brain activity and connectivity, and “consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels” compared with the brain‑only group.

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Here’s one of the truths about job search...

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A very small part of that plan is applying to jobs online.

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Here are 10 things you can add to your weekly job search action plan!

Which of these will you implement today?

Samples of Letters of Interest

How to Prepare for an Interview

Your Personal Marketing Plan – How To Create and Use It

Just go to the Google search bar and type in the job title and/or criteria you are looking for and select the “Jobs” search option.

Google pulls jobs directly from company websites, staffing agency job listings, and partners with many job boards. This job search engine has been selected because of its ability to find job postings posted almost anywhere (directly from employers and career sites across the web). It’s probably the most efficient use of your time and energy when searching for a job and replaces the need to search each individual job search website. 

Using Google for Jobs is as simple as typing the desired job title (and city if desired) into Google’s search bar. The results are near the top. Or search “Jobs Near Me” in your Google search bar.

Types of jobs: Google searches the web for jobs based on the job title and location you enter. It will show all levels of jobs across all industries

Features: Google Jobs includes the same filtering options even though it is not a job board per se. It aggregates/compiles job postings from other websites (technically making it a job search engine). When applying for a job, you will be taken to the site where you can apply. New college graduates can search by area of study, and transitioning military can find civilian jobs to match military skills using military occupational specialty code.

Google Jobs does not offer a resume database. 

App: While Google for jobs is easily accessible from your mobile device, there isn’t a dedicated app.