A job posting is a public sign that a company has a problem and money set aside to fix it. If you are a freelancer or small agency, the postings that matter are the ones for the work you do: a company hiring a marketing manager may want a fractional one, a company hiring a bookkeeper may be drowning in a backlog, and a company that has posted the same developer role for three months may take a contractor now. This page shows how to read a posting, who to write to, and what to say.

Where to look

Search the big job boards for your trade, not your title. A video editor searches "video editor" and "social media video", filters to remote or to their region, and sorts by newest. Company career pages are even better because they show roles that never reach a board. Write down every posting that fits in a sheet with the company, the role, the date, the link and the name of the person who will probably manage the hire. A posting's age matters: a role that has been open 45 days or more is a company that is struggling to hire.

Sort postings into three kinds

  1. The stretched team. A full time role for work that comes in waves, such as proposals, design or reporting. These companies often prefer a contractor to a hire.
  2. The first hire. A small company hiring the first person in a function. They do not yet know what the job is, which is where a short project helps.
  3. The stale posting. A role open for six weeks or more, or reposted. Someone is under pressure and the ask is simple: help until the hire arrives.

Find the right person

Do not write to the recruiter. The person who owns the problem is usually the manager of the role, often the head of the department or the founder in a small company. Look at the company's team page and LinkedIn for a title like "Head of Marketing" or "Operations Manager". You can also use Rocketship's free Chrome extension to add the right person from a company's website. If you cannot find a name, write to the role, not a guess: see how to find a business owner's email address.

Email 1: the stretched team

Subject: Proposal help while you hire

Hi Dana, I saw the proposal writer role on your careers page. I write proposals for engineering firms on a project basis, usually 3 to 5 a month. If you need coverage while you hire, or want a few done as a test of how the role should work, I can start next week. Two samples from firms your size are here: link.

Ravi Shah, ravi@shahproposals.example
1840 Lamar St, Houston, TX 77003. Reply "stop" and I won't write again.

Email 2: the first hire

Subject: Before you hire a marketing lead

Hi Colm, I noticed you are hiring your first marketing manager. Companies at your stage often find the job description is wrong by month two. I can run a four week project: audit what is working, write the plan and set up the first two campaigns, so the new hire starts with something real. Fixed fee, and I will hand over everything.

Worth a 15 minute call?

Ravi Shah, ravi@shahproposals.example
1840 Lamar St, Houston, TX 77003. Reply "stop" and I won't write again.

Email 3: the stale posting

Keep it shorter still. "Your analyst role has been open since September. I can take the weekly reporting off your list from Monday, and stop the day your hire starts. Want the rate?" Then give the rate. A clear end date lowers the risk for them, and a hiring manager who has been interviewing for six weeks usually appreciates it.

Rules that keep it honest

  • Say you saw the posting. Never pretend you came across them by accident.
  • Do not apply to the job and pitch a contract in the same message. Write separately.
  • Commercial email in the US needs a real name, a mailing address and a working opt-out under CAN-SPAM, and you have 10 business days to honor a request.
  • If a posting asks for applications only through a form, respect that and write to the manager instead.

A sensible weekly routine

Twice a week, spend 30 minutes: scan new postings, add the good ones to the sheet, send up to ten emails, and follow up on last week's batch once. Track replies by posting type. After a month you will know which of the three works for you. The same idea of reading a public sign shows up in what intent data is, and how to reactivate old leads covers what to do with the ones that do not answer.

Rocketship does the finding and sending part: describe the companies you want, see the first people by name, and it emails them from your Gmail, follows up and books the call. Start the 7-day trial, card required.