Simone Oliver is no stranger to the practice of cold calling. In fact, she's something of an artist when it comes to shooting off emails sans prior context, introducing herself to folks she admires, or sliding into various DMs. "I've noticed that young employees tend to have a lot of anxiety around hitting people up out of the blue," she says. "And I usually tell them to just do it — but do it with intention." And as R29's Global Editor-In-Chief, her career advice is certainly worth heeding.
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But what, exactly, does "with intention" mean? Well, according to Oliver, it requires a little more care than a quick, quippy email asking for a phone call or an informational interview. Instead, she says cold calling (or emailing or DMing) is about specificity: Know what you want, and ask for it. Be clear about why you admire the recipient of your message. Come to your phone call with three things you're hoping to work through. And perhaps most importantly, keep in touch afterwards — not just when you need something. Reach out when a contact of yours gets a new job or shares a new project. Reach out when you want to share a project of your own. Let that relationship become larger than a transactional back-and-forth.
Landing your dream job isn't all about networking, though. It's about pushing the envelope, too. In fact, years ago, when Oliver worked on staff at the New York Times, she urged the paper to create its first Instagram account. She was met with plenty of hesitancy from her higher-ups, being that the platform wouldn't directly encourage users to subscribe to the paper. But she was steadfast: "If we were going to be talking to the next generation, it was really important that we meet them where they were," she says. "So I started [the account]."
At the time, she was terrified of losing her job as a result. But now, that very Instagram account is a central part of her story, and her career journey writ large. And it's one she takes pride in. "You can't let fear stop you from doing what you need to do," she says.
Watch the video above for more advice from Oliver on securing the job of your dreams, overcoming insecurity, and fighting for what you need in the workplace.