Today’s job search rarely considers what a job-seeker should do beyond online job boards and submitted resumes and letters that are Word, PDFs or text files that are uploaded.

Has the “in the mail” application, resume and cover letter gone the way of the Pterodactyl?

The answer is mixed. On the one hand, sending a printed application, resume and cover letter via the U.S. mail may be an exercise of futility without some knowledge of the key decision-makers at the potential employer. Mailing to “CEO” or “Human Resources” isn’t likely to help. It’s impersonal, plus it may never get beyond the typical gatekeepers: the mailing room and/or the administrative assistants.

On the other hand, mailing an application may be the perfect way to make an introduction that gets you noticed beyond all the online applications being reviewed—and mostly deleted—by the recruiter, HR department or executive decision-maker. The key is to do the research before you put anything in the mail.

Getting started with a mail campaign starts with identify your target companies and organizations. Where are you seeking employment, what companies, where are they located? How do you “get in”?

In Part One of “‘Getting In’ via the U.S. Mail in an Online World,” we address two important steps for starting, Research & Preparation.

RESEARCH

Know your targets. Figure out the companies, their products and services and who are the executives—decision-makers—at the organization. If possible, find out who handles hiring. Use the plethora of online sources. Simple Google searches and Google news searches tell you a lot. Use Google Alerts to monitor the company, executives, products and services.

Other sites—Hoovers and Lexis-Nexis—provide corporate information as well, even executive name listings. These do charge for downloads. Many cities have weekly business journals that produce an annual Book of Lists. Review these lists for companies. If a company is publicly held, visit Yahoo! Finance, type in their stock symbol and read all about the company. You can even download their public documents, many of which list all executives and titles. With your targets in sight, you can now prepare for the search.

Prepare. There are all types of advice regarding cover letters, resumes and applications, what to include, how to format, what to say/not say, and so forth. In general, be professional, be honest and share what you seek, and why they should hire you. Have a cover letter and a resume—and a job application (optional). Make sure you choose a top-quality paper type and color, and make sure the paper and envelopes match—or maybe not! Sometimes you can make your envelope stand out by mailing in a red, green or blue envelope. In a big stack of mail, it really stands out. Give it a try on a few, see if it helps. Never print on cheap copy paper or use 12 colors or fonts. Just keep it simple. And professional. And above all things, keep your job search managed and organized.

Lastly, make sure that your copies or printed resumes and cover letters are produced without ink spots, blotches or lines. Fill up that inkjet printer so the printing is crisp and dark.

In Part 2, we share “Getting In”— Connection and Launch.