Guerrilla Job Hunting

“Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters” breaks 1 million mark.

Yesterday Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters surpassed the 1 million mark.  Google revealed that a search for “Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters” returned 1,010,000 page references.

 

You may laugh, but I think it’s a big deal.  I can still remember when McDonald’s declared “more than a million served” – okay so I’m showing my age.   I know Lady Gaga and Bieber have a billion but it’s a start AND honestly what’s more popular GAGA or a book that tells you how to take control of your life and get a great job?  GAGA of course!

Of course the real test is what are the numbers for my mentor’s book?  Dick Bolles and What Color is Your Parachute is the reason I became a head-hunter.  After reading Richard’s book I created a self-help group with my friends and actually placed 23 of them before I naively thought I could do this for a living ... but that’s another story. 

So while Parachute remains the most popular seller on Amazon, clearly people are talking about the guerrilla books too [there are three editions now... I got that idea from Dick... I’m just not as prolific.] 

And Dick is ever the gentleman.  Here is the cover quote from the first edition of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters in 2005:

This is an immensely helpful book, with the ancient wisdom of recruiters, and the up-to-date insights of two skilled Internet surfers. If you're job-hunting, you’ll be grateful to learn the tips and tricks of these two seasoned veterans. I learned a lot myself."

-Richard N. Bolles, author, What Color Is Your Parachute?

We feel great that people are landing jobs faster because of the book.  Our Guerrilla Job Search methods have already passed the test in some of the toughest cities in America, like Detroit where one man landed a 6-figure job just 8 days after hearing us speak. Three others whom we tracked landed just 7 weeks later – 5 times faster than the national average of 38 weeks [9½ months]. 

Read that back – 5 times faster than the national average of 38 weeks.  Why should your family or friends have to look for a job for 9 months?  Imagine if everybody in America had this information.  How much faster would this recession be over! 

Here are a few highlights from the last 6 years:

• Kiplinger’s Best of 2010 Award: the first time a non-finance book was chosen.
• Commentary from the Jaded Hacks at the New York Post.  Praise from New Yorkers is great.  High praise from BRIAN MOORE is golden as he writes Jaded hacks with little remorse for the ordinary. 
• The Wall Street Journal TV interview with Sarah Needleman was what really lifted the book. 
• Fortune Magazine’s Cover Story didn't hurt though. What started as a request for a single coment for a 300 word piece evolved into the cover story for writer-reporter Jia Lynn Yang,
• Fortune’s #1 piece on Yahoo.
• Television interview on Tech Now.
• After a ‘frosty’ reception here’s what Heald College’s career coaches really thought of us in San Francisco.
• A 58 year old bank president’s story 6 offers in 6 weeks.
• This Guerrilla Job Search Boot Camper’s 42 cent solution
• 345 Amazon reviews.  No job search book has ever had as many 5 & 4 Star reviews.
• Even John Tesh likes us.  Who’d a thunk?.

And of course the guys who brought you the Starbucks coffee cup caper, the Trojan Thank You Note and Networking with the newly departed are the same guys who were the first to integrate Microsoft’s TAG technology tp ever-green the book.

 

The secret to finding a suitable job today lies in mastering the digital search environment used by employers.  A rapid transformation in hiring practices has gone unnoticed by those looking for work.

Every year, 50-million jobs are filled in the United States  --  almost all without a job posting  because employers can’t deal with the avalanche of resumes they get.  Today, employers are relying on a brand new digital suite of tools and tactics to find the handful of “most qualified” recruits that they want to interview.”

Taking control of your employment is especially important in today’s demographic because so many people are looking for new kinds of work  -  work that has meaning for them.  Our population is getting older  –  for the first time, there will be more people over 65 than under 5  -- and older people are more reflective: they want to know they are doing something meaningful.  Our book helps provide a catalyst for their productivity.

The nature of work is also changing, as people seek control.  A new business model for the 21^st century is arising.  Enjoyment-based motivation, namely how creative a person feels when working on the project, is the strongest and most pervasive drive for workers today. When you are in control of your work there is the pure joy of creating. 

As the economy moves toward more right-brain, conceptual work, the motivators need to change as well:  to those stressing self-satisfaction and self-motivation. More and more people are working to their own tune: 15 million people telecommute every day…a large part of the workforce beyond the gaze of a manager.  These kinds of jobs require confident self-driven control of employment.

 

In short,

“in a digital age, you master the digital stage.”

Get gueriila today with a FREE audio CD on social networking. 

 

ExecuNet = Success for Job Hunter

I do not endorse job search sites - however ExecuNet has always been the exception because of the results obtained by senior people who take the time and make the effort to engage with the site's features. 

There are tons of stories throughout Guerrilla Marketing - many of which came from successful job hunters who use ExecuNet.  Here's just one of them provided by Lauryn Franzoni, Execunet's Managing Director [and a real class act].  Now, in her own words.

"A methodical strategy paid off for this ExecuNet member who was very active in her local human resources groups. She contacted the national  headquarters for the names of local chapter presidents, and mounted a  campaign of contacting each one every two months. Her persistence paid off when she received an offer. "

Proving once again, that a direct line is often the shortest distance between two points

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Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters blog and download the free audio CD.

How to write a non-fiction book review on Amazon.

I have to admit this is an unusual post for me. It's not about you.  It's about me.  Or more precisely --- my book, "Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters".  Which, when I think about it is really about you and your job search.  

Quite a few people have asked me lately how to write a review for my book on Amazon, so today I'm going to walk you through the steps. 

The mechanics for posting a review are the same for ANY book you read on Amazon. 

As an author I'm telling you that there's nothing more gratifying than seeing a 5-Star book review on Amazon. Barnes and Noble or where ever.  It means I've connected and helped you. And that puts a huge smile on face!

So without further delay... here’s what Amazon readers are looking for in terms of information and commentary to help thme decide if a particular book suits their interests. ( i.e. will they actually read and get value from your recommended books).

 

How to write an amazon book review

• 1st a few suggestions on what to write to get you thinking
• 2nd understand the mechanics for writing a review

Suggestions on what to write in a non-fiction book review

Think about the person reading your review.   Take my last book for example; the person reflecting on your review is very likely:

• Looking for a job themselves;
• Looking for information for a friend or relative that’s in job hunting mode; and/or
• A career or guidance counselor who’s adding to their library of job hunting, resume writing and cover letter books.

The potential reader likely wants to discover a better way to write their resume, find job leads faster or network using social media tools like LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace.  Perhaps they need to know how to build a blog for job hunting, use Twitter, or discover what the best creative new ways to get in front of a hiring manager are – without being blocked by gatekeepers or getting stuck in human resources. 

In short, they’re seeking an edge. 

So with that in mind the first question you have to ask yourself is, "what where the “take-aways?” or the “Ah-Ha” moments in the book for you personally.  What did you learn?  What made you uncomfortable BUT you tried it anyway and were successful?  Next, would you recommend the book to your best friend if they were job hunting? 

Now, you just tell the reader.

Here are some possible ideas to start you off:

• Did you like the book?  --- I liked this book because... 
• Was it written in a style you liked?  --- I liked the way the author writes... 
• If it was highly technical were there examples?  Were they good examples?  Were there references or links to additional information? 
• Is the author credible?  Did they know the subject matter?  Did they bring anything new to the discussion or body of knowledge?

Example

For example, if you wanted to write a book review for "Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0", here are some questions which you might reflect on in order to help you write a review which will be meaningful to those people who will read the review: 

1. What was your personal situation?  Where you employed and looking?  Unemployed? How long had you been looking?
2. Did the ideas in the book accelerate your progress? 
3. Did the ideas help you get interviews?
4. Did you find a job? How quickly?
5. Think about the type of job you were looking for – which of the 1001 tips, tricks and tactics worked best for you? 
6. Did it force/challenge you to change old habits?
7. How did you apply the personal branding section?
8. Did your Guerrilla Resume get an employers attention?
9. Did you engage in eXtreme Networking activities, create a LinkedIn profile or start a blog?
10. Did the chapter on interviewing {Hand to Hand Combat} help prepare you?  How?
11. Was there a chapter/vignette/antidote that struck a chord with you?
12. What was your favorite part of the book or what was the most useful section for you?
13. Did the book spark your creativity and led you to develop fresh ideas on your own which lead to interviews?
14. How did the book affect you?
15. Were any previous ideas you had on the subject changed, abandoned, or reinforced due to this book?
16. How well has the book achieved its goal?
17. How did you originally hear about the book: friend, networking event, or counselor?
18. Did you like the author and contributing co-author’s styles?
19. Did you like the War Stories?  Anyone in particular? Why?

 

Another  suggestion

I suggest you write a first draft in your word processor and then when you’re comfortable with it, cut and paste it in to the text box [step 5 below] BUT mostly I suggest you write it from the heart and not just your logical mind. 

 

The mechanics for writing an amazon book review

To create a book review please follow these exact steps:

1. First and most importantly, you have to have bought the book and read it. Don't write a review for a book you haven’t read.  It does no good for anyone.
2. Find the book you want to review on Amazon and find the "Product Details" section.   This is the section that details how many pages the book has, who the publisher is and the average customer review.[For example - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters-  http://amzn.to/gJx2wa ]
3. Click on the "Write a review" link located right next to the "Average Customer Review" information.
4. Rate the book on a scale from 1 to 5 stars, with 1 being worst and 5 being best.
5. Enter a title for your review.  That could be an overall statement about how you felt about the book.
6. Enter the full text of your review in the provided text box There are no length requirements or restrictions.
7. NOTE: If you're a friend of the author say so.  If you received the book from the author to review it - say so.  People don't mind those types of reviews but you need to tell the reader or your review has no credibility OR worse someone buys the book and feels "had", which destroys the review process Amazon has set up. 
8. Certify that you are over the age of 13 (and thereby allowed to contribute a review) by checking the appropriate box.

That’s it.  If you followed these steps your review will appear within 24 hours on Amazon. 

David Perry

PS A lot of headhunters read Amazon reviews looking for possible candidates to recruit.  This is especially true for highly technical books that are written for a very focused audience for example in engineering, medicine or leadership.  Take advantage of that fact and also review books that will get you found by headhunters in your industry.

 

   

Press Kit: #12 of 50 Ways to Find a Job Today

People make all kinds of claims about their skills and abilities when in fact they’re not true, so it’s little wonder that employers are naturally skeptical. So if you have won awards, have been quoted in the news, or have any other type of “proof” that your accomplishments really do exist, then build a portfolio and send it with your cover letter and resume. I’ve done this myself many times, first as a job-hunter and than later as a head-hunter in search of projects. A picture is worth a thousand words and an article, reference letter, or thank you note from a client, is worth a thousand more. 

•  If you’re a student looking for your first real job, send a transcript of your marks. It probably doesn’t matter but it might, especially if you kept a high GPA and a part time job.
• Copies of articles and awards should be included
• Use Xeroxed copies; don’t send originals because you may never get them back
• In articles, highlight the part about you so they don’t need to search for it.
• Bring this with you to an interview as well because the individual items in the Press Kit make good talking points.

This is a perfectly logical idea and a natural extension of your resume.  For years architects and designers have been dragging around portfolios to sho prospective clients and employers.  Why not you?

Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for job hunters blog and download the free audio CD.

Send a letter stating you are over qualified : #6 of 50 ways to find a job

Send a letter stating you are over qualified.

Send your resume and a cover letter which states “It’ll appear obvious from my resume that I’m over-qualified for the job you advertised, so let me tell you why you should interview me and consider “super-sizing” your opportunity”.

Write a bulleted list of 3-5 benefits you think they might be interested in.

Close the letter saying something to the effect that “I am old enough to have already learned from my mistakes – so my experience is more cost effective than a more junior person. In a few months, or years, you’ll need to send them on training to upgrade their knowledge, whereas I come fully equipped to do the next job too.”

• Point out any certificates or advanced training which you already have that someone in that job might be expected to acquire.
• Show you are already qualified to do the next position too.
• Point out any retraining allowances or incentives employers might be eligible for if they hire a more seasoned person.

Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for job hunters blog and download the free audio CD.

Write a prospecting letter: # 5 of 47 Ways to Find a Job

Harness the power of direct mail. The first thing you need to do for a prospecting letter is compile your list. Find 5-10 companies you want to work for based on your research. Compose a letter to your network of contacts asking them if they know of anyone who works at any of the companies on your enclosed list.

When a contact does know someone at one of the companies ask him or her to forward your resume to them and let you know how to follow up on the referral. Enclose an eXtreme makeover resume or a functional one with 3-5 bulleted accomplishments that would be of interest to hiring managers at the companies you target.

• Send the letter to all your direct contacts first: lawyer, accountant, friends, colleagues, former employers.
• Send the list to your closest neighbors next and then people that you don’t necessarily know but you’ve always meant to stop by and introduce yourself to.
•  Attach a hand written note to your list and sign your name
• If you hit a dead-end find out who supplies the company with computer products, stationery or any other service and approach them the same way.
•  Don’t be surprised if someone calls one or two of your target companies and tells them you are doing research on them… that’s not a bad thing to have happen.

Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for job hunters blog and download the free audio CD.

“Do Yourself a Favor, Dump that Guerrilla Resume”

You Guerrilla doubters out there are going to appreciate this article because it is added proof that a Guerrilla Resume simply is not everyone’s favorite flavor; and that our methods are especially disliked by many so-called, process oriented job experts out there.     

One of our current  students (Mark G.) who is enrolled in the 10 week Guerrilla Job Seekers Boot Camp shared an interesting in the trenches story during last Friday’ job seekers conference call.    

Per one of his weekly assignments, Mark applied to a particular department, and to a specific person within a company that piqued his interest.  He used his Guerrilla cover letter and one page Guerrilla Resume in the “precise manner” that he learned in our boot camp. (The former is where I believe the overwhelming majority of “maybe want-to-be” Guerrilla job seekers fail. That is because they don’t follow our EXACT Guerrilla instructions and/or the job seeker puts together what they “think” is a Guerrilla cover letter and resume when in reality, it simply isn’t.)  

To continue Mark’s story, the hiring authority routed Mark’s resume to Human Resources (HR) and “directed” them (HR) to call Mark in for an interview.  Therefore, HR had no choice but to call Mark because HR does not have the authority to tell the boss –“no !”  

Here is where the story gets interesting…  

Upon arrival for the interview and following company protocol, Mark first sat with the HR Manager before meeting with members of the actual hiring team. According to Mark, after the HR person looks over his resume, that individual sits back and says, “You truly do yourself a disservice using a one page resume such as this.”  

Mark asks, “How so ?”  The HR professional responded by saying, “Well this is really nothing more than a dressed up functional resume that lacks sufficient detail. It’s not the way things are done.” 

Mark responded by saying, “The cover letter and the 1 page resume method I used was only intended for the sole purpose of an employer to sit-up, pay attention and want to talk with me.”   

The HR person then said, “But this resume leaves out particulars that we would like know before an interview takes place.”  Mark then said, “Well, my one page resume and the information I provided got me in the door for an interview, didn’t it ?”  

Purportedly the silence in the HR persons office was deafening regarding the matter and Mark was sent on his way to interview with the real decision makers !   

Did I say, “Do yourself a favor, dump that Guerrilla resume ? “  Sorry, I didn’t really mean that, but it got your attention didn’t it ?

Mark J. Haluska, Senior Certified Guerrilla Job Search Coach for North America

www.psychoape.com  

 

Starbucks Helping Job Hunters Find Jobs 65% Faster

How Starbucks can Help Job Hunters How to Find a Job 65% Faster

Mary Berman, from Farmington Hills, Michigan, had been looking for work for 5 months  before starting a “Guerrilla” job search.

Up to that point, 20 weeks of job hunting had produced zero job interviews.

Just 7 weeks later, she accepted a job on as a marketing executive assistant.

How did she use Guerrilla job hunting tactics to find work 65% faster?

“I saw a job advertised online and applied by mail. I sent a box with a paper Starbucks coffee cup, my cover letter, and resume inside. On the side of the cup, where it has boxes for the type of coffee, I made my own box that said, ‘Hire Mary’ and checked it with a black marker. I heard back a couple days later to get my first interview,” says Berman.

After her first job interview, which went well, Berman followed up with panache. “It was Halloween time, so I decided to send them a chocolate covered apple with my hand-written thank-you note in a bag. I had a friend of mine, who was off work that day, take it over and deliver it to [the employer]. That was a big hit — they were thrilled — and I got the second interview out of it.”

Berman’s second job interview was with the executive vice president. Afterwards, she followed up diligently. “When I came home, I wrote a 30-60-90 day plan. I had taken copious notes during the interview and used that information to create suggestions for what I would do in my first 30, 60, and 90 days. I sent that to them via FedEx with another thank-you note. And I got a job offer.”

Now. Let’s break this successful Guerrilla Job Search down …

1. Start smart. The Coffee Cup Caper — a paper Starbucks cup, full-color Guerrilla Resume, and a cover letter (asking to meet for coffee), shipped in a box — gets extraordinary results. By contrast, ordinary resumes and cover letters, sent by email, get ordinary results.

2. Follow up with style. Delivering a Halloween treat with her thank-you note was correct seasonally, if not politically. Use good judgment before sending items that might be perceived as bribes by employers sensitive to such things, such as universities or public-sector organizations.

In Berman’s case, however, it worked like a (chocolate-covered) charm.

And, leaving out the gift, think of the impact a hand-delivered thank-you note can have on an employer, versus standard U.S. Mail or email. Could you arrange to have your thank-you note delivered by a courier, or a friend acting as one? Of course.

3. Give employers another reason to hire you. Mary did this in spades after her second interview, when she sent a written plan of action that outlined her first three months on the job.

A 30-60-90 day plan is a way of proving you can do the work — before you’re even on the payroll — by describing how you would learn the job, build rapport with employees/customers, and contribute to the bottom line.

Mary’s plan was 8 pages long and took the better part of a Friday night to prepare. (Before you balk at spending an entire evening at home researching and writing a 30-60-90 day plan, ask yourself if you wouldn’t trade a night out for getting a steady paycheck again.)

4. Score style points with your delivery. Mary’s first follow-up, the chocolate-apple-thank-you note, was delivered by a courier, not by email. Her 30-60-90 day plan was delivered by FedEx, not by email.

 

Do you not see a pattern?

Email should NOT be the delivery method for your career documents. Because you can’t delete a courier, and a FedEx envelope can’t get caught in a spam filter.

Bottom line: This smart Guerrilla had failed to get even one job interview in 20 weeks of job hunting with conventional tactics.

After adopting unconventional Guerrilla tactics, she found work in only 7 weeks.

If Guerrilla job search methods can work in Michigan, where the unemployment rate tops 15%, they can work where you live.

The only thing stopping you from thinking and acting like a Guerrilla Job Hunter - is you.

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Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters blog {www.GM4JH.com] and download the free audio CD.

Would you like the opportunity to actually work with David Perry and I next week ?

Tomorrow July 8^th at 6 p.m. Eastern Time is the deadline to express your "genuine" interest.

It’s going to be an unforgettable summer for those fortunate enough to join he and I for the upcoming 10 week Guerrilla Job Seekers Boot Camp. 

Why?  

Because in this highly structured Guerrilla Job Seekers program, we are going to teach you unconventional tips, tricks and tactics that you WILL NOT find; even in the best-selling “Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters” series of books !  

Naturally the course will include countless strategies that we NEVER blog about herein or anywhere else for that matter.

Best of all---you will be getting your weekly lesson plans, our exclusive Guerrilla Job Seekers software  not available to anyone who is not in our class ---at any price, you’ll be joining us for small group sessions as well as “one-on-one” time with us (both) throughout the program.     

Participation is LIMITED in order to give those who enroll in our program the individual attention you will not only need--- but deserve, in this unprecedented lackluster job seeker market.

After some discussion, we came to the decision to extend enrollment until Friday, July 8^th at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. 

We cannot accept any further applicants for the upcoming 10 week session after this firm date and time because Day 0 of the course is Saturday July 9^th and you don’t want to fall behind !    

For questions and more information you can call me (Mark Haluska) directly at my office at 724-495-2733. Should your reach my voice mail, simply leave me a message and I will return your call as quickly as possible.

Mark J. Haluska

Senior Certified Guerrilla Job Search Coach for North America

p.s. If after the 10 week course, and provided you perform all of your Guerrilla assignments, if you not working by then, we will stick with you FREE of charge until you are working !!!

Job Hunt Depression? Here's How to Stay Motivated and Get a Job Faster

Rejection - it's a fact of life for most job hunters.  After a while it starts to grind on you.  I know it's hard not to take it personally because every rejection pushes validates your worthlessness - at least that's how one woman described here feelings to me last week.  "The silence from hiring mangers when you apply on-line is deafening," she said.  I know exactly what she means.   The lack of acknowledgment that you even exist eventually gets to most people.

As a head-hunter who's done quite well over the last 25 years, I've had a front row seat as friends and family had their "buttons pushed” — not once — but sometimes dozens of times each day.

BUT the cold hard truth is ... it doesn't have to be that way. 

If you want to find a job faster than the national average of 39 weeks, you need to do four things average people don't do - starting with taking responsibility for developing empowering yourself.

Action Step 1: Take Charge of Your Job-Hunt

Only you know your strengths and weaknesses. Only you know what you really enjoy doing. Only you know where you want to work and why. Only you know how you can help a prospective employer. Only you can articulate your interests and strengths in a cover letter and resume. Don’t let anyone else do your resume or your cover letter. You need to do it yourself. You can ask people to review it but it must come from you—even if you are receiving outplacement counseling. Come interview time, you need to mirror the person you have portrayed on paper or you will strike out. You will represent yourself better when you own every word on the page. You can look at at example resumes for inspiration but yours must be unique.

Action Step 2: Adopt a Tough Mind-Set

Surround yourself with positive people. Get rid of anyone who sympathizes with your plight and is eager to commiserate. You do not need sympathy. You need support, and there is a huge difference. Supportive, helpful, optimistic family, friends, and reputable professionals remind you of your strengths and give needed encouragement and feedback. Sympathizers zap your energy and ­self-esteem. Staying inspired requires the input of inspiring people, so find a trusted confidante who can help you polish your presentation, provide moral support, and strategize.

Action Step 3: Stay Focused

You need to feed your opportunity funnel in the same way that sales people feed their sales funnel: so many leads, so many calls, and so many interviews. Like a good salesperson, you need to track and record your efforts. You must keep a record to show yourself that you are making progress. If you can visually see progress, you will have an extra incentive to keep at it. If you’ve completed 10 calls today, then record it. If you have sent out a batch of networking letters, note that, too. I encourage my friends to chart their accomplishments on the wall as I do, because “seeing is believing.” Note how many interviews you’ve scheduled, calls you’ve made, call-backs you’ve noted, and research you’ve completed. It is critical to be able to view your “job-hunting funnel” to ensure you have adequate leads to provide a steady supply of interviews.  AND make certain your LinkedIn profile is working hard for you.

Action Step 4: Think Positive

As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” It is important for you to believe you’ll succeed. You must convince yourself through your own ­self-talk, that you are successful. Write out positive affirmations about your job-hunting skills such as the following:

          - “I interview well.”

          - “I come across with confidence in interviews.”

          - “I find the perfect positions that use and grow all my talents.”

Keep your statements in the present not the future tense. Read your list every day. Post it at eye level as a subliminal motivator. You can be your own worst enemy or your biggest fan. Give yourself credit for what you’ve completed and don’t beat yourself up over what you ­haven’t yet accomplished. Work at a steady pace with your end goal in mind. Your new job, and the burst of ­self-esteem that comes with it, will be worth all the effort.

Now you may be thinking that all of this sounds a little too simple to work.  And you would be 1/2 right.  It is simple BUT it also does work.  There is very powerful psychology behind it.  Imagine for a second how you would feel if you just won the lotto.  See how your body and mind just shifted?  How positive you suddenly felt?  Your brain is that powerful.  Use it to your advantage by dwelling on the positive.

The best news you may read all day...

is that on average - throughout the recession - 4 million Americans are hired every month and many millions of jobs go unfilled. 

You read that right!

How many jobs went unfilled in America last month?  Click this link to see how many jobs went unfilled last month and this link to see how many people were hired.  Surprised?  The biggest untold story in America is that the way employers hire has dramatically changed and if you're relying on job boards, newspapers and "traditional networking" you're missing out on 99% of the action.  That's the New Reality.

If you would like ideas on how to penetrate the hidden job market effectively today, grab a copy of this audio CD Job search Secrets Revealed.  It's free you can thank me later.

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David Perry, Rogue Recruiter and co-author of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0

 

Does “The Best” Resume Guarantee You an Interview ? (Part 2 of 3 Parts)

If you read Part 1 of this posting, you might be thinking, Mark you implied in Part 1 that more or less a high number of companies would want to interview me if I do a “Best Resume.”

Is that right ?

I would have to say, “Yes, that would be correct.”

As I stated in Part 1 of this article, your cover letter and resume “should “realistically net a 30% to 75% success rate in terms of being contacted by your targeted employers. Those percentages are based on the ranges that our Guerrilla Job Seeker clients have enjoyed to date, even in this recession !

As a practicing Executive Search Professional (aka Head Hunter), a Certified Guerrilla Job Search Coach and a contributing co-author of two best selling books on the subject both (published by Wiley) within the last 5 years, what I will say is that your cover letter and resume must pass the 15 – 20 second smell test or you’re toast.

Your cover letter must be concise and articulate your value to the point of making that potential employer slam on the on the breaks, come to a complete stop and really pay attention.

Likewise, your resume has to deliver a quick and hard one-two knockout punch. Your message has to hit them right between the eyes; because the clock will still be ticking on that 20 – 30 second smell test.

So, how would I define “the BASICS” of a “Best Resume” ?

Here are just 12 basic ideas to get you started.

As I stated in Part 1 of this article, your newly updated resume ought to be your 5th (fifth) priority when it comes to finding a new job. Now, aside from the usual punctuation, spelling and layout errors resumes are prone to have, here are some “BASIC and simple” Guerrilla rules: (Well they are not entirely trouble-free because it requires people to in fact think followed up by the execution of a well thought out game plan. )

1. Your cover letter must be aimed at the one person in the company who genuinely cares about filling the position. I say that because it just stands to reason that the job would not be open if the company did not have a dilemma on their hands in need of resolution.

2. The first thing the recipient at your target employer is going to read, if done properly, is your cover letter. If done as I suggested earlier in this article, this will at least get you on first base. Don’t believe all that blather that recruiters and employers “never” read cover letters. Many people WILL but only if the cover letter is personalized, intriguing, to the point, and begs for more.

3. Sign your cleverly created cover letter in light blue ink.

4. Add a post script at the end of the cover letter using a presumptive sales technique to close it out.

5. Your resume doesn’t necessarily have to be on top grade paper in most cases. Paper in the medium price range will do just fine as will the color of white.

6. Don’t use an ASCII (Plain Text) resume format unless you are expressly instructed to do so. ASCII resumes are first read by computers. To the human eye however appear and most often read like a Microsoft instruction manual. 

Due to time constrains I have to run for now. Let’s hook up in a day or two at the same place. I’ll outline the next 6 (six) additional points to consider relative to what constitutes a “Best Resume”  and also share with you an absolutley astonishing resume success story by a client of ours who did the exact things I am talking about and with astounding results.  

I hope you join me for Part 3 of this articleand in the meantime, have a Great Guerrilla Day !

In closing, if you or someone you know are looking for a new job, get one faster and would to like to learn more about authentic "Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters" training; don't be bashful, visit me at http://www.psychoape.com

Mark J. Haluska

The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting 2010: Day 1

{Hummed to the tune "The 12 Days of Xmas}

On the first day of Christmas - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 revealed to me - "A Plan with Clarity..."

Click HERE for FREE DVD that gets you hired - “New Job Search Secrets"

The best advice you'll ever receive is  start your job hunt with absolute clarity. All of the best job search advice in the world can be boiled down to three steps:

1. decide what job you want;
2. tell the right hiring authority about it;
3. prove to them you’re the one to hire.

Pretty simple summation of the facts.  Create a plan that is clear and detailed in every way --- then give it some panache!

If you want to get hired you have to get noticed.  You have to raise your voice above the crowd to be heard.  So when everyone else is doing more of the same - things that aren't working - you have to be more focused.  Your job search needs to be focused and very clear.

It must also be:

• Clever,
• Results driven,
• Marketing oriented,
• Inexpensive to execute,
• Realistic, and
• Achievable.

Clever - That’s because the most qualified job hunter is rarely the one who gets hired. The positions[s] invariably go to the person who does the best job at positioning themselves as the solution to an employer’s problem. Often the employer doesn’t realize they have a problem and it’s your job to bring that to their attention.

Results driven - You must measure your progress. You need to do this so that you’ll understand how close you are to achieving your goal and stay motivated and committed to your plan. Measuring requires tracking the metrics which drive you to your finish line. Here are a few of the dozens of proven tactics Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters shows you how to measure:

• How many out of the box activities have you deployed?
• How many you’re sending out,
• How many guerrilla networking activities you’re engaged in.

Marketing oriented - Because the market is geared toward those who effectively brand and market themselves as the ultimate commodity across multiple distribution channels. Winning the War for Talent requires you to become great at guerrilla marketing yourself. Looking for a job is a sales and marketing activity where you’re the product.

Inexpensive - In 1997, Tom Peters introduced the concept of “Brand U” in his book Re-Imagine! At the time, self-branding was an assertive marketing concept best reserved for high-flying techies and senior executives who wanted to maximize the financial returns of their biggest asset—their career. Today personal branding is a matter of survival. Here’s how Tom McAlister turned himself into a comic book hero and landed a job.

Realistic - Knowing what you want to do is great. Combining that with what you’re ‘qualified” to do is the secret. You may be pleasantly surprised at how your current skill-set maps to other industries. For a clear picture of what’s possible to do with your skill-set I suggest you visit America’s Career InfoNet. If you’re not qualified for what you want to do get moving and determine how you can become qualified. In my 20+ years of executive recruiting the biggest problem I’ve run into is that people aren’t realistic – especially job hunters who are unemployed. If this describes you - STOP!  You’re setting for disappointment if you apply for jobs you’re not qualified to do. Sometimes you may have to take a temporary step backwards to move forward in a new career BUT the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll hit your goal. If this even remotely applies to you then you need to make one New Years Resolution – and it’s to yourself – I will check out America’s Career InfoNet.

Achievable - Knowing the exact title and function of the future role you want gives you a realistic goal with no excuses. Get specific. The more detailed the better.

For example, I’ll bet you Vicky Vlachakis new exactly what she wanted to do and who she wanted to work for before she started her job search. When the opportunity came along to design the new two-seater convertibles for Saturn and Chrysler she recognized her chance to knock not one - but two home runs - out of the park!  You can be that focused too.

Nothing is more important to your success than a clear “picture” of your goal. If you can envision your dream job AND you’re qualified to do it then you can find it. With a specific goal in mind you can organize your job search and networking efforts with a laser like focus. Yes some people are lucky and fall into great jobs but luck [as Tom Peters says] is so unpredictable.

The dramatic changes we’re witnessing in the marketplace mean that the tried-and-true methods of finding a job will no longer suffice. Those old ways should remain a part of your plan, however by themselves they don’t provide the horsepower to get the heightened attention of employers.

Clarity of purpose is both energizing and enabling.

Click HERE for FREE DVD that gets you hired - “New Job Search Secrets Get You Hired”

Landed a six figure job in one week - Thanks to concepts in this book!

Landed a six figure job in one week - Thanks to concepts in this book!, September 26, 2009 By  William Mccausland Guerrilla Marketing for Job Huners 2.0 is a "must have" from those thinking of a career change or the hopelessly unemployed. Take it from me a white collar automotive professional living in the state with the highest unemployment, I found success in one week with the concepts in this book to land a higher paying position than the job that I was laid off from 90 days earlier. After reading and applying the ideas from other career changing self-help books, I was not making headway. This is the most up to date current resource to address the issues that are unique in today's economy. When there are 1,000 applicants for a single job, how do you position yourself to be one of the few to be selected for the interview? The answer is in this book regardless if you are looking for an entry-level position or your mid-career professional looking in the six-figures this is the resource for you. David Perry, author, goes one-step further and unlocks the secrets of how recruiters operate and how to land a job / career where there is no job posting. This is how I landed my job where I did not have to compete with others for consideration. This book explains, illustrates and demonstrates when everyone is zigging you need to be zagging. It is fun to read and real life examples of the principles in action. After you do land the interview with this book, it shows you how to handle the interview and negotiate the compensation. During my period of unemployment, there were so many people who attempted to take advantage of me with big $$$ commitments that make claims on getting you a job fast. All you need is this book, Guerrilla Marketing 2.0 for under $20.