If you attend a church, mosque, temple or other house of worship, seek out the leader of your congregation for networking assistance.
They’re a great resource for networking because:
it’s their job to help you,
they may know many leaders in your community by name and be only a phone call or two away from almost anyone else you want to meet; and
the advice and suggestions of religious leaders carry special weight with many people in the community, so a recommendation from the head of your congregation can be especially valuable!
It’s a good idea to ask the magic question of your religious leader: “Given my experience and the value I can offer an employer, who do you know that I should be talking to?”
But you can take your networking a couple of steps further.
For instance, ask your clergy leader to write you a letter of introduction. Ask them this question: “If a business leader walked into the room, would you have a problem introducing me based on what you know about me?”
They’ll probably say that wouldn’t be a problem. So you can say: “Since I’m not a sales person – I’m a people person – could I jot down a letter of introduction on church stationery and show it to you for your approval and signature?”
Again, they’ll probably agree with you, especially since you’re saving them the time of writing that letter.
So, sit down and write a letter from our pastor that introduces you as a problem solver and suggests that it would be good for the reader to meet you. Get your pastor’s signature, along with as many names of potential employers and community leaders in your congregation as possible
Make copies, then mail those letters to your new networking contacts.
Wait a couple of days, then call the recipients of your introductory letter and ask if they have been contacted by the pastor/rabbi/iman/guru. Use a script like this when you call: “I asked Father Flanagan about who the top leaders in town were and your name came up. I was sharing with him some things I can bring to the table as a problem solver in your industry and I’d like a 20-minute meeting with you to show you what I showed him. Which would work better for you, this Wed. or Thur. afternoon?”
Thanks to Bob Donovan for this tip! He helps people find the right career for themselves. Author of widely acclaimed "What Ever Happened to Dick and Jane?" and developer of PDA software that helps people communicate more effectively, Bob is responsible for attracting more than 10,000 people to career opportunities. Find Bob at www.mrznet.com and www.zprofiler.com
Action Step: Your religious leader (or spiritual confidant, psychiatrist, whatever) is in the business of helping people. Why not tap into their desire to help, not to mention their network of contacts in the community, and enlist them in your job search?
If your network is smaller than you'd like, think of it as a yeast cell, with the power to expand from its tiny origin until it produces something wonderful. In this case, a new job!
Tell everyone you know that you're looking for a job. Call or e-mail every single person in your address book. Now, here's the magic question -- at the end of every conversation, ask:
“Who else do you know that I should be talking to?”
This is how you expand your network by leaps and bounds! If everyone you talk to gives you two more names, and those people give you two more names, your network will explode like crabgrass in July -- try it and see.
Eventually, someone should be able to put you in touch with a decision maker who can hire you.
Even former employers can help. If you parted on good terms with your last boss, he or she might be able to refer you to hiring managers in other companies.
Action Step: Stop thinking that your network is only as large as the people you know. It’s not. It’s FAR bigger and more valuable. When you ask: “Who else do you know that I should be talking to?” the sky is literally the limit – you could be only one or two phone calls away from talking to the CEO of General Mills, the owner of your dream company down the road … or Kevin Bacon. But you’ll never know unless you ask.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – networking is how 70-80% of the best jobs are filled. But in today’s economy, don’t expect a plum position to fall in your lap. You must network smartly and more creatively. “Try calling on vendors and suppliers who know of companies that might be hiring. These include your local banker, CPA, lawyer and real estate agent. These people all have a great deal of knowledge,” says Bob Picha, founder of San-Diego-based Ideas At Work, a company dedicated to the release of human potential in individuals and organizations. When you call or meet networking contacts, ask for names of growing companies who could use someone with your experience. Ask for a contact person at the target employer(s), but avoid the HR department, since they often act as gatekeepers and may shun you. Action Step: Call people who may owe you a favor for past business you’ve done with them. This makes them more likely to assist by helping you find companies that are hiring.
You already know that most of the best jobs are found through word of mouth, right? Co-workers, friends and acquaintances sharing information -- this is how 70-80% of all people get hired, according to many estimates.
I’ve regularly written here about how networking can help you gain access to this “hidden” job market and meet decision makers who can hire you.
But today I want to share a nifty twist on networking that worked during the last recession, and can give your job search a boost in this economy, too.
This week’s job search tip, from Faith Rothberg, Vice President for Strategic Development at CollegeRecruiter.com (www.collegerecruiter.com), will help anyone who went to college.
Kevin: “Let’s jump right in. What’s the networking ‘twist’ that worked so well for you and how can it help others find a job right now?”
Faith: “In a nutshell, I called the career office at the University of Michigan, where I got my MBA, and asked them for a list of Business School alumni here in Minnesota that I could contact for advice on getting a job. I made some phone calls, did a few interviews and got hired by a prominent bank in Minneapolis. And I did this during the last recession, in 1991, when there were threats of war, just like now.”
Kevin: “So, you networked your way to a new job by calling people you already had an affinity with -- they went to the same school as you. That must have made it easy to start a conversation, right? You already had something in common.”
Faith: “Yes. One week after I called my career office for help, a list of about 20 names arrived in the mail. I started calling them during my lunch hour or before work.”
Kevin: “What did you ask them and what happened?”
Faith: “I asked, ‘Can I meet you for coffee and a quick informational interview?’ I ended up with about two in-person interviews and three other people gave me names to call at other companies.”
Kevin: “Describe the informational interviews. What did you do?”
Faith: “I asked questions about their jobs and engaged them on why they liked what they did. I tried to let them talk about themselves, which puts anyone at east. Then I handed them my resume and asked, ‘Where would a person like me fit into your organization?’”
Kevin: “How long did it take to find a job?”
Faith: “About 90 days. I kept calling new names as I got them, saying, ‘So-and-so suggested I call you for an informational interview.’ Sometimes I was more direct and said, ‘I heard about your opening for a ____ from my interview with so-and-so and I’d like to discuss your needs. When can I come and see you?’”
Kevin: “What’s your final bit of advice to job hunters in this economy?”
Faith: “Talk to anybody you know. Friends, family, friends of friends -- anyone who will let you use their name when contacting companies you want to work for. Because you never know -- it could be your friend’s dad who makes the hiring decision.”
Action Step: No matter how long ago you graduated, put your college career office to work for you. When you network with other alumni, you instantly have something in common, which builds rapport and can smooth the way toward finding a decision maker who can hire you!
Did you know there’s an army of volunteers -- 62,500 people strong -- sitting right under your nose, waiting to send you job leads?
It’s true.
Now. do you think you MIGHT get an interview or two every week if you had 62,500 pairs of eyes and ears on the lookout for job openings?
Well, you do! Because, according to most research, the average person is acquainted with about 250 other people. And those 250 people know 250 more. Multiply the two and you get 62,500 people, enough to fill Ross-Ade Stadium at the University of Purdue.
This huge figure is the true value of your network. Because it’s not just who YOU know, it’s who THEY know. That’s what counts.
So right now -- today -- please do these 3 things.
Step 1) Write down the name of every single person you know, from friends and family to casual acquaintances. That includes your CPA, attorney, hair stylist, manicurist, pastor, dentist, banker, real estate agent, neighbors and pastor, to name just a few.
Put special emphasis on listing affluent people (most wealthy people own their own business or know someone who does) and centers of influence (local leaders who know the movers in shakers in town, like pastors, superstar real estate agents and attorneys).
Don’t stop writing until you have at least 250 names.
Step 2) Contact 10 people a day for the next 25 days and say these words when you call or write: “I’m looking for a position where I can help a ___ company with my expertise in ____. Who do you know that I should be talking to?” Try to get at least 3 names from each person.
Be sure to thank your contacts for every name they give you. Then, ask each contact to please pass your name and number on to anyone they think of later whom you might be able to help.
(Notice, you’re not begging for a job here. You’re offering to help a company with your expertise. Big difference. And it gives you the enthusiasm that encourages others to respond.)
Step 3) Pick up the phone, call each potential job lead and follow this script: “My friend, Joe Jones, in Chicago told me to give you a call. I’m a manufacturing manager in Minneapolis and Joe said you would know who to talk to for advice. For the past ___ years I’ve specialized in ____ and I’m looking for a company that needs to get the most out of its ____. Who do you know that I should be talking to?”
If that person can’t help you directly, he or she should give you the name of someone who can.
Use of a script is important, since you can practice until it flows naturally. And be sure to stand up when you make your phone calls -- this gives your voice an extra dose of vitality, a definite plus.
Action Step: It’s not who YOU know, but who THEY know – that’s what you should focus on. Doing so will help you tap into the HUGE power of your network, right now.
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!
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.
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,
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 21st 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.
One client, Jeff R. from Prior Lake, Minnesota, hit pay dirt in February by networking among contacts most people would never consider calling. He contacted potential employers from his LAST job search – companies he had interviewed with but not accepted job offers from.
"I emailed a manager I had interviewed with two years ago, before my latest job. He had moved to a different part of the company, but he referred me to the right decision maker. That new person interviewed me and offered me a job," says Jeff.
Action Step: Don't forget to look both ways when you network -- forward and back, all the way back to your college career office and internships, no matter how long ago you graduated.
And … don’t stop with your last job search. Ask your spouse/significant other, friends, family, neighbors if they have contacts from their last job search you could talk to. You’re sure to find something. But you have to ask!
I was reminded the other day of a comment I made at a speech I delivered following the Tech-Wreck crash in 2000, "the key to networking is to find people you can network with." Fortunately, for those of us who are terminally shy the Internet has made it possible to network from our computer keyboard and avoid those awkward mixers most people associate with networking events. There are many of online networking sites now to facilitate networking. All of the sites are based on the “six degrees of separation” principle which recognizes the actor Kevin Bacon as the center of humanity. Each site has slight variations on how you build and grow your network. The following are the leading sites for job hunters who want to e-network their way to success.
Linkedin.com From a head-hunter’s standpoint, LinkedIn has it all. From a job-hunter’s standpoint LinkedIn represents an opportunity of a lifetime to establish a powerful network of influential colleagues and friends, Linkedin.com {www.linkedin.com} is my favorite. You can open a linked in account for free. It works by first requiring you to set up your on-line profile and then invite your friends to join your network. After people join they ask their friends and colleagues to join. For job-hunters this is a treasure trove of leads. For recruiters it's one of the 1st places we all start searches. Like ZoomInfo, if you can't be found on LinkedIn
you probably don't exist ... or at least you've got an up hill battle trying to be recognized.
Classmates - The grand daddy online community-based networking is Classmates. Using Classmates is closer to traditional networking because it’s based on your alumni. At Classmates you can join a network of people you went to school with [high school, college or university] as well as military, industry or company alumni. The challenge with using it to source contacts is that you need to search by state. On the other hand if you want to reach out to people you went to school with to reconnect then Classmates is the way to go.
Here are two other online networking sites which all have unique benefits too numerous to mention here. You should choose at least two on-line networking sites and be as aggressive [staying within the rules of the site] and as creative with it as you can.
Ryze – is a classic. Easy to use and robust. It’s for connecting online and in person because it likely has a real life networking component in your town. The best of both worlds really.
Spoke - great tool for connecting with the Fortune 1000 in particular and sales people of all types. Sales people by-the-way are great resources for job hunters – they’re natural helpful and often talkative. They boast over 30 million people and 900,000 companies.
Your network will grow as quickly as you can recruit members who can then recruit other members. Your ability to eNetwork your way to a new job grows exponentially as your network develops. For all the latest on social networking you should follow what else? The Social Networking Web Log.- which just happens to be loaded with insider tips on reaching inside the companies you want.
EventsEye - has many thousands of events listed now and in the future, searchable by name, country, theme, date and keyword
ExpoWeb - is the portal/trade association for conference/expo organizers, and articles like this will give you tips on what organizers seek for conference content
ConferenceGuru - lists a smorgasbord of industry events, and offers discount registration to attend them
You can find professional associations in places like: IPL's Associations on the Net
2) On Gautam Ghosh's Job Hunting - Considered India? , I fear that US job-seekers are going to be in for more than culture shock in applying for jobs there. You think your compensation will remain level or rise, and the cost of living will be cheap, so your savings will skyrocket during your tenure. Not likely, because most companies pay local rates. An engineer making around $60K in the US gets under $6K in India . According to a recent article in eWeek , the wage inflation for IT jobs in India is rapid (3x the rate of U.S. compensation rise) but it won't be until 2032 that the rates equalize.
China is likely to become the next offshore powerhouse from a comp perspective, but Frank Mulligan deftly explained why landing a job there is no easy feat. However, other factors are pushing many companies to outsource to Russia so maybe that's worth another look.
3) And finally, regarding David's Retiring Baby Boomers and job hunting I don't think the key jobs question is to figure out which jobs won't be offshored as the baby boomers retire yet the US economy continues growing. Even if you could get the seniors retrained, give them flex schedules, and/or let them consult at their old companies, that's not how most of the domestic jobs-reshuffling is going to be settled. The key is to figure out what new twists on current businesses will need to emerge in order to serve an economy with that demographic mix. Elder care, real estate and recruiting are just a few of many industries that will undergo enormous upheaval. The winners will be entrepreneurs who stake a claim in that space by testing models today with niche markets where the demographic shift is already demonstrating pain points. By starting pilot programs now to see what works and optimizing them, they'll be in a position to profit handsomely as the demographic trend goes full force in the years to come. And the rest of us can work for them without moving overseas!
Glenn Gutmacher is a Recruiting Researcher for Microsoft Corporation and creator of Recruiting-Online.com one of the world's first online sourcing courses in 1997. His blog was voted the #2 recruiting research blog for 2005 in Recruiting.com's annual competition, which answers Internet sourcing questions submitted by real recruiters and researchers. Visit Glenn's blog to read the Q&A or submit your question for possible inclusion.
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:
What was your personal situation? Where you employed and looking? Unemployed? How long had you been looking?
Did the ideas in the book accelerate your progress?
Did the ideas help you get interviews?
Did you find a job? How quickly?
Think about the type of job you were looking for – which of the 1001 tips, tricks and tactics worked best for you?
Did it force/challenge you to change old habits?
How did you apply the personal branding section?
Did your Guerrilla Resume get an employers attention?
Did you engage in eXtreme Networking activities, create a LinkedIn profile or start a blog?
Did the chapter on interviewing {Hand to Hand Combat} help prepare you? How?
Was there a chapter/vignette/antidote that struck a chord with you?
What was your favorite part of the book or what was the most useful section for you?
Did the book spark your creativity and led you to develop fresh ideas on your own which lead to interviews?
How did the book affect you?
Were any previous ideas you had on the subject changed, abandoned, or reinforced due to this book?
How well has the book achieved its goal?
How did you originally hear about the book: friend, networking event, or counselor?
Did you like the author and contributing co-author’s styles?
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:
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.
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 ]
Click on the "Write a review" link located right next to the "Average Customer Review" information.
Rate the book on a scale from 1 to 5 stars, with 1 being worst and 5 being best.
Enter a title for your review. That could be an overall statement about how you felt about the book.
Enter the full text of your review in the provided text box There are no length requirements or restrictions.
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.
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.
If you want to increase the pull of your direct mail campaigns then consider putting together matching letterheadand envelopes that have your picture on them. I use the head and shoulders shot below with quotes from clients to increase my mass mailings. You can do the same thing. I recommend you do this with your second and third tier prospects because the direct one-on-oneapproach will work better. This is a great idea for marketing and sales people who want to change industry and need to generate a large quantity of leads quickly.
Use a good quality head shot.
To save money ask a friend to use their digital camera. Make sure it’s set on the highest quality. You’ll need a 400 dpi resolution jpeg to ensure a crisp picture.
Wear a good suit and tie.
Take off your glasses so the flash doesn’t reflect off them.
Use a light background behind you and wear dark clothes.
Make certain you wear a contrasting color shirt. For example white with a blue suit, so you can be seen clearly when the picture is shrunken to one square inch and printed in black & white or gray tones.
It’s a statistical fact that if you hand-address the envelopes more people will open them.
HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT—HOW TO NETWORK LIKE A HEADHUNTER Headhunters network every day out of pure necessity. More often than not, they will have an assignment for “X,” whatever “X” may be today, even when they’ve never recruited an “X” before. That doesn’t stop them from completing the mission. Instead, there are tried-and true methods for locating, identifying, and recruiting candidates.
The following four steps show you how to do that for yourself.
Step 1: Locate Your Target Companies Determine which companies you want to work for, how you can add value, and why they should hire you.
Step 2: Identify Who Runs the Department Find out who is in charge of the area you want to work in. This generally means identifying a vice president or general manager. For companies with less than 50 people, it may mean the owner or president. You can get this information by calling the company and asking, “Who’s responsible for X” or by looking on the firm’s web site to find the person in that position. Several methods for doing this are outlined in Chapter 5.
“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.
5 Free ways to ensure you’re on every employers’ radar
Despite signs of a strengthening economy, the tried-and-true methods of finding a job will no longer suffice.
Becoming a guerrilla job-hunter and making yourself easy-to-find is the best way to consistently move your career forward. The market is geared toward those who effectively brand and market themselves as the ultimate commodity across multiple distribution channels. AND it won’t cost you a cent. As Charles Darwin said, “It’s not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent, that survive; it’s the one most responsive to change.”
Serious job hunters should make the following 5 resolutions for 2011. I will:
Package my experience to astound employers [FREE]
Quantify my accomplishments in $$$ and ### and %%% on my resume [FREE]
Become easy to find and manage my on-line profile through ZoomInfo.com [FREE]
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The average “career book” looks at life from the job-hunters point of view - which of course is wrong. If you want to get a rewarding job you need to look at the process from the employer's perspective. Why should they hire you? What's in it for them? What can you bring to the table as an employee that will improve shareholder value? Give this serious thought.
Grant Turck takes time out to talk to me about how he launched a targeted Facebook campaign at the Public relations firms he wanted to work at. Grant explains how he did it. What it costs and the results. He also has advice for others considering doing the same thing.
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT of the VIDEO
David Perry: How do I find you on Facebook, because that is what we’re here to talk about today?
Grant Turck: On Facebook you can search for me in the Search box under Grant Turck and I should pop right up.
David: I wanted to talk to you today, Grant, about what you did specifically on Facebook because you just graduated from Pepperdine University in Public Relations, right?
Grant: Correct.
David: You’re looking for a PR job in Hollywood, here in Los Angeles. Tell me, why did you use Facebook, how did this come about, what have the results been?
Grant: The first thing I did is I picked up a copy of your book, which I found out about one day when I was watching NBC News and they had some recruitment guy {The Recruiting Animal} on there talking about what you should do and he said, “The number one thing you should do is pick up this book-“
David: I’ll have to find that tape! [Laughter]
Grant: “-by David Perry and Jay Conrad Levinson called Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0.” I picked that book up and read through it and was looking for good ideas and one of the ideas in there was talking about Facebook advertising. It talked about how despite our recommendation to do Facebook advertising and how powerful it is at making one stand out, the percentage of people that will actually take us up on what we say is very, very, very, very miniscule. I said, “What the heck. I’ll try this. They say it’s not going to cost much and it’s very easy.” So I did. I took you guys up on what you said in your book and it’s turned out great.
David: How did it work out? Did you get interviews out of it?
Grant: The greatest thing I got out of it was exposure and publicity for myself, which is the number one thing, and not just in Los Angeles or Hollywood but in this world at large in this job market is to make myself stand out from the crowd, so with Facebook advertising, if you target your ads specifically to those people that you want to reach directly in a very, kind of creative manner that not many people seem to take advantage of.
David: Everybody wants to know what are the results? Did you actually get any interviews?
Grant: Yeah, I’ve actually had, in the past four or five weeks, about one interview a week.
David: Okay. Have you gotten any offers, or are they ongoing conversations?
Grant: Several ongoing conversations and I’ve had one offer.
David: Obviously you didn’t take it because we’re sitting here talking, right?
Grant: Yes.
David: That’s an assumption. So with the Facebook targeting, is there anything else you’re doing in conjunction, or is there anything else you think you should be doing, or somebody else that is watching should be doing in conjunction with Facebook?
Grant: Yeah, definitely. There is always more one can do in the self promotion game. I think that is the key to getting a job these days. You have to self-promote yourself because if you’re not self-promoting yourself nobody else is going to.
I’m finally getting my blog started, so I just have my blog up and it’s going to be TurckishDelights.com.
David: Turckish Delights?
Grant: Yes, playing off of my last name and the unique branding of Turckish Delights.
David: That’s cool.
Grant: I’m going to start doing a blog. I do Twitter. I do LinkedIn.
David: Where do you get the most amounts of hits? I know you’re on LinkedIn. Where are you getting the biggest bang for your buck? Is it with Facebook? With Twitter? Is it with LinkedIn?
Grant: I think with Facebook, I think it really has all come about the entire nexus. I’ve recommended people to be on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, I would say those are the top three to invest time into doing each one of those in conjunction with one another as being the most important.
David: How much time is that typically taking out of your day?
Grant: To maintain it I would say anywhere from two to three hours.
David: Okay, that’s just two to three hours casually, or two to three hours working at pushing it to the next level?
Grant: I would say two to three hours casually, maybe like one hour hardcore direct focus.
David: The Facebook interviews that you got, they were target companies?
Grant: Yeah.
David: And how did they come about? I mean, who did you target? How did they find you? What unfolded?
Grant: I’ve done several different types of ads on Facebook. I’ve done ones that have just been focused on the keyword “public relations” in Canada and the United States. I put focused on specific companies within public relations, sometimes I was running maybe 20 different ads with all basically the same relative body copy within the ad but the headline was different. So it would say “I want to work at Bite.” “I want to work at GH” for Golin Harris, or “I want to work at _____” and then just target those specific company names within the targeting. With Facebook advertising you don’t have to worry that somebody from Golin Harris is going to see your ad that you’re running the same time for Bite Communications because-
David: Oh, I didn’t know that.
Grant: -if you don’t have that you worked at Bite Communications in your résumé and you’re now working at the other company, you’re never going to see the ad.
David: So what these people, Bite is one that you talked about, what happened at Bite? Who did you connect with and how did that interview come about?
Grant: That interview came about from a senior account executive at the company who saw the ad and wrote me an e-mail directly and actually said to me that he had never responded to an Internet ad ever before but saw my ad, was kind of uniquely intrigued by it and wanted to reach out to me and that it seemed like I had some great qualifications that could be a great fit for Bite and I should look at their Web site. If I was interested I should e-mail their HR person, and they gave me the HR person’s e-mail address and he said I could then say that he had referred me to the HR person. I took a look at their Web site, it seemed like a great place to work, it was in San Francisco, so I emailed the HR person who then scheduled a phone interview which took place about a week, week-and-a-half later, and then about two weeks later I went out for a physical in-person interview where I interviewed with four different people within the company.
David: Then you got an offer that you ended up not taking.
Grant: Right.
David: So you went in at the HR level and the senior executive level, and we talk in the book specifically about entering, going in at the level of your boss’s boss. Is that the level you went in at?
Grant: With Bite Communications I would say probably so because I went in, the senior guy was the person who reached out to me and directed me to the HR person, and the interviews I landed I interviewed with the account manager with the team I would be working on, the senior account executive, the account executive, and then the HR person again, so I think I did go in at that higher level.
David: Okay. Now, do you have a top ten list as we talk about this in the book? Do you have a top ten list?
Grant: I don’t know if I have a top ten, like a full top ten list? I would say I have a top five list.
David: Are they all here in LA?
Grant: Yes.
David: Looking at the camera, who do you want to work for?
Grant: I want to work for Golin Harris; Rogers & Cowan; Bragman, Nyman, Cafarelli; Solters & Digney; or Warner Brothers.
David: Why those companies because you’re involved in other things. I mean you graduated from Pepperdine University with a degree in Public Relations, but you have other things that you work on that are really interesting. How can those programs you’re working on, the movies you’re working on, the books you’ve optioned…what was that one, The Secrets of…that you optioned for $20?
Grant: How to Succeed with Women Without Really Trying by Sheperd Mead, which is a book written in 1957. I’m pursuing that as a movie right now and we’ve just attached some great comedy writers, Dax Shelby and Robert Stevens. They’re a writing team so we’re currently going out next week to actors and talk with some people, Robert Downey, Jr., Matthew McConaughey, and folks like that to attach one of those names with the pitch that these guys come up with because the book is non-narrative, non-fiction and the plan is to take that pitch with the actor and take back to the studios for financing to have it written and developed and turned into a motion picture.
David: What is your involvement once it becomes an actual, what is it called, a product or…?
Grant: Once it gets put into active development and pre-production, which is basically my involvement, I’m a producer, I’ll be credited as a producer on the project, but when it comes down to the physical production that will be basically left up to another producer that does the physical line producing and on the set type stuff.
David: Once that happens, your involvement, other than getting paid for it, is gone?
Grant: Yeah, it’s minimal.
David: Tell me then, how these companies that you mentioned before, would benefit from hiring you given what else you’re doing. Is there a crossover? Is that an eco-system in itself that cross pollinates?
Grant: One of the things to look at from what I’ve done in the entertainment business is the ability that I’ve had to uniquely position myself and get things done that basically very few to no one else has been able to do. For example, one of the other projects that I’m working on, which is John Grisham’s The Partner, which I’m producing with Lynn Hende and Robert Chartoff, and people might know Robert’s name because he won an Oscar for Rocky, is I brought the money to the table to get it done but I had never produced a movie ever before. I knew one of the key things is that John Grisham - there are a lot of people in this city and Hollywood that want to make a John Grisham movie – is that because I never produced a movie before that John Grisham would never give me the rights to take his book and make it into a movie, so I knew that it would take somebody bringing somebody else on to the team with producing credibility to get that done so I went and brought Robert Chartoff on board and we pursued it together.
David: This is a family friend? How did you get Robert-?
Grant: I met Robert Chartoff through Lynn Hende who is the president of his company, and I met Lynn Hende through a client of mine, a science fiction author I was working with introduced me to Lynn Hende and said that if there is anybody in this business you can trust its Lynn. I went to Lynn and said, “I have the money to get this project up and running but I don't have the producing credibility. Can we pursue the co-production together?” Luckily it turned out and she said yes and so we did pursue that together. It’s very fortunate because a lot of times, especially in Hollywood, if you approach somebody and say, “There is this great book that would make a great movie,” they say, “Awesome, yeah, we’ll work together,” and you never hear back from that person again and they take that book and make it into a movie and you’re left on the sidewalk. I was very fortunate.
David: Where did you learn to do all of this? You’re not from here, right?
Grant: No, I’m from Cincinnati, Ohio, and I pride myself on the fact that I have no entertainment familial connection at all.
David: Where did you learn to do all the connections?
Grant: Just by doing. I learn best by doing and learning from mistakes and going with the flow. You learn so much more on the field than you do in the classroom.
David: Interesting. Facebook aside and LinkedIn aside, let’s go back to job hunters. I can see the value in hiring someone like you because you’ll just make connections until the deal is done, and that is the way things happen, right? Most people don’t realize that. What kind of advice would you offer job hunters now that may be struggling? For example, how do you keep yourself motivated? You’re here in Hollywood, you’re family is not here, right?
Grant: Right, they’re back in Ohio.
David: They’re back in Ohio. You supported yourself through Pepperdine, you graduated, you’re now looking for a job, you have all these different projects on the go, and you’re looking for a full-time gig as an account manager for one of these firms, how do you keep yourself motivated? How do you keep yourself going every day?
Grant: I exercise. That’s very helpful, but very basic, too. It releases endorphins, but beside that I do a lot of reading and ultimately, it may sound kind of dumb but you just have to tell yourself that in the long run it’s all going to work out and it’s all going to be okay. Think positive. You just do it.
Become recognized and branded as an "industry expert" by writing and producing a newsletter. All you really need to do is summarize best practices – add your experience or comments – print and mail it. When you send a newsletter with topical information that’s actually useful, employers may recognize your name when you telephone, making them more likely to take your call. When they in turn are looking to hire someone with your expertise you’re likely to be one of their first calls.
Newsletters should be 1-4 pages but no longer.
Summarize lengthy pieces and refer the reader to your web site for the full text version.
You can dress up the newsletter without breaking the bank by using pre-printed paper from companies like Paper Direct, http://paperdirect.com/
Make an electronic version and put it on your website.
Skeptical? Don't be. Everyone takes the "experts" phone call.
Tomorrow July 8th 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 8th 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 9th 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 !!!
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.
Really want to stand out and get ahead? Got a couple of hours! Sit down and write a booklet relevant to your industry with helpful information AND then give it away. Everyone loves a freebie so give away something that demonstrates your expertise. In my case, for example, I designed, wrote and distributed a free booklet on how to do a reference check correctly, called Don't Hire a Liar. The booklet subtly points out the
benefits of using a professional - like myself - to do their hiring. The booklet hot-links to a supplemental software program for reference checking which my firm sells. You could embed a hot link to your web site, resume or bio. - Give the booklet away everywhere you can. - If you send a printed version to someone make sure you indicate where they can get extra copies for their colleagues. - Ideally give a web site address people can pass on to others. - Advertise it on your web site and through those newsgroups frequented that hiring mangers in your target market and their recruiters frequent. - If you print your own business cards, put the URL for link to the booklet on the back.
Be Hunted. Like Google, if you don’t rank among the first 3 people a recruiter thinks of when they’re starting a project… you won’t get “clicked” for the opportunity.
Increase your visibility and expand your network by presenting at conferences, seminars – even usergroups. Ask to be your company’s designated speaker. You can have someone else write the material if need be. Public speaking is an effective job hunting technique. Recruiters will beat a path to your door.
It's a million times easier for yoiu to answer the phone than to try and get an employer to talk to yoiu if you're looking for one - right!
For more great Guerrilla ideas, grab your copy of our Free Audio.
David Perry and Kevin Donlin Co-Creators, "The Guerrilla Job Search System"
Cindy "X", is a former HR executive responsible for hiring who agreed to be interviewed by Kevin Donlin and myseld today so long as we did not user her last name.
Cindy discusses several touchy HR issues including the ramifications of going around HR. Her insights will surprise and I say - encourage you! I was suprised by her answers.
So, if you're looking for job and not gettng the results you want then you might benefit form watching this webinar.
We've heard the arguments ad nauseam, and they can be said
to be true of almost any age. I'm sure you've heard time and again, that
because of the precarious economy, competition is extremely stiff and the only
way that anyone is going to make it is to "stand out from the rest."
This is certainly a valid argument, but in an economic climate in which
everyone is trying to one-up one another, standing out isn't simply about being
flashy. Creativity as distinguished from ostentation (or flashiness) is the
most essential element in searching for a job, but it's absolutely necessary
once you get your job, too. In fact, creativity is perhaps the most
sought-after quality in the job market today.
Consider this—economist and social scientist Richard Florida
speculates that what he calls the "creativity
class" has and will become the driving force in America's economic
development in the twenty-first century. Although Florida defines the creative
class in a number of ways, he identifies two groups of creative types—the
Super-Creative core, whose work "along with problem solving, may entail
problem finding," and Creative Professionals, who "draw upon complex
bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems."
Now what does this all mean in terms of your job search? For
one, if the creative class is indeed a highly-sought after group of people,
then the process of successfully finding employment will be, by definition, a
whole other ball game. Instead of simply come up with cute, new
"tricks" to make yourself stand out, the best course of action is to
demonstrate—every step of the way, through your resume, your interview, even
approaching the initial job search in the first place—how you fit this mold of
a creative individual.
One very small example of demonstrating creativity that
Richard Florida mentions in a Creative Class blog
article is Facebook and Twitter status updates. Although the article
initially explains how portraying a bad image on social networking sites can
cost you your job (as we all know by now), he suggests that the opposite also
holds true. Florida posits that posting interesting, clever status updates with
relevant articles and other resources will demonstrate to potential employers
your enthusiasm for living a creative life—something that many
recruiters are increasingly looking for in job candidates.
Above all, being creative in your job search is not just a
way to help you get noticed among the legions of potential job candidates.
Rather, creative job search techniques—something that Guerilla Job Hunting is
all about—are important for their own sake. They are a window into the world of
the Creative You, someone whom employers are desperately seeking out.
By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Angela Martin, who writes on the topics
of Career Salaries.She welcomes your comments at her email
Id:[email protected].
“Age Bias,” has become somewhat of a buzz word associated with job seekers over a given age, but let’s call it for what it is…Age Discrimination. There I feel better now.
When does it begin?
It’s been my experience that age discrimination starts rearing its ugly head when one is over 40 years of age and not 50 as is widely believed.
Does age discrimination exist ?I know it does, at least to some degree.
In fact, as an Executive Search Professional, I once had a new client (a household corporate name you would know) who screamed obscenities into my phone and further threatened to fire my search firm; if in the future we sent them anyone 40 or older.
What was their (twisted) rationale ?
“People over 40 simply do not have enough (runway) left in their career to advance far in this company,” they were quoted as saying to me.By the way, this was the belief and a rigid mandate set forth by the company’s Regional President who ironically enough was closing in on 60 !
Did my firm get fired ?
No, I fired the client because it is both wrong and illegal.Now before anyone asks, when we took on this new client, they neglected to mention that they discriminated based on age. I can only assume that they were accustomed to working with recruiters who would look the other way; they must have assumed that my firm would do likewise.
Did I try to “educate” this Regional President as to the consequences of being convicted of Age Discrimination ?
Yes I did, and to no avail.His response was short and sweet, “That’s what our lawyers are for and that is the end of this discussion.”Oh well, that just goes to show that not “everyone” in a position of authority will modify their moral compass even if at their own peril.
So, how do the “more experienced” workers over 40 gain meaningful employment ?
First and foremost, even though you “feel” you may have been a victim of age discrimination it does not mean you in fact were. Let’s face it; on a national basis, this is likely the most competitive job market we have seen in our times.You may have been a casualty due to the sheer numbers of unemployed people you are competing with.Then again you may have been competing with a Guerrilla !
If you are a job seeker over 40 or over 50 for that matter, here are seven rock-solid proven points to seriously consider while looking for your next gig:
Your resume and cover letter must quickly and clearly articulate your value in that it addresses an employers primary pain points; no great revelation here except for the fact that very few people can skillfully do it.
Approach your search with an absolute goal in mind that goes above and beyond just getting “another” job.
Remember that what YOU want is of no significance to a potential employer.
Humanizing your job search is a cradle to grave undertaking, you must do so throughout the ENTIRE process.
It is of the essence that you’re talking and meeting with “yes” people.
Don’t be a nuisance, but be “imaginatively” persistent with potential new employers.
Networking, be it direct or indirect is still the number one proven way to land a new job. Learning to socially engineer your way into a new position will pay off.
If I were to describe a “typical” Guerrilla Job Boot Camper,” they would be over 40 (or 50) and of course unemployed when they joined us; as a best guess I would have to say that less than 1% of our boot campers have been under 40 years of age.
Go here to WATCH several short videos and see what these people did to overcome (either) real or imaged Age Discrimination. You’ll note that not one of them is under 40 !
You can actually “meet” Steve momentarily on a couple of short video interviews that Steve (along with my Guerrilla colleague Kevin Donlinand I) at a Holiday Inn just outside of the city last Tuesday.
When Steve was first laid off and as part of a severance package, his employer paid $ 5,600 for him to attend a short employment outplacement program with one of the well known “big boys” in the outplacement consulting industry.
The end result for Steve was that by using their recommended methods for finding a new job; he ended up submitting literally hundreds of resumes to prospective employers with nothing to show for his time and efforts. Before Steve knew it, he surpassed the one year mark of unemployment. By Steve’s own admission, he was losing confidence in himself and enough even some of his own identity.
Has this happened to any job seekers you know ?
Steve has been a financial service’s professional for nearly 30 years. Before joining us at the Guerrilla Boot Camp, the very few employers who actually did talk with him quickly dismissed his candidacy telling him that he was “overqualified.”
Do you know of any job seekers who have heard that line before ?
A brief history - Steve had been out of the workforce for 14 months and felt he was running out of options. As it turns out and unknown to me at the time, he had been following my blog postings for a time and decided he had nothing to lose by contacting us. Steve did so in January 2010 to ask about our 10 week Guerrilla Job Seekers Boot Camp.
Now the bizarre part:
While Steve was enrolled in our Guerrilla Job Seeker consulting program, (he was) all along sharing his experience regarding our unconventional tips, tricks and tactics with his immediate family members as well as a “job search buddy” we require all Guerrilla Job Seekers to enlist.
His “job search buddy “embraced our methods and was intrigued, but one Steve’s highly successful family members was quoted as saying, “Those things you are being advised to do in that boot camp are simply too bizarre ! “
I’ll let you as the reader be the judge.
I say that because what is truly “bizarre” is the fact that while Steve was enrolled in our job seeker boot camp, his first offer was delivered in a mere 4 weeks and 3 days after joining us. Furthermore, Steve was asked to entertain a total of six (6) offers after talking with eight (8) potential employers within that very short timeframe.
Oh, did I mention he only sent out a total of 10 resumes while working with us ?
In this day and age, that kind of job search success is staggering !
On a closing note and as I type this, Steve is savoring his hard earned job search victory with a start date of March 15th. He is a newly appointed Senior Vice President at a most prestigious organization here in Pittsburgh.
This new Guerrilla Boot Camp graduate is now positioned to earn nearly 4 times more in guaranteed base and potential bonus than he was “originally willing to settle for” because of 14 months of rejection by employers and resigning himself to the fact that; even if he did find a job, he may be forced to join the ranks of the grossly under-employed.
To watch Steve’s story…………..
Simply go to: http://www.psychoape.com and click on the button titled,” What Do Job Seekers Say about Us”
Once you have clicked on that button, near the top of the page there will be two side-by-side video’s featuring Steve. The videos are titled:
• “80% Interview Success Rate for Guerrilla Resume!”
• “Guerrilla Job Search Coaching: Shock and Awe!”
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, don’t be bashful, visit me at http://www.psychoape.com
Mark J. Haluska
One of only 4 certified Guerrilla Job Search Instructors in North America
Publications:
·A Contributing Co-Author of the highly acclaimed"Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0,"1,001 Unconventional Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Landing your Dream Job. Released June 2009
·A Contributing Co-Author of the best selling book “Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters,” 400 Unconventional Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Landing your Dream Job. Released September 2005
The Guerrilla Marketing series of books has sold over 20 million copies in 62 languages worldwide !
·Recommended reading for Corporate Hiring Authorities: “Executive Recruiting for Leaders,” Insider Secrets for Locating, Evaluating and Retaining Top Talent by David Perry and Mark J. Haluska, Released July 2008
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
LinkedIn has over 50 million users worldwide. Of that 50 million, approximately half of those members are in the U.S. LinkedIn is one of the many tools I use to locate hard to find candidates to fill my client’s needs; and I know that other executive search professionals and company talent scouts do the very same thing.
If you are a job seeker why not use LinkedIn, turn it inside out just a little bit and use it to your advantage as well ?
• Do you have an interview lined up with a hiring authority ? (If not hopefully you will soon)
• Do you know the name and title of that decision maker and especially anything about that individual ? (Getting inside that persons head, learning how they think, their background and some of their hot buttons etc., will afford you a one up especially if your competition has not invested their own time to some homework)
Here is a Guerilla strategy that could prove very beneficial to you.
Within Linked-In, do some pre-interview groundwork to see if that person is listed. The higher up in the corporate hierarchy that person is, the more likely they are to be on Linked-In because higher-level people recognize the potential value therein as the site is proving to be just one of the places "people in the know" hang out.
If that person is listed on Linked-In, (lucky you) go to that profile and find out as much about that individual as you can. Then review all the recommendations they have given to other people. This will allow you to ascertain what personal or professional qualities are important to that hiring authority. Next, review all the profiles of the people that hiring authority has recommended; particularly those people who now work (or have worked) at that company or people at other companies who have work for him/her elsewhere. This step will supply you with job search intel as to the backgrounds that particular decision maker tends to favor, the character, values and work ethic that s/he admires, etc.
Lastly don’t overlook the people who have recommended that hiring authority. Endorsements will tell you a lot about that executive and why those endorsers have a high regard for that person. If the moon, stars and the sun are perfectly aligned you may even be able to get a 360 degree view of that hiring authority.
Be creative and think like a Guerrilla ! LinkedIn can be used as a tool for other job search related background work as well; but this should give you a start. Doesn’t it just make good sense to take the time to uncover this information and use it to your advantage as a job seeker ?
In closing, being listed on Linked-In isn't a Guerrilla Strategy. Knowing many of the insider secrets on how to get the most out of Linked-In and then “in fact putting it to work for you” IS VERY Guerrilla !
In closing, have a Great Guerrilla Day !
For information on corporate sponsored outplacement services, career coaching, resume assistance, the Guerilla Job Seekers 10 week boot camp, or if you would prefer personal one-on-one Guerilla job search assistance, contact me at: [email protected] or call me at 724-495-2733.
Mark J. Haluska Real Time NetWork & Guerrilla Job Search International 724-495-2733
• Contributing Co-Author of the highly acclaimed "Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0," 1,001 Unconventional Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Landing your Dream Job. Released in June 2009
• Contributing Co-Author of the best selling book, “Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters,” 400 Unconventional Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Landing your Dream Job. Released in 2005
There are scam artists in all professions. Be it a doctor, investment advisor, lawyer, roofer, auto mechanic, you name it and you'll find someone who will intentionally take advantage of you. There are some so-called career coaches / counselors that are no different. The crooks live among us and they want your money and in actuality may offer little if anything in return.
Here are some other options both free and fee paid that you may want to consider:
You can go to one or more headhunters. Their services are free, but unless they have a position for you on their books, all they can really do is put you in their data base until something comes along for which you are an EXACT fit. Don’t ever count on the Executive Search Professional to find a job FOR YOU. It’s their job to find people for companies; not find jobs for people.
There are a gazillion blogs out there that you can start to follow on line. In fact there are so many out there, you’ll never have time to proactively look for a job if you spend all of your time following them. I would suggest that you pick a select handful of blogs or articles that are written by credible sources and seem to offer helpful advice and follow them. Don’t be bashful about asking forum questions if you have that option. You are welcome to do so in this group !
Join local job seeker networking groups. If you reside in a different area outside of the geographical area where you want to work, find a virtual networking group(s) located in that region. The most successful participants in these groups seem to be those who attend the meetings and are people who freely offer to be of assistance to others when they can in order to get help from others later. Joining these groups also gives you a good excuse to get out of the house and interact with others.
Most likely there are free job seeker services in your area that are available to you and they have been known to be very helpful. These may be funded via a federal, state or local government agency or they may be a registered non-profit entity. Give the free services a shot because it shouldn't cost you a dime. (Ok, some non-profits might ask for literally a dollar or so "donation" but hopefully that would be deemed a value on your part---- because it is --- and they have expenses too)
If after a 6 to 8 weeks (or so) taking advantage of the previously mentioned free services, you've still gained no real traction in your job search; you should recognize that you're market value (in the meantime) is more often than not diminishing to prospective employers the longer you are out of work.
For that reason alone, it might be time to seriously consider talking with a legitimate professional who has the credentials to help you build your professional branding. This step would require an investment on your part; therefore you need to take it upon yourself to perform your own due diligence. Talk with the prospective coach / counselor, ask questions, etc., but be wary of any out-and-out verbal or worthlessly written “guarantees” of a new job because THAT does sound too good to be true. There are simply too many variables for anyone to make such a claim.
Lastly, there are legitimate career coaches / counselors out there who are former HR executives. At first glance that may sound great but that credential alone may not be enough if YOU are a paying client. If outside the corporate world, they have no demonstrable track record of “helping” job seekers (as a coach / counselor) find work in a variety of professions, verticals and levels, you might want to keep looking.
"Let the Buyer Beware," and hopefully you will not get swindled into working with a scammer. He is just one link you might want to visit: http://www.rileyguide.com/scams.html
Have a great Guerrilla Day !
Mark J. Haluska Real Time NetWork & Guerrilla Job Search International 724-495-2733
On the 12th day of Christmas - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 revealed to me
12 Ways to Renew Your Job Search
1.Begin 2010 with clarity-- know your target job and the top 10-20
employers you want to work for (you will start seeing opportunities where
before you saw none, just like buying a new car and seeing it all over the road)
2.Network
with former employees -- find them on Google, LinkedIn, or your own network
3.Be
easy to find -- create your free profile on ZoomInfo.com, America’s
largest database of working professionals (used by thousands of recruiters
every day). Download fresh contacts from FreshContacts.com
4.Stop
sending cover letters -- send sales letters instead (you can’t bore anyone into
hiring you, which is what most cover letters attempt; you must sell employers)
5.Stop
sending resumes -- send resume lingerieinstead (your
goal is a phone call from the hiring manager; hit their hot buttons with one
page and you can make the phone ring)
6.Let
others sell you -- use testimonials in your resume and cover letter (because
one testimonial from another person is worth 10 claims made by you)
7.Do
the thinking for the employer -- figure out the specific value of your past
achievements, in numbers, dollars, percentages (never, ever assume that busy
readers will figure out your value)
8.Get
on LinkedIn -- it’s America’s
largest social networking site for job hunters (if you’re not there, you simply
do not exist to most recruiters and savvy employers)
9.Sell
money at a discount -- tell employers how you can make or save more money than
you’re asking for in salary
10.Remember
“No” simply means “Not today” -- it does not mean “Never call us again”
11.Target
employers precisely -- when reading your cover letter, employers should think,
“Hey! This is all about me!”
12.When
in doubt, do the
opposite-- be suspicious of what “everybody” else is doing: “everybody”
waits for jobs to be advertised before contacting employers, “everybody” emails
their resume, “everybody” knows you don’t have to mail a paper thank-you note
after an interview … so, how’s that working for everybody?
Now go enjoy the Holidays! America is slowly dragging it self out of this economic mess and 2010 looks to be a banner year for hiring!
You know, most people put more time into writing down a shopping list for the grocery store than a list of employers they want to work for. Totally illogical, isn’t it? I mean, why be happy working just anywhere? Why not work for a company that excites you?
Instead of blindly sending out résumés to companies you’ve never heard of before, it’s far better to first select potential employers that meet YOUR criteria and then contact them with an offer to help.
Which is what you’re going to learn to do today. And one of the ways to do that is with Google.
To get the best results focus all your time and effort on the companies you’ve identified as being the Tier 1 buyers of your product - you. Anything else is a waste of your time, energy and money. Target your campaign at those companies where you know you can help solve a problem. Nothing beats a direct approach for speed and accuracy.
Because of the current recession caused by the sub-prime meltdown, employers have different hiring expectations. The direct approach has replaced networking as the best way to break into the hidden job market.
The hidden job-market isn’t really hidden. It’s just not in plain sight. It’s referred to as the hidden job-market because of the way jobs are created and filled. Most jobs are created in a company in one of three ways. 1. The company is growing; 2. Someone quits, leaving a vacancy; or 3. Someone is being replaced and the employer doesn’t want the employees to know about it.
When the company is growing, the owner, president, or someone else may know they need to hire but haven’t initiated the process. They may not have had the time. They may not quite have the budget. They may not want to go through the hassle of advertising and interviewing. So while the need is real, the job itself remains hidden inside the hiring manager’s head.
When someone quits, managers will first decide if they can eliminate the job, or combine it with another position. Needing a new person, they will look inside their organization to see whom they can promote into the role. If they can’t find anyone they’ll likely ask their co-workers for referrals. If that doesn’t work, depending on the size of the company they may opt to run an ad through HR, or hire a head-hunter.
Companies will contact a head-hunter when secrecy is required because “loose-lips-sink-ships” and the recruiter can conduct a search without anyone ever knowing. In all of these cases, the job remains hidden to the outside world for weeks if not months. Hence the term “hidden” job-market.
And TODAY the ability for job hunters to “click and apply” for every job they see on the internet has given employers good reason to NOT let it be known n they have an opening. The onslaught of emails, phone calls and resumes that result from an advertised position is enough to CRUSH an HR department.
The only way for you to access the hidden job-market successfully is to reach out to the hiring managers directly before they opt to go the advertising or HR route OR ask their buddies for referrals. The hidden job-market is your private laboratory to test out the best methods for finding your dream job. Now let’s look at two of the Top 10 Strategies Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters use to access the hidden job market.
Job Search Strategy # 1 – Targeted Research
One quick way to discover new opportunities is by doing structured search engine queries. And it’s fairly easy to do. The video above gives you a good overview of how to do it for yourself:
Step #1
Develop a target list of companies you want to work for. That list of companies is your baseline query for your search. Now, here’s how you get the list. The video above is an example using Google.com in which the job hunter want sto work in advertising in New York City. {You just do what I'm doing BUT substitute your industry parameters.}
1. When you do targeted research, generally you concentrate on an industry or a geographic preference (in this case, New York City). Substitute your city for your search.
2. You need to find the names of all the advertising companies in New York. There are easy ways to do this using the Net. Go to Google. www.google.com and type the following words in the “advanced” option box in Google. The search string shown below instructs Google to search for a directory of advertising firms in New York or a conference on advertising held in New York. We want this list to garner leads for companies.
Your text needs to be filled in exactly the way I did in the video.
My search returned many hits including one for AD:TECH “The Event for Interactive Marketing”. This is a conference held in New York for the Advertising industry. There where also hits for directories of advertising companies in New York, complete with web site addresses, phone numbers, and profiles of the owners.
Step #2 Find People Who Can Hire You:
Once you have a target list of companies to work with, you need to find out who the people are in those companies that can actually hire you. A good headhunter would pick up the telephone. You might not be so inclined, so here’s another way to accomplish your objective.
Go to each company’s web site and gather the names of the people who can say yes. Those people are the executives not the human resource people – they can only say NO! unless you’re a human resources professional. If you’re lucky, every web site will identify their senior executives, including names, titles, phone numbers, career summaries and sometimes email and photos! Web information should be up-to-the-minute accurate, but I would call the receptionist and confirm it.
For this example I’m looking for a sales position. Therefore I’ll seek to locate or research the VP of Sales, VP Sales & Marketing, VP Marketing or General Manager. You would focus your research on the functional areas of interest for your search.
If you’re experiencing difficulty finding names on the site, then go back to Google’s advanced search box and type in the company name in the first box and (Vice President Sales Marketing Director)in the third box. By-the-way, you don’t need to place the words in brackets and don’t put in any commas or punctuation.
That search string will bring you: All the people who are, or have ever been, VPs OR President OR Directors of Sales and/or Marketing for that company. The resumes of a whole pile of people from that company whom you may be able to phone to coax information from them.
OR
You can skip all that and use LinkedIn, Spoke, or ZoomInfo
Once you have the name of the individual who is one rung up the ladder from the job you want, you need to process their name through Google again. This time you put their first and last name in the first box and the company name in the third box.
This will produce a list of press releases, and news articles in which they are mentioned, as well as conferences they’ve attended. Read an article or two and clip something memorable to use in a NarrowCast letter.
When you send them the letter, you’ll be able to say. “I read your article in… about… which prompted me to write.” Very powerful.
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:
decide what job you want;
tell the right hiring authority about it;
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 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.
The recession is a Game Changer for millions of unemployed people.
You'd have to be living under a rock not to notice the changes in the job market.
Now finally a few corporations are coming to the rescue of job hunters. Hat's off to FlightNetwork.com who have been offering job hunters discounts on flights for job interviews.
Of course doing so is smart business because eventually job hunters become job holders and will remember their generosity and thoughtfulness.
Let's hope others follow Naman Budhdeo's lead and embrace future customers in this manner.
Lee Silber is one of my favorite authors. [Yes writers have favorite authors as too.] I've always enjoyed Lee's books because he makes sense. He's just downright practical.
Lee has nothing to do with the "employment market". He's not a resume
writer or job search coach. I want you to read a piece
he wrote talking about ordinary people like you and me who did
something creative to get noticed.
Lee's piece features among others the story of the Johnson brothers (Johnson
& Johnson), Dave Matthews Band, The Grateful Dead, Kathy Najimy,
Sara McLachlan, and Helmut Lang. All of whom were
desperate and responded by doing something different. {I'll give you a link to the article soon enough but I have something to say first.}
Why do I want you to read about something that's not job hunting related?
Because
desperate times call for - CREATIVITY. And the job search industry needs to stop writing in their client's resumes that they're "creative, entrepreneurial, different" and show them how to actually demonstrate that with their resume and their approach to job hunting. Because
desperate times call for - CREATIVITY.
Why do so many authors preach from on high that there's only one way to do things and that's their way?
Resume writing is a good example. There are hundreds of books on resume writing and thousands of online resume writers who've had at least one of their resumes published in one of those books. The accepted format of black text on white paper hasn't changed for years. Okay, some suggest "cream" colored paper. Yippee!
Boring!
Just like your old B&W television.
I ditched my black & white television years ago. Why? Come on... color brings action to life. You know that. And sports in High Definition is so much more real. Rock concerts in stereo or surround-sound makes you feel like your there. No what I mean!
Why then, do you persist in writing resumes like your grandfather did?
Oh yeah, sorry, granddad only worked at one company. He lived in a century where you worked for one company all your life.
That's so 2000 and late!
The old social contract between employee and employer - do a good job for the company and we'll take care of you - got shredded decades ago. You're now referred to as "human capital", as if you can be moved around the shop-room floor in order to maximize your employers revenues.
You can't take your employment for granted anymore. You know you have to actively manage your brand to stay "top of mind" and fully employed. You have to become a master marketer, able stick out and being found.
So if You need to become a master marketer to keep an edge, I have to ask...
Why hasn't the resume writing industry kept up?
They don't type your perfect resume on manual typewriters anymore. So what's up? Who says you must have a 2-3 page resume consisting of black text on white paper? Your mother? Neighbor? Best friend? HR? The resume consultant you found on the Internet?
Who???
Authors and wannabee anything-but-a-resume-writer-but-couldn't-get-another-job-but-this-one-rewriting-resumes... that's who.
Come on! Seriously now, they have to tow the company line. They sell books based on their methods or the methods of some other guru. They have to sell books and encourage their resume and job search coaching clients to parrot the guru's methods to make a living. That's how they make a living and it is a very big business indeed.
How's your black & white industry accepted perfect resume working for you?
Got a lot of calls this week? Go on a lot of interviews? Have to turn down any offers because they just weren't quite perfect?
Sorry, I didn't think so.
But it's not you. It's not your fault. It's your resume.
You're brilliant! Spectacular! An achievement based mover and shaker! But your resume makes you look like all the rest. So I have to ask...
When are you going to break away from the pack and try something new and innovative?
Are you going to wait until your car gets repossessed? You lose your house? Your spouse? Or worse your TV? When your "social assistance" gets cut off? When!
What's it going to take to jolt you out of your doing-the-same-thing comfort level?
Before they take away your color TV and you have to bring the B&W one up out of the basement I want you to read Lee's Q&A section on his web site. I'll give you the link in a moment.
Aren't you a write too Dave?
Yes. And by-the-way "Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0" is my 3rd book. But NO, I don't tour around the country selling books for a living. I don;t write resumes for aliviing and I certainly don;t coach job hunters for a living.
I'm a Head-hunter. One of America's best - the Wall Street Journal said so nicknaming me the Rogue Recruiter last year - you can read about it on my web site www.perrymartel.com. I have made my living as a professional recruiter for more than 20 years.
I may be a simple head-hunter but I know exactly what it takes to get noticed and get hired. AND it isn't a dull boring resume. People get hiored when they get in front of an employer and make a case for themselves. So, it's You telling them what you're going to do for them...
Now, as promised here is the link to Lee's site and this article: http://www.leesilber.com/HTML/Free_Readers_Write.htm
Please read it. Be inspired. Go be creative! Get a job you love and then help others breakaway from the ordinary.. because
desperate times call for - CREATIVITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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.
I subscribe to several e-newsletters. One perennial favorite is Dan Kennedy's. Dan is a professional marketer like my co-author Jay Levinson. His latest newsletter contained the following quote which is applicable to job hunters:
"The spider looks for a merchant who doesn't advertise so he can spin a web across his door and lead a life of undisturbed peace!"
The two main reasons businesses of any kind fail are:
1. They don't market and advertise. Sadly most new business owners spend their money and their time on everything other than marketing.
Your All-Important Last Question “If I decide to talk with them, can I say I was speaking with you?” You ask that question for two reasons: (1) If your questions with the former employee result in positive answers, that employee’s name may help you later in securing a meeting with the hiring manager; (2) the former employee may just phone his old boss and tell him about all the background due diligence you’re doing on the company.
That’s a great thing. All it takes to get the ball rolling is to phone the contact and say: Hi, my name is . I’m doing some research on XYZ Corporation and I know that you used to work there because [explain how you found the person’s name]. I’m thinking of applying for a job there. Can I ask you a couple of quick questions to see if it’s worth my time and effort? I know this is an unusual way to do a job-search . . . Now be quiet and let the person answer yes or no. In my experience, seven out of ten times they’ll say, “Sure, what do youwant to know?” If they say “No,” ask: “Do you know anyone who I can talk to about the company because I’m really interested in finding out as much as I can before I approach them?”
Either you will get a referral with your second attempt, or the person may decide to answer your questions after all. Someone who had a good experience at the company will answer your questions without hesitation. If it was a bad experience, the person may tell you as well, but it’s unlikely. If you don’t get anywhere, move on to the next person on your list.
Expect results! With a few minor variations, this is exactly how headhunters network to find candidates.
Ask whatever you think is important for you to know before contacting the next person. You will be amazed by how much you will learn. Further you may be stunned by what people will disclose about former employers—if you just take the initiative to ask.
The competitive intelligence you gather is valuable. Now you can assess how your accomplishments fit with the employer’s needs. After doing three to four of these interviews, you’ll have the inside track. You will be able to assess which of your accomplishments might be of most interest to the employer.
When you approach the company, you will know far more than any other job-hunter before you’ve even had your first interview. You might be able to decide if it’s even worth working there. How powerful is that? That’s how a guerilla job-hunter networks.
Step
3: Research Referralscontinued 10. Is he political or a straight shooter? 11. What is his temperament? 12. Where does he get his good people from? 13. What type of people does he hire? 14. Is [insert name] forward thinking or reactive? 15. Is he aggressive or laid back? 16. How’s his ability to pick winners? —You need to know now if this manager can easily recognize talent. This will dictate the amount of effort you may need to put into your approach. 17. Will [insert name] go to bat for his staff? 18. What was his biggest accomplishment? 19. Does he seek professional growth for himself? [If not, it will be difficult for you to grow on the job.]
About the Department 1. Is it growing or shrinking? —Either way, the information will influence which of your skills you emphasize. 2. Is the department under pressure from competitors? —How is it handling this? 3. What are the department’s biggest issues? —Can you solve their problems? 4. Is the department respected by the rest of the company? —This determines whether it can get another hire in the budget. 5. Is the department seen as adding value to the company or is it viewed as just another cost center? 6. How’s the department doing compared with other departments in the company? 7. What’s the biggest thing the department needs to do to be successful?
About the Company 1. What new products or services are they looking to build or offer in the near future? —How can my experience apply? 2. How are they doing financially? 3. If there’s one thing they need to do better than their competitors, what is it? 4. What do they do better than their competitors? 5. Who are their best customers? 6. Who would they like to have as customers? 7. What do their customers think of the company? 8. How’s the turnover? 9. Can you think of anyone else I should talk to? —Get referrals, if you can, to people who currently work there to help cement your position even before you come in for the first interview. 10. Would you work there again? 11. Why did you leave? —Asking this directly is a good idea, especially if the person has made negative comments about the individual, department, or company. A person who won’t or can’t return to a former job may have a beef with the company that makes any opinion of doubtful value. 12. Does the company have a clearly stated vision? Do people in the company know what it is?
Find
people who worked at this company in the past—once again refer to Chapter
5—call them on the telephone, and get information about:
The
person you are targeting
The
department the person runs
The
company
Be sociable and ask these people how they liked working there. Watch
for any hesitation before they answer. The pause may be a clue that they don’t
want to answer negatively and are framing a safe answer.
The
reasons for asking most of the following questions should be obvious. Having
said that, keep the following select questions in mind even though it may not
be immediately clear why you need to ask
them. This exercise will help you prepare for an interview at a later date.
You
should ask the following questions in the order they are presented here:
About the Potential Boss
1.
Did you work directly for [insert name of
potential boss]?
—If
the people you question did not work directly for the person, they may not be
able to answer the questions 100 percent accurately, but their feedback may
still be of value.
2.
How long?
—Longer
is better.
3.
What is [insert name] like?
—What
they mention first will be a dominant characteristic. You may need to push a bit to get the
response.
4.
What kind of person is [insert name]?
5.
What kind of manager is he?
6.
What does this manager look for in an
employee?
—How
does your experience compare to that of the people they normally hire?
7.
How is [insert name] positioned in the
company?
—This
is a crucial question to confirm that you are targeting the right person.
8.
Is [insert name] on the way up or down?
9.
Does he have the ear of the president or
owner?
—You
need to know whether this person has the capability to hire you and can get the
president to sign off.
HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT—HOW TO NETWORK LIKE A HEADHUNTER Headhunters network every day out of pure necessity. More often than not, they will have an assignment for “X,” whatever “X” may be today, even when they’ve never recruited an “X” before. That doesn’t stop them from completing the mission. Instead, there are tried-and true methods for locating, identifying, and recruiting candidates.
The following four steps show you how to do that for yourself.
Step 1: Locate Your Target Companies Determine which companies you want to work for, how you can add value, and why they should hire you.
Step 2: Identify Who Runs the Department Find out who is in charge of the area you want to work in. This generally means identifying a vice president or general manager. For companies with less than 50 people, it may mean the owner or president. You can get this information by calling the company and asking, “Who’s responsible for X” or by looking on the firm’s web site to find the person in that position. Several methods for doing this are outlined in Chapter 5.
