Guerrilla Job Hunting

The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting 2010: Day 11

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

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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 lingerie instead (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!

David

Article by David E. Perry, author of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters and the Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters Blog. and Kevin Donlin, creator of Guerrilla Search International.

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The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting 2010: Day 11

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

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On the 11th day of Christmas - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 revealed to me

“11 More Ways to Find a Job Today”

 

It’s Day 11! We’re almost done with this 12-part series.

 

Today we’re going to do something different. (That’s a mindset you should adopt, by the way, if you want to stand out in today’s crowded job market.)

 

Today I’m going to present 11 links to longer articles I’ve written in the past. If networking or cold-calling on employers isn’t for you, no problem. Just click on and follow one of the article links below to learn more about each job search tip.

 

The following tips certainly are “different.” Yet, each has helped someone find a job in the past. Why not you, too?

 

1.      Send half your resume

2.      Write a prospecting letter

3.      Send a letter stating you’re over qualified.

4.      Do a competitive analysis

5.      Call Human Resources

6.      Send your press kit

7.      Hold a contest or lottery and sell tickets

8. Get a job-search buddy

9.      Use personal letterhead and envelopes

10. Get your tribe to help
    
    
11. Become "the expert"

 

When using the above Guerrilla Job Search tactics, keep the following points in mind:

 

·        Be bold.

·        Be passionate.

·        Be creative.

·        Be tasteful.

·        Be safety conscious.

·        Be image conscious.

·        Enlist a personal army of helpers.

·        Offer a reward to anyone who helps you get an interview or job.

·        Involve the media whenever you can.

 

Bottom line: if you do what every other job hunter is doing, you’ll be in the same boat as all those people who gripe about the economy, heartless employers, rude HR types, “bad luck,” etc.

 

Be different, by following any or all of the 11 tips you read about today. Then, please send me your success stories at dperry@perrymartel.com.

 

Article by David E. Perry, author of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters and the Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters Blog. Kevin Donlin, creator of Guerrilla Search International also contributed.

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How To Follow Up To A Fax Number

What if the help-wanted ad includes only a fax number as their point of contact? How do you contact them later to make sure they got your resume?

First of all, realize that any ad that does not provide a company name and mailing address may not be 100% legitimate. It could be someone merely collecting resumes, like a recruiting firm. So your energies may be spent applying for other jobs elsewhere.

Having said that, if you really want to find the contact info for a company that runs only a fax number, try the reverse phone directly at www.anywho.com. There you can type in the phone number and often find the company name and mailing address.

And once you have that information, you can call 411 to get their phone number, or find their Web site at Google.com and research them. Or both!

Action Step: There’s almost always a way to find out full contact information for companies that don’t include it in their job postings. Try to exhaust all avenues of research to find the name, telephone number, mailing address and (if possible) Web site for every company you apply to.

Once you know the “who,” “what” and “where” of target companies, you can follow up with them effectively. Moreover, you can research and uncover problems and/or opportunities facing your potential 

Compliments of David Perry and Kevin Donlin

Grab your Free Guerrilla Job Search Audio here.

The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting 2010: Day 10

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

On the 10th day of Christmas - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 revealed to me -

“10 LinkedIn Cheats”

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Volumes have been written about using LinkedIn to find a job. So what more can I tell you: a lot.

 

Of all the things you can do with LinkedIn -- and there are hundreds -- 10 are critical if you want to connect with an employer faster.

 

If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile already, go to LinkedIn.com and create it now.  Follow the online instructions and just get a basic profile done today -- you can always add to it later.  

 

If you’re really stuck, search LinkedIn for well-connected people in your profession, look closely at their profiles, and find inspiration for what to include in yours.

 

When your basic profile is done, here are 10 “must do” items, listed by priority:

 

1. Send a request to link to me.  By clicking on the “Add David to your network” link  below.  See where the arrow is pointing?  That’s the link.

 

 

You’ll get access to my network of more than 16M. My contacts which are “Two degrees away” will become your third-level contacts instantly! That’s a million plus people instantly.  That’s a good start. 

When asked how you know me, choose the option that says we have done business together. www.linkedin.com/in/davidperry

My LinkedIn statistics:

 

2. Get a personalized email signature (like this: www.linkedin.com/in/davidperry). It’s free and you’ll have it for life, so clients, friends, and headhunters will always be able to find you. Follow the LinkedIn instructions to do this.

 

3. Download and install LinkedIn’s productivity tools. LinkedIn has made it easy to search, build your network, and manage your contacts, all from the applications you use everyday like Outlook, Internet Explorer, and Firefox.

 

4. Download the Jobs Insider applet. It displays the people already in your LinkedIn network that are connected to hiring managers and companies for any job listed online at Monster, CareerBuilder, HotJobs, Craigslist, Dice, Vault, and others. Bingo! You have an inside edge over other candidates for these jobs.

 

5. Got a blog, Facebook or MySpace account? You should. Link to them through the “Websites” section of your LinkedIn profile. Go to the Application section which is located within the “More” tab of your LinkedIn  Home Page {see below} and download the Company Insider and Share on LinkedIn applications, then install them on your blog, Facebook, or MySpace profiles.  LinkedIn gives you complete instructions.  It’s simple.

 

 

6. Go to www.toplinked.com/ and follow the instructions to Link to the largest “connectors” in LinkedIn. These people, known as LinkedIn LIONS, are “open networkers” who will accept your invitation to connect without question. This will grow your contact base overnight. You can always disconnect with or “un-invite” these people later, but you won’t want to J

 

7. Become a Groupie. Go to the Companies Tab at the top of your LinkedIn profile page. Select company search. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Browse all Industries.” Select the industry(s) you want to work in and choose a company you want to work for. Find anyone in sales, marketing or corporate recruiting, and look at their profile. Now scroll down the page until you find the “Groups and Associations” section. Look at the groups this person belongs to. Pick at least one and join. Congratulations. You now have an affinity with an influential person at your target employer.
   
   

 

Bonus: Being in a group lets you contact other group members directly; you can also post and read discussions that may be read by people you want to meet. Finally, make sure you join the Guerrilla Job Search group. (www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/1189487/).

 

8. Show and Tell. Just as you included specific achievements in your Guerrilla Resume, you’ll want to do the same here.  This proves to the readers of your LinkedIn profile that you’re the real deal. Including testimonials, called “Recommendations” on LinkedIn, is a great way to do this. So, ask your colleagues, customers, et al for recommendations. Follow the LinkedIn instructions for this. Tip: People are busy, so feel free to suggest to others what you’d like them to say about you in a recommendation.

 

Bonus: When you write recommendations for other LinkedIn members you accomplish two things:

·        You ingratiate yourself to the person you wrote the testimonial for and they will very likely return the favor; and

·        You didn’t hear this from me but..  As you might imagine, recruiters regularly read testimonials.  When LinkedIn first started it was an easy way to separate the men from the boys, so-to-speak.  But a bunch of us quickly recognized that by clicking on the name of the person who wrote the testimonial we could often find another well qualified, if not better candidate.   So writing testimonials for other people can be a good strategy for being found.  But I didn’t tell you that...

 

9. From the “More” link on your LinkedIn profile, choose at least one application to install. Are you in sales or marketing? You can upload a PowerPoint that you’ve used in the past (be sure to get permission from your employer, if need be). Are you a finance wizard who can make a spreadsheet sing and dance? Upload an example. Remember, its one thing to say you’re intelligent or creative: with LinkedIn applications, you can prove it!

 

10. Install the “Polls” function. When you have 150 or more of your own first-level contacts create a poll related to your job search. Send it to them. It’s faster than a networking letter or the phone.

 

Finally, just as you can connect your blog or website to LinkedIn, you should connect your Facebook, Twitter, and other online profiles to your LinkedIn profile. This article from the Washington Post describes how to do it quickly.  To read it Google the full title or copy and paste this URL into your web browser: http://tinyurl.com/m37l9v

 

Get Past Gatekeepers When Following Up

Gatekeepers.

You know, HR managers, secretaries, receptionists.

It’s their job to shield managers from outside calls. They can be the main obstacle that keeps you from calling decision makers to make sure they got your resume.

Want to get around those gatekeepers and make contact with people who can hire you?

Try this telephone script, based on the work of sales professional Chet Holmes (www.chetholmes.com). I’ve trained personally with Chet, by the way, and I can’t recommend him too highly if you’re a sales or marketing pro who wants an extra edge.

You: “Hello, this is Larry Smith. I'm calling for Frank Jones” (lower your voice and speak with authority, like a TV reporter or FBI agent. This sets you apart from other job seekers, who try to sound hopeful or friendly and instead sound like supplicants when they call.)

Gatekeeper: (who now can't put you off by asking, "May I ask who's calling?") “He's not in”

or, they may say:

“Is he expecting your call?”

You: “Who am I speaking to?”

Gatekeeper: “His assistant.”

or, they may say:

”This is Sally Jones.”

You: “What's your name?” (Then, use his/her name below)

“Hi, Sally. I sent him a proposal 2 days ago (that's what your resume is!) and I want to make sure he got it.”

You will be in charge of the entire conversation from this point on.

If the gatekeeper tries to put you off further, try this:

You: “I’ve just conducted some research related to the XX job he’s trying to fill. I want to ask him a few questions, because I may have found an employee for him.” (That employee is you, by the way!)

Action Step: when calling to follow up after sending your resume, NEVER think of yourself as an annoying pest. You’re actually doing that company a favor. I have met job seekers who were interviewed and hired after calling to follow up and learning their resume had NOT been received.

So you must follow up.

Rehearse this script and try it out the next time you call a company to follow up after sending your resume. It could open doors to you ... and generate job interviews.

Compliments of David Perry and Kevin Donlin

Grab your Free Guerrilla Job Search Audio here.

The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting 2010: Day 9

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

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On the 9th day of Christmas - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 revealed to me -

"Nine Tools for Researching Leads”

There are a number of free services you can subscribe to that will bring information on hot new companies – all potential employers -- straight to your desktop every morning. For example, nearly every newspaper on the web has some sort of “news alert” function, and you should subscribe to as many as needed to cover your career. 

Here are nine of the Top 50+ sources for job leads covered in my book, Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0:

1.) Jobs in Pods - every now and then something truly unique comes along that just changes the game entirely..Jobs in Pods is one of those things.  Here's how to use it: a. subscribe to the RSS feed off the blog and listen every day to see who’s hiring Chris's clients are ahead of the curve and the market, b. assume that whom ever advertises on Jobs inPods is a bellwether for hat industry AND that the other players in the industry will be hiring soon too, so use ZoomInfo to find all their competitors and Google Alerts to spy on them automajically. 

2) ZoomInfo – ZoomInfo is the research tool I use the most. Are you in it? You should be! And listing yourself or checking your profile is free. When you register and create a ZoomInfo web summary, job opportunities can find you. An excellent resource.  Zoom now also has a free Outlook plug in called FreshContacts which will allow you to use Zoom's 50M+ database for your job search - in fact it was designed expressly for that purpose.  a great description of its functionality and power can be found here at Dave Mendoza's blog

 3) America’s Career InfoNet – Their research tools for industry and occupations are second to none and they’re free. Check it out for yourself.

4) Just Sell – This tool will email you a description of every company that has received new funding each week. The free report is divided by state or province and includes a description of the company and the purpose for each round of funding, and often includes the email addresses of senior executives.

5) The Money Tree Survey – This is a quarterly study of venture capital investment activity in the United States. It’s a collaboration between PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association. The information is excellent and it’s the only industry-endorsed research of its kind.

6) PE Week Wire – I get this free update every day. It’s the only industry publication that tracks and researches private equity deals for the entire venture capital market. The weekly newsletter and daily web updates give you in-depth news on industry trends, companies seeking investors, participating firms, deal conditions and more. It’s a valuable resource for me.

7) Vault – Their industry career guides are world famous. That you’ll find thousands of career opportunities on their web site is a nice bonus.

8) Nats Jobs - a cool little app from Kevin Watson which delivers new jobs from your city to your email box every day for FREE.  Us it just the way you will use Jobs in Pods above --- for competitive intelligence

9) Google Alerts -- These email updates delivered to your email address once a day are based on information you tell Google to watch for. I use Google Alerts to find leads on companies who have hired new VPs of Sales because these executives might need my services to help staff their teams. Experiment with it to find your own mix of industry and employment news.

The fundamental truth of job hunting is that it’s not always pleasant. It’s all about being rejected and ignored. And nobody enjoys that.

 So, to make the process as quick and painless as possible, you need to feed your opportunity funnel the way a salesperson feeds his/her sales funnel. And the nine research tools we’ve covered here will accelerate your job search.

Article by David E. Perry, author of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters and the Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters Blog. Kevin Donlin, creator of Guerrilla Search International also contributed.

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The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting 2010: Day 8

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

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On the 8th day of Christmas - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 revealed to me -

“8 Unwritten Resume Rules”

There are a number of unwritten rules you should follow when writing your resume, if you want to get hired faster for the job you deserve.    In fact, there are eight of unwritten rules. Here they are …

1) Give ‘em What They Want

You have – at most -- 30 seconds to convince a reader that your resume warrants a complete read. But you may have even less time than that!

 

A recent poll I conducted among fellow recruiters revealed that most of them spend less than 15 seconds on the first page of your resume. The often never get past your email note or cover letter, let alone your carefully worded “Objective.” And, frankly, human resource managers are no more patient.

 

So, the first rule of resume writing is to write one that gets to the point – FAST. you must make sure readers can find what they want in your resume – FAST. This requires you to do a lot of careful planning about every word in your resume!

2) Be Relevant

Presumably, hiring authorities reading your resume have a job you’re interested in, so show how your experience fits their requirements. Never assume people can or will “read between the lines” and figure out your value. They don’t have time and they don’t care about you – yet.

3) Target Your Reader

You must understand who your “reader” is, because different people are looking for different things in your resume:

Recruiters look for “hot” marketable skills because they want to make money placing you. If your skill set is not in high demand, they won’t call unless you are an exact fit for a job order they have.

HR folks look for an exact skill fit with a job first, then your stability, then your personality type.

Hiring managers look for skill sets first, then how flexible you are and finally your ability to learn on the job.

4) Use Bullets

Bulleted sentences, that is. We live in a PowerPoint world. So, write in a style that exudes action and energy – be punchy, concise and easy to read. This lets reader to get the gist of your main points quickly. You can elaborate later, at the interview!

 

5) Highlight your Strengths

Which of your strengths are most relevant to your reader? They should go first in your resume. Always put your top accomplishments where they will get read in the first 15 seconds.

 

6) Demonstrate Results

Use ###, %%%, and $$$ to emphasize your accomplishments. Remember that one million dollars is less likely to be noticed than $1,000,000. Numbers and symbols jump off the page.

7) Be Concise

Your resume should not contain one more word than needed to make your point. Because you’ll never bore anyone into hiring you. In fact, you might want to be a tease!  If you do't know what I'm talking about buy a copy of Guerrilla Resumes

 

8) Connect The DOTS for them

Make it easy for readers to see how you fit their job requirements. Before writing your resume, research newspapers, job boards and Internet ads for positions that are similar to the ones you’ll be seeking.

 

Make sure to include the latest “buzzwords” in your resume. Example: common keywords and phrases like “JAVA or Audit Trail or channel management or DWDM” should map to the bullets in your resume.

 

Scientists and senior executives should prepare an appendix of publications and papers as well. Technical people need a separate Technical Summary page for easy identification of skills.

 

Article by David E. Perry, author of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters and the Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters Blog. Kevin Donlin, creator of Guerrilla Search International also contributed.

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The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting 2010: Day 7

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

On the 7th day of Christmas - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 revealed to me -

“Seven Social Networks”

 

The key to expanding your network and finding job leads is, of course, to add more people to your network. Fortunately, the Internet has made it easier than ever to meet more people – and you never have to leave your keyboard!

I’d like to tell you about seven of the best online networking sites. Each is based on the “six degrees of separation” principle – you’re never more than six contacts away from any person you want to meet, anywhere on earth, including Kevin Bacon.

Check out these sites if you want to “e-network” your way to a new job …

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MySpace and Facebook are several magnitudes larger than the largest job boards and LinkedIn – combined.  If MySpace were a country it would be the 5^th largest in the world by population.  Facebook has undergone similar growth and don’t think for a moment this hasn’t gone unnoticed by recruiters who are always trying to find people who don’t want to be found by conventional methods.  In fact, there are multiple courses on line which expressly teach recruiters how to find whomever they need using MySpace and Facebook.  So a little known secret... MySpace and Facebook have a lot of their jobs fed to them by SimplyHired.com  so it you want to tap into Facebook and MySpace for jobs without setting up a profile.. go to

SimplyHired.com   Linkedin.com – From a headhunter’s standpoint, LinkedIn has it all. It is the opportunity of a lifetime to establish a powerful network of influential colleagues and friends – can you tell it’s one of my favorites? Free to use, Linkedin.com first requires you to set up a profile, then invite your friends to join your network. After those people join, they can ask their friends and colleagues to join, etc., etc. For job hunters this can produce a treasure trove of leads.

Classmates – This may be the grand daddy of online networking sites. At Classmates.com, you can join a network of alumni who share an affinity with you – they went to the same school (high school, college or university), or were in the same military branch, industry or company. The challenge, when finding potential contacts, is that you must search by state. But, if you want to reconnect specifically with people you went to school with, Classmates is the way to go.

ExecuNet – If you make $100,000 or more in salary, this networking venue is for you. ExecuNet was founded 18 years ago as the premier networking web site. They make it easy for senior-level professionals to connect directly with business decision-makers, executive recruiters, and peers. Not is this site chock full of helpful advice that’s not found anywhere else, they also host well-known speakers and authors. Of course, I’m biased because founder Dave Opton wrote the foreword for my book, Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters.

Here are two more networking sites with benefits too numerous to list. The first one you’re absolutely not supposed to know about unless you’re a headhunter so I wouldn’t go and join...

6 Degrees from Dave – this Dave is Dave Mendoza the ubber connector A classic social engineer Dave’s network spans the globe.  Dave’s a wealth of information and his site is too.  Want to know how to maximize LinkedIn.  Dave’s the guy to know.    Want to connect with the LinkedIn LIONs?  Dave’s your guy.   And so it goes.  Want to know what’s hot in recruiting...   

Spoke -- Great for connecting with sales people of all types and Fortune 1000 companies in particular. Sales people, by the way, are great resources for job hunters – they’re naturally outgoing and often willing to help. This site boasts more than 30 million contacts and 900,000 companies.                                                                                                                   Double bonus! Here are two more sites to help grow your network … The Social Networking Web Log is loaded with tips to help you reach inside target companies.

Quintessential Careers isn’t a social network. OK, so sue me. But it should be on your networking read, especially if you’re a college grad. There’s an encyclopedia’s worth of advice there. 

Article by David E. Perry, author of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters and the Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters Blog. Kevin Donlin, also contributed.

 

 

Think Small

Most job seekers look first to the newspaper classified or online job postings. But such jobs are typically advertised only by the larger companies in America.

This is your opportunity to “zig” when others “zag.”

Because, as many as 70% of new jobs are created by small businesses in America, according to government data.

These small businesses typically don’t advertise their job openings in the newspaper, radio, Internet or elsewhere. And they may be hard to find, in industrial parks or other out-of-the way places.

So your odds will immediately improve – and you’ll have less competition -- if you focus your job search on contacting companies with less than 50 employees.

There’s more good news.

Small businesses typically are more concerned with your attitude and willingness to work hard. And most don’t have HR Departments or other gatekeepers, so you can talk directly with the boss.

Action Step: Think small in your job search, and focus on where the most jobs are -- small businesses. Where to look? There’s a list of them in every good-size city in America. It’s called the Yellow Pages.

Also, you should specify when talking to networking contacts that you’re looking to help out a growing small business. Since entrepreneurs tend to associate with others like them, once you’ve talked to one small business owner, you could quickly meet others … and take a giant leap toward your next job.

Compliments of David Perry and Kevin Donlin

Grab your Free Guerrilla Job Search Audio here.

The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting 2010: Day 6

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

On the 6th day of Christmas - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 revealed to me -

Six Job-Search Tools to Download

It’s day six of our 12-day series to help you find a new job this new year. And if you’re reading this on a computer screen, you’re only a few mouse clicks away from six Web-based tools you can use to build a new, improved career.

                                  

Ready? Set? Download!

 

Jibber Jobber – These days, no job is immune to cutbacks, downsizing, “rightsizing” or off-shoring. Like a politician whose first job is to get re-elected, your first responsibility to yourself and your future is to be continually looking for new employment opportunities. But who has the time to track down job leads and still have a life? Well, now you do, thanks to Jibber Jobber. It’s lets you manage a serious job search – while you do other things. Get it while it’s still free.

FreshContacts – I'm a big believer in finding jobs the easy way and the easiest way to find a job is to "be found" first.  ZoomInfo is the largest database of business professionals in America.  If you're not in their database [its' free] you won't be found by a lot of recruiters.  So first,, go make sure you're there and make sure what's there is correct.  Next look at  FreshContacts where you can get a 2 month free subscription to ZoomInfo by swapping business contacts.

 

Google Local -- Do you hate to commute? Want to relocate? If where you work is as important as whom you work for, you may want to limit your job search to a specific location.

 

Google can help. From http://local.google.com you can search for employers and businesses in a specific area. Simply type in a business name or industry, as well as your city (the more specific, better). Example: “non-profit agencies near Fargo, ND.” Results will appear in the left side. Experiment by typing in your postal code, your full street address and different city names. Try it!

 

Message Tag -- Everybody loves email. It's cheap, quick and easy. But how many times do you find yourself wondering what happened to your messages? You send an email out into the Internet, then wait patiently for a reply. But did it get there? Did they read it? Are they on holiday? Should you wait a bit longer before following up? Wait. Stop. Don’t let the technology derail your job search one more minute. Get Message tag and know when to follow up.

 

My Fax -- OK, you’ve just culled a hot lead from ZoomInfo. You Googled the exec’s background, found their hot buttons and crafted a compelling resume. Now what? E-mail your resume? Maybe. But what if it gets caught in a firewall or spam blocker? It may never get there. What to do? If you’re a Guerrilla Job Hunter, you tunnel inside your target company using technology employers still trust and can’t block – you send a fax. Try MyFax now!

 

JobsInsider -- Here we grow again with LinkedIn. This free JobsInsider applet displays all the personal connections in your LinkedIn account -- you do have one, right? -- to the hiring manager and companies for any job online at Monster, CareerBuilder, HotJobs, Craigslist, Dice, Vault, and many more. It’s free. And potentially revolutionary. Try it now!

Compliments of David Perry and Kevin Donlin

Grab your Free Guerrilla Job Search Audio here.

Ask ... And It May Be Created For You

James, a client of mine from a small town in Mississippi, was hired twice in one year by employers who created jobs especially for him, to do administrative work (at a doctor’s office) and construction work (for a cell phone company).

How did he pull off this feat in the middle of a tight job market in 2001-2002?

He asked!

“I met the company owners, told them I admired their companies and wanted to work for them. They hired me. It didn’t happen overnight, but I planted a seed in their minds that I could make a contribution. So they asked me to come to work for them. The positions started out small and part-time, but each time, I did more than what was asked of me, which led to more hours and more pay,” says James.

It didn’t hurt that James was known throughout his town for his outstanding work ethic.

But even if you live in a big city or don’t have a reputation as a workhorse, you can convince others to create a position you if you do these three things:

Document every achievement and award that you possibly can, in a 3-ring binder or other organizing system. It’s one thing to claim that you’re a hard worker, but it’s quite another to prove it in writing.

Research companies you honestly admire and want to work for. Get to know their products, problems, competitors and opportunities. KEY: focus on small businesses with less then 50 employees. Small companies have more flexibility, so you’ll stand a better chance of catching on faster with them than you would at huge international conglomerates like IBM.

Approach your target companies and meet directly with a decision maker who can create a job for you. Then, make them an offer they can’t refuse!

Action Step: Remember the Universal Hiring Rule, as put forth by success coach Brian Tracy: “Wherever you can find an opportunity to increase revenues or reduce costs in greater amount then the cost of hiring you, you can create your own job.”

Adopting this mindset will give you an INSTANT and overwhelming advantage over other job seekers, who confine their job search to scanning the help wanted ads in the newspaper or the job postings online.

Compliments of David Perry and Kevin Donlin

Grab your Free Guerrilla Job Search Audio here.

The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting 2010: Day 5

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

On the 5th day of Christmas - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 revealed to me -“Five Golden Job-Search Rules"

 

On this, day five of your job search, let’s jump right in with five “golden” rules to help you get hired faster. Hold up one hand and count along with me …

 

1. It’s not about you – it’s about them. I can't over emphasize this! Employers don’t care about what you want to do or even who you are until after they’ve hired you. So stop telling them about your dreams and start selling to their needs.

 

2. No doesn’t mean, “No.” It just means, “Not today.” An employer’s needs change day-to-day, in real time. Yet, few job hunters will approach an employer more than once – ever!  Learn to repackage and represent your skills in a new light. Sales guys know that most sales are not made until the seventh call!  So … start repackaging yourself and make a point of being persistent. None of the other candidates are, in all likelihood, so you have almost not competition this way. 

• I wouldn't be married today if I'd taken "NO" for as her final answer AND I've been happily married to Anita since 1986.  Now it took 6 years of dating toget to the YES but it was worth it.
  

 

3. You are the brand. In today’s world of sensory overload, when hiring managers are literally flooded with applications for every job opening, you need to create a resume that stands out. Your resume must be a reflection, not only of your past experience, but of who you are as a unique individual. Because, in many cases, personality counts as much as credentials.   what does you resume, blog, Facebook/Myspace or LinkedIn profile say about you?  Is it all consistent?  Because if you post it we will find you!

 

4. Sex sells. Like lingerie, a good resume should heighten your reader’s awareness of what’s possible… ;-) Your resume's sole purpose is to eget you an interview or phone call from a perspective employer.  That's it.  You do the rest when you get into the room with them.

 

5. You need to become a Guerrilla Job Hunter. In the new economy, jobs are temporary. That means you need to be permanently looking for your next opportunity. For example, if a recruiter contacts you, never turn them away without first hearing the offer. You might never get called again! Plus, no real executive search professional would ever try to talk you into something that wasn’t right for all parties. To illustrate, I helped one Marketing Communication Manager upgrade her salary from $41,000 to $95,000. If she had hung up on me, she might still be toiling away at less than half what she’s making now.

 

 Lastly, if you haven't guessed by now... Guerrilla Marketing is an attitude!   And, according to Zig Ziglar, “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” These five golden rules will help you reach new heights in a new job.

Keep In Touch!

 There are hundreds of thousands of jobs available every day of the week, no matter what the economy is doing.

Even during a recession, more than 90% of people who want to work in North America are working – just look at the current unemployment figures backwards and you’ll see what I mean.

So, when a company you want to work for tells you there are no job openings, that just means there is nothing available for you TODAY. But because employees retire, quit, get fired, go on medical disability or leave for other reasons, often with little or no advance notice, that same company may need your services tomorrow.

So keep in touch with companies you want to work for. And never limit yourself to just the HR Department. In fact, you would do well to avoid those people altogether, since their main job is to screen applicants out, not in.

Action Step: Identify decision makers at your target companies and keep in touch with them every 14 days. Send them a brief note or email twice a month and try to give them another reason to hire you. Examples: send them your ideas for solving a problem, survey the competition, research the market for trends, put together a marketing plan. Whatever it is, it should prove you can do what you want to be hired for.

One thing is certain: your competition for jobs is probably doing NOTHING like this – most people give up after the first sign of rejection.

So keep in touch! Situations and people change. And that can lead to a job offer for you.

Compliments of David Perry and Kevin Donlin

Grab your Free Guerrilla Job Search Audio here.

Lower Your Expectations -- TEMPORARILY

If you think of yourself as your own personal services corporation, as success coach Brian Tracy suggests, then you may want to hold a “sale” when demand for your talents drops and you’ve been in the job market more than four or five months.

So, consider lowering your target for salary and other benefits so that you can find a position faster and then work your way back up to the level of pay you originally sought.

The key to this tactic is to remember that all sales are TEMPORARY, including yours.

Look for a position where there’s a very real chance that you can, in fact, advance to a higher rate of pay within a reasonable time period.

Action Step: If you’ve been out of work for any length of time, be flexible in the salary and benefits package you seek. Adopting this “sale” mindset can help you think positively and exceed expectations once you’re hired, which leads to promotions and higher pay. But you can’t earn more money or get ahead if you’re unemployed and on the sidelines.

Compliments of David Perry and Kevin Donlin

Grab your Free Guerrilla Job Search Audio here.

The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting 2010: Day 4

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

On the 4th day of Christmas - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 revealed to me -"4 Commando Tactics"

If you're looking for a job, you’ve probably realized that typical tactics don’t work well in today’s intensely selective and competitive job market.  You also know it’s hard to cut through the clutter and rise above the noise of the other 15.7 million job hunters.  So what can you do?  Besides wearing a bunny suit or a billboard --- plenty and the next 4 tactics require very little effort on your part.  You can wear whatever yoiu want.  It won’t cost you a dime. AND it’l allow 100s of thousands of recruiters and thousands of potential hiring managers to FIND YOU.  And I gotta tell you it’s a lot easier to answer a phone than to get it answered by a stranger. 

So, ready?

  #1 Help a Reporter www.helpareporter.com/

You don’t need to be a public figure to introduce yourself to the media. Contact local newspaper, radio, and television reporters—particularly those who cover business topics—and describe your professional expertise. Offer to comment on topics and questions in your field of work through interviews or written articles. Be friendly, not pushy. Become recognized as an expert.

Here’s a little secret you likely don’t know.  Reporters and journalists have to write interesting articles every day.  And to do that they need to interview “experts”.   You’re an expert.  Did you know that?  Did you know that journalists would rather speak to people with real life experience than stuffy old PhDs, professors or consultants?  Until recently it’s been king of difficult for them to find people like you...but no more.  Help a Reporter Out or HARO for short is the brain child of Peter Shankman who wrote Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work--And Why Your Company Needs Them You should read his story on his blog.. you’ll feel better for it.

But today I want you to go and sign up  - for free – and become an expert so you can be included in blogs and news stories and maybe in the cover story of a national magazine like Fortune [like Kevin Donlin and I were].

 

# 2 ZoomInfo www.zoominfo.com

You’d have to be living under a remote bridge – no rock – in Tibet to not have heard of ZoomInfo by now.  If you want to be found... by thousands upon thousands of recruiters and hiring managers every day, then you have to be in ZoomInfo.com  Simply put ZoomInfo is the database of the stars – stars like you.  Go.  Claim your profile and upload a picture.  It’s free and uploading a picture signals to recruiters that you want to be found – it’s sort of like the SECRET HANDSHAKE for RECRUITERS.  Watch the video above.  I’m that serious.  Not doing this may cost you your dream job.  For most recruiters start their searches by defining their ideal candidate [whether they’re looking or not] and compiling a Top 100 list of who to talk to.  If you’re not on the list you’ll never get the call because they’ll complete the search without knowing you even exist.   So what are you waiting for?  Go!

 

# 3 The Aggregators www.SimplyHired.com 

“Set it and forget it”, that’s what Steve Rothberg says of job boards.  And he should know.  He owns CollegeRecruiter.com the largest job board in America for college students.  And if you’re a college student you need to hustle over there and set up your job search agents and then wait to be notified by email when an appropriate job opening surfaces.  It’s free.

For everyone else, head over to SimplyHired.com

SimplyHired is the largest of the aggregators (www.simplyhired.com, www.indeed.com, www.just-posted.com, www.jobster.com ).  Besides supplying jobs directly to MySpace and Facebook, they have some amazing tools and widgets. 

Now for the Job Widgets at SimplyHired.com

·         You can add their MySpace Job Alerts to your MySpace Homepage to see the newest jobs daily. Likewise their Workin' It! Application on Facebook.

·         Job Search Widget brings new jobs to your iGoogle homepage, your blog, or your computer's desktop.  

·         Mobile Jobs lets people on the go access millions of jobs from the palm of your hand –l literally!

·         Job Tools

·         You can save your search preferences and saved jobs in the My Jobs tab. 

·         Set up your own email alerts to send jobs when and where you want. 

·         The RSS Feed sends the jobs you’re interested in to you in real-time, while the Local Jobs function let’s you search by city block or other region. 

·         You can check Salaries and Trends as well. There are also numerous job related Forums as well. 

By taking advantage of these aggregators, you allow technology to work for you, saving you valuable time and resources. Being a guerrilla is all about making the most of every minute.  Put these ideas to work today.

 

 # 4 JibberJobber

These days, no job is immune to cutbacks, downsizing, “rightsizing” or off-shoring.  Like you hadn’t figured that one out!  What’s the solution?  Think like a politician.  They’ve got tyhe right idea... every seen one NOT prepared when it comes to their future?  Not if they’re smart.  Like a politician whose first job is to get re-elected, your first responsibility to yourself and your future, is to be continually looking for new opportunities. But who has the time to track down job leads and still have a life? Now you do with Jibber Jobber. It’s lets you manage a serious job search – while you focus on feeding your opportunity funnel.  Very Guerrilla.   www.jibberjobber.com/signup.php   And I know Jason Alba personally – great guy – and he’s made it but simple to use and included a whack of get started video tutorials and OH YEAH IT’s FREE.  I still question is logic there. But if you’ve read any of his books on LinkedIn or Facebook on how to get a job then you already know he’s way ahead of the curve with how to find a job.

So that’s Day 4.  I suggest you get at it if you haven’t already.  There are employers out their with real problems that you can solve and help Put America Back To Work.  Now it’s your job to help them Find You.  We’re all counting on it!

Need to get a job faster?  No money for consultants of résumé experts?  Then get 2 Guerrilla Job Search coaches in a box --- for FREE!.  Click the link below for a free 2 hour video on DVD "Guerrilla Job Search Secrets Revealed!"

 

The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting 2010: Day 3

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

On the 3rd day of Christmas - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 revealed to me - "The 3 R’s of job-hunting"

Now back in grade school we learned the 3 Rs of Reading, wRriting and aRithmetic.  Those were our most important lessons [ok so I’m dating myself].  But today at least for job-hunters it’s Research, Relevancy, and Resiliency which will deliver your A+ interview.

Research

As a job-hunter you need to research and determine:

♦    what are your marketable skills;

♦    which industries/companies you should target that use those skills;

♦    what are the specific needs of each company in your target market;

♦    who’s in a key position to hire you in those companies [who can say YES to hiring you AND it won’t be human resources unless you’re an HR professional]; and

♦    what’s the best way to approach them?

The way you approach people will be determined by your research.  There’s more about research in the book.

Relevancy

Your skills have to fit an employer’s needs.  It has to solve the employer’s hot buttons [their corporate weaknesses – this could be sales, market development, research ops].  Remember it’s not about you it’s about THEM!    At the core employers’ initially only want to know three things about you:

♦    Can you make me money?

♦    Can you save me money? and/or

♦    Can you increase our efficiencies?

 

As global competitiveness increases, employers will be looking for all three of the above.  In Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters the book we clearly demonstrate how to express your relevancy – “Value” – to an employer.

Resiliency

Resiliency is the ability to spring back from disappointment and keep moving forward.  This is a quality which keeps Guerrilla job hunters focused on their goals and driving forward on a daily basis. 

Adopt a positive mind set no matter what.  Here’s how you do it: You should have your job hunting goals sitting in front of you everyday and review it everyday.  Morning and night and then execute that plan.

Guerrilla job hunters always look for the positives even when people and events are clearly indicating they shouldn’t.  Guerrilla job hunters need to look under rocks too.    Let me end this section with a story that touches on all the points you’ve been reading about attitude. 

Free  DVD for you or a friend this Xmas? "Guerrilla Job Search Secrets Revealed!"

Procrastinator losses top $ 180,700 ! (Meet Mike)

Meet Mike from Bridgeville, Delaware.  A devoted husband, father, has a mortgage, and unemployed. Although I would venture to guess that you’ve likely never met him, I’m reasonably sure that as a follower of this group you can identify with him.

Mike was laid off last February. Like millions of other job seekers he had over 20 years experience and is over 40 years old. He's also in a profession where employers prefer them to be "young." IOW, not Mike's age.

In Mike’s own words, “he spent month after month after month hitting brick walls when it came to realizing any success with his job search.”

Does any part of this scenario sound familiar to you ?

During this time, Mike did what almost everyone else does when it came to finding a new job. You may recognize this fandango; spending endless hours trying to “perfect” his resume and cover letter, scanning the job boards for potential opportunities, applying for positions, never hearing back about the status of his resume etc., etc. Time was quickly passing and his resources dwindling.

One day (about) 2 months ago, Mike by his own admission was at his wits end and came to the conclusion that if he were going to achieve his goal of landing a good job before the end of 2009, he was going to need a lot of extra horsepower. Mike then found the courage to bite the bullet and contact us at the Guerrilla Job Search Boot Camp to ask what we could do for him.

Mike signed-on for the one-on-one 10 week Guerrilla Job Search consulting.

Fast Forward (to Monday) November 30, 2009. Mike started his new six figure position with a well known Fortune 500 financial organization !

I’ll never forget the day he received the official offer. My phone rings and on the other end is a very excited Mike. The first words out of his mouth were, “Mark, there will be a great Christmas meal and plenty of presents under the tree this year ! “

Some interesting facts about Mike and his job search:

• By Mike’s own estimation he lost $ 180,700 or more in salary and benefits (value) since last February.

• Mike is now working in his dream job and in a telecommute position !   

• Mike had already read Guerrilla Job Hunting 2.0 and said he loved it but felt he needed personal Guerrilla consulting to push his job search over the edge.

• Within (about) 5 weeks of working with us, Mike received one verbal offer that ultimately ended up being put on hold. Prior to this, he had none.

• By week 7 or so, Mike had 2 more firm offers in hand “in addition” to the offer he ultimately accepted for a total of 3 offers that were firm.

• By Mikes own estimation, he met only 50% of the actual job requirements for the position he now occupies !

• Mike was invited to more interviews working with us for just 2 months than he did the previous 7 months.

• Using Guerrilla consulting tactics, this position was created for Mike as it was never advertised.

Sound too good to be true ?

If you are intrigued by the success of Guerrilla Job Seeker consulting, simply email me and I will provide Mike’s number and you can ask him in the evening hours.

If you would prefer, my friend and colleague and fellow Guerrilla ---Kevin Donlin also interviewed Mike last week regarding his Guerrilla success as a job seeker. I will gladly email you a recording of that short discussion so you can hear it for yourself.

Don’t procrastinate, call us to get a job faster.....and have a Great Guerrilla Day !

Best Regards,

Mark J. Haluska
Real Time NetWork & Guerrilla Job Search International
724-495-2733

The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting 2010: Day 2

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

On the second day of Christmas - Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 revealed to me - "Two strategies to crack the hidden job market.."

 

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

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.
 

Job Search Strategy #2 – Targeted Networking

Today networking can either be the shortest route to your dream job or a lengthy series of unsatisfying lunches – the difference lies in how you approach it.  Let me show you how a Guerrilla job-hunter would network.  The easiest way is to learn how to network like a Headhunter.  I suggest you download for

Network With Your Religious Leader

 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:

1. it’s their job to help you,
2. 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
3. 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?

Compliments of David Perry and Kevin Donlin

Grab your Free Guerrilla Job Search Audio here.

The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting 2010: Day 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It must also be:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clarity of purpose is both energizing and enabling.

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

Take The Personal, Persistent Approach

Despite the tight labor market, you CAN stand out from the crowd and get the job you really want.

 

Consider Eugene, a software developer from Savage, MN.

 

After getting serious about his job search, he found his ideal job -- at a higher salary than he expected -- in just over six weeks.

 

Here’s what he did …

 

“I saw a job posted on the Internet that I really wanted,” says Eugene. “Like most people, I thought I would just email my resume and wait. But that approach had not produced any callbacks for three months, so I decided to try something different.”

 

Eugene picked up the phone and called the contact person listed in the job posting, after getting her phone number from the company switchboard.

 

“I asked if I could hand-deliver my resume. She said ‘No,’ but I struck up a conversation and learned enough about the position to write a very targeted cover letter, which I emailed with my resume,” says Eugene.

 

After that, Eugene made three follow-up calls, one week apart, to very politely ask if a decision had been made. Since he had already built a rapport with the hiring manager during his first call, she did not see this as an intrusion.

 

Between his second and third follow-up calls, Eugene employed a brilliant tactic that set him apart from every other candidate.

 

“During my second follow-up call, I offered to deliver a portfolio of additional material. I wanted to maximize my chances of getting that job!” he says. The hiring manager agreed.

 

So Eugene put together a collection of awards and descriptions of projects he had worked on. As he was dropping off this “brag book” with the receptionist, he met several employees in the lobby. “I asked about the four biggest problems they were facing on the job,” says Eugene. “I took notes, then went home to think up solutions.”

 

Finally, after four weeks, three follow-up phone calls and one hand-delivered portfolio, Eugene was called for an interview. He aced it, aced the interview that followed ... and got the job.

 

“After talking to employees and researching the company’s products and customers from their Web site, I was able to talk intelligently and make helpful suggestions. The interviewers were impressed by that,” says Eugene.

 

Does all this research and telephone follow-up sound like a lot of work to you? Not if you consider your job search to be a full-time job in itself. Eugene spent only a few hours total on this approach, but the pay-off was enormous.

 

“I start next week at a higher salary than before and with a great company. I’m really excited about this new position,” says Eugene.

 

Action Step: You can hit the jackpot with some old-fashioned persistence and creativity. Of course it takes work. But doing a thing right is never really work, is it? One thing’s for sure – the other people who want your job probably won’t go to the lengths Eugene did. Will you?

Compliments of David Perry and Kevin Donlin

Grab your Free Guerrilla Job Search Audio here.