© Written By Jimmy Sweeney
President of CareerJimmy and Author of the new,
Job Interview “Secret”

It may seem like a no-brainer! Get up, dress, fill your coffee mug, hop in your car, and drive to the job interview. You’re sure everything will work out just fine. How complicated can it be?

Actually, it can get very complicated if you don’t take time to prepare for the interview-your one shot at getting the job you want. It starts with getting dressed. The impression you make on the hiring manager will set the tone for what follows. Keep in mind the fact that you have just three seconds to brand yourself. How you look, the clothes you wear, the accessories you choose, the shine of your shoes (or lack of it), all add up to who you appear to be in the eyes of the hiring manager.

Do you look professional or casual? Mindful or tacky? Attractive or appalling? It’s up to you. Therefore, considering using the following checklist when selecting the outfit you’ll wear for your job interview.

WOMEN

A dress or pants suit and blouse
Low-heeled polished pumps
Small earrings that do not jangle or sway
Short or long hair appropriately styled

MEN

A suit and tie or slacks and sport coat
Polished lace-up shoes or smart loafers
Gold or silver wristwatch
Conservative-length hair neatly combed

Keep in mind the following taboos . . .

No shorts, jeans, cut-off pants, flip-flop sandals, low-cut necklines, sleeveless blouses and shirts, mini-skirts, jangly earrings and bracelets, scuffed shoes, or exotic outfits that are more suitable for a cruise to the Bahamas.

If you want to dress for success then dress without stress, following the guidelines provided here. Once you land the job, you may be able to relax your standards, depending on the dress code the employees follow. But until the job is yours, show up looking like the professional you are, the person eager to fill the position you are qualified to handle.

Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of the brand new “Secret Career Document” job landing system. Jimmy is also the author of several career related books and writes a monthly article titled, “Job Search Secrets.”
Visit our friends at Job Interview “Secret”
and discover Jimmy Sweeney’s breakthrough strategy that will have you standing out from the competition like a Harvard graduate at a local job fair… DURING your next job interview.

© Written By Jimmy Sweeney
President of CareerJimmy and Author of the new,
Amazing Cover Letter Creator

Each morning hiring managers all over the country open the day’s mail. They read a line or two from each cover letter they receive and then make a quick decision-to save it, shred it or file it away in the recycle bin.

What can you do to avoid the shred it pile? Take these six essential steps when you write your cover letter.

1. Greet the hiring manager with a friendly opening sentence.

2. Mention what you know about the company and the job requirements.

3. List facts that qualify you: where you worked, what you did, how you succeeded.

4. State what you can bring to the new position.

5. Ask for an interview and give thanks to the manager for considering your letter and resume.

6. Fit your message on one page and leave plenty of white space for easy reading.

A sharp, focused, and well written cover letter is essential if you hope to capture the attention of an employer-especially during tough economic times when jobs are scarce. Such letters produce results. All the rest end up in the shredder!

Writing a great job-search cover letter does take time and commitment. But it doesn’t have to be difficult or mysterious. The most important thing to keep in mind is honesty. Include the ingredients listed above in a style that is uniquely and truly you. Send it off and then trust that the perfect job for you will turn up at just the right time.

Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of the brand new, “Amazing Cover Letter Creator.” Jimmy is also the author of several career related books and writes a monthly article titled, “Tough Times Job Tips.”

Visit our friends at Amazing Cover Letters for your “instant” cover letter today. “In just 3½ minutes you will have an amazing cover letter guaranteed to cut through YOUR competition and this tough economy like a hot knife through butter!”
Amazing Cover Letter Creator

© Written By Jimmy Sweeney
President of CareerJimmy and Author of the new,
Job Interview “Secret”

Most job seekers over-focus on the job itself. Will the hiring manager like them? Will they answer questions correctly? Will they be hired? Of course these are legitimate concerns worth considering, but two essential elements are often neglected–Humility and Humanity. So if you’re serious about landing the perfect job for you, be sure to pack your interview with both of these important characteristics.

HUMILITY

This trait is often misunderstood. Some people think it means scraping and bowing and basically letting people walk all over them. But this is not true. To be humble means to hold a respectful view of yourself and others, to show interest, to be kind and courteous, and to avoid coming across as self-centered and intrusive. Humility is one of the most important attributes you can express in a job interview. Right away the hiring manager will see that you are a person who is reasonable, kind, concerned with others as well as with yourself, willing to compromise when necessary, able to lead without bullying, and true to the company and to yourself when on the job.

During the interview you can exhibit humility by listening attentively to the hiring manager, answering questions honestly, showing interest in the company and its objectives, and paying attention to the cues you notice when the interviewer speaks.

HUMANITY

To be human is to be real, to show your strengths and your weaknesses. In other words, if you failed to achieve a certain goal in your current employment, be willing to share that experience and then talk about how you remedied it. No one expects perfection. And job seekers who present only their victories will not be convincing, because everyone has a down side. The hiring manager knows that. Being authentic is so rare in our culture that it will be refreshing to an interviewer to meet someone who is willing to be true to himself or herself. That does not mean you should play the victim or focus on your failures. Simply acknowledge them, when appropriate, and then talk about what you learned from them. Such a conversation will show the hiring manager that you are an overcomer, instead of an overachiever–who at some point is bound to crash.

Pack your interview with humility and humanity and the job that is just right for you will appear without worry or fear.

Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of the brand new “Secret Career Document” job landing system. Jimmy is also the author of several career related books and writes a monthly article titled, “Job Search Secrets.”
P.S. Join 5,379 job seekers that are using the “sneakiest” job interview secret of all time…a customizable, fill-in-the-blanks, “Secret Career Letter” that will make you stand out from the crowd like never before — DURING your next job interview. I promise you’ve never seen anything like this before and it’s PROVEN to work job search miracles in this tough economy over and over again, as incredible as that may sound…it’s true…

Job Interview “Secret”

© Written By Jimmy Sweeney
President of CareerJimmy and Author of the new
Job Interview “Secret”

It takes only three to thirty seconds to form an opinion of someone you meet for the first time. It works the other way too. People make up their minds about you in less than a minute.

So imagine yourself walking into an office for a job interview. Before you finish shaking hands with the employer, he or she has already evaluated you for the job.

But wait! What about all those questions you listed on paper, the time you spent with a friend rehearsing your answers, the hours you’ve invested lining up anecdotes about your career accomplishments? How can a person decide so fast when you’ve barely spoken a word?

Sad but true, this is the way it goes. Human beings make fast judgments–though they may regret them later. Therefore, if you want to make a lasting first impression prepare ahead of time to insure that will be the case. Here’s how:

Dress professionally. Choose an appropriate outfit in a modest style and color and avoid jangly jewelry or tottery heels or scuffed loafers. If you’re not a fashion icon you may want to ask for help from someone you admire. Feel good about what you select and stick to it.

Smile and shake hands firmly. Give something of yourself. This is no time to be coy, shy, or worse-frozen in your tracks. Show the hiring manager by your presence that you are a cooperative person who can carry out a job to the best of your ability with the company’s mission in mind.

Speak up with confidence. A friendly greeting will put you miles ahead of others. Many interviewees get tongue-tied at the last minute, even forgetting to simply say, “Hello. It’s nice to meet you” or “Good morning. I’m happy to be here.”

Make and hold eye contact. Have you ever noticed how some people say hello with their lips while casting their eyes over your shoulder? Or they pump your hand limply, ready to move on as soon as you let go. You can avoid subjecting yourself to this lack of interest by looking the hiring manager directly in the eye and holding your gaze until he or she makes the next move.

Focus on the three to thirty seconds you have to win over the other person. Once he or she is in your corner, the rest of the interview will fall into place. Even if you make a mistake you’ll soon be forgiven because you’ve already made a lasting good impression, one that leads to a second interview or better yet, a job offer.

Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of the brand new “Secret Career Document” job landing system. Jimmy is also the author of several career related books and writes a monthly article titled, “Tough Times Job Tips.”
Visit our friends at Job Interview “Secret”
and discover Jimmy Sweeney’s breakthrough strategy that will have you standing out from the competition like a Harvard graduate at a local job fair… DURING your next job interview.

© Written By Jimmy Sweeney
President of CareerJimmy and Author of the new
Amazing Cover Letter Creator

Most job seekers know the value of a well-written cover letter. It’s their calling card, their first impression, their opportunity to get a foot in the door of the company they hope to work for. BUT, not every job seeker knows how to write such a letter. Many toot their horn in the wrong direction. They focus on themselves, failing to connect with the hiring manager who is reading the cover letter.

Give Your Best . . .

Keep in mind three things.

1. Your knowledge of the company. Find out the mission statement and mention it in the letter. This shows you have done your homework and know the focus of the organization.

2. Your skills and experience. Tie these to the mission statement. In other words, how can what you do and the background you have help further the goals of the company?

3. Your willingness to work for the good of the organization. Mention your ability to get along with colleagues, to be a team player, and to take the lead when called for.

. . . to Get the Job

A cover letter such as this will demand attention, prompt the hiring manager to call you for an in-person interview, and create a bond of good will between the two of you. Everyone wants to work with a person who has solid experience, sound principles, and a steady work pattern.

You can convey this and more in a first-class job search cover letter.

Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of the brand new, “Amazing Cover Letter Creator.” Jimmy is also the author of several career related books and writes a monthly article titled, “Tough Times Job Tips.”

Visit our friends at Amazing Cover Letters for your “instant” cover letter today. “In just 3½ minutes you will have an amazing cover letter guaranteed to cut through YOUR competition and this tough economy like a hot knife through butter!”

copyright (c) by Kevin Donlin

Your next job is out there waiting for you.

Where?

In somebody’s skull.

More specifically, your next job exists — right now — in the mind of your
next boss.

That job may be murky and formless, a nagging problem that will eventually
require a new employee to solve, for example.

Or it may be defined and open right now, perhaps advertised in the newspaper.

In either case, the job you seek must first exist in the mind of a hiring
manager before it can be filled by a person.

So, the more hiring managers’ heads you can get into, the more jobs you can
be considered for.

Here’s the story of one very smart job seeker who did just that. He met
more hiring managers and got hired for a great job — one that was created
just for him .

1) Start with clarity
When J.L. Zoeckler, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin found himself in the job
market in January 2009, his first step was to decide exactly what he wanted
to do next.

“I knew I was looking for a director of communications or a public
relations position where I could use my skills in public speaking, writing,
and sales,” said Zoeckler.

A trivial point? Hardly.

Most job seekers I encounter have only the faintest idea of what they want
to do.

2) Choose your targets
Zoeckler then spent a Sunday researching potential employers and made a
list of 24 companies he wanted to work for.

“I hunted online for people who could actually hire me, like a VP of
marketing or corporate communications, along with their mailing addresses
and phone numbers,” he said.

Zoeckler was smart to create a “job shopping list” and target people with
the authority to hire him.

3) Send a sales letter
Not a cover letter. A sales letter, one that “sells” employers on the
following points:
* you know who they are,
* you understand their problems, and
* you can help, with promises backed by specific results.

“I worked from my list of skills, then figured out what my work meant in
terms of saving money or creating money. And I was amazed when I thought
about, for example, the time I took that extra responsibility and revenues
went up almost $400,000,” said Zoeckler.

Now. You might think you can’t come up with specific numbers or dollars.
And you would be wrong.

In any job you’ve held for more than 90 days, you either made more money or
saved more money than you were paid in salary. The dollars are there, if
only you’ll look long and hard enough.

Also, you may think you can’t write a sales letter. Wrong again.

Today, go through your “junk mail” and save the sales letters that appeal
to you. Do the same tomorrow and the next day. In three days, you’ll have a
“swipe file” of examples you can borrow from to write your own sales letter
to employers.

Whatever letter you do come up with will be light years ahead of the
typical cover letter, which reads like an IRS tax form.

4) Call to follow up
This is essential. It’s not enough to mail letters — you have to talk to
people.

If you’ve put the time into choosing employers, targeting hiring managers,
and writing a relevant sales letter, people should be willing to take your
call, if only out of curiosity.

That’s what Zoeckler found after mailing his 24 letters on a Monday.

“I called on Thursday, talked to six people, and four of those were
immediately ready to set up a time for an interview,” he said.

5) Meet and get hired
When Zoeckler met with his first potential employer, it was more of a
business discussion than a job interview. That’s because Zoeckler had
positioned himself as the solution to a problem, rather than as a job seeker.

“The employer and I got together for lunch. He said he had more business
than he’s ever had, and unless he brought in someone like me immediately,
he had no idea how he was going to juggle it,” said Zoeckler.

Think you can’t get employers this excited about you? Dogwash.

In good times and in bad, all businesses have problems. They need to make
more money or capitalize on the money they are making. In either case, they
need help.

Your job is to research ideal employers, find out what help they need,
offer to provide it, and prove you can deliver. That’s what Zoeckler did.

How did all of this turn out?

“I was hired full time at the company I first interviewed with, which I
most wanted to work for. The whole thing took only 2.5 weeks.”

Despite the tough economic times, you can take heart from this success
story, which may be the closest thing I’ve ever seen to the perfect job search.

More important than taking heart, though, is for you to take action on
these ideas.

Kevin Donlin is co-author of Guerrilla Resumes. Since 1996,
he has provided job-search help to more than 20,000 people.
Kevin has been interviewed by The New York Times, USA Today,
Fox News, ABC TV, CBS Radio and others.

To learn more about Guerrilla Resumes, Click Here

copyright (c) by Kevin Donlin

Precession, as defined by the American polymath Buckminster Fuller, is the
effect that bodies in motion have on other bodies in motion.

To illustrate, think of a honey bee (and, yes, this will help your job search!)

A bee moves from flower to flower in search of pollen. While in motion, a
bee produces a “precessionary” effect: it fertilizes those flowers,
allowing them to develop seeds and fruit.

Now. Ever had a job interview with a company you didn’t plan on working for
or had never heard of before?

Yes, in all likelihood. And how did it come about?

That interview was probably a side effect — it came from your networking
efforts in another direction, from an online job posting you stumbled upon,
etc.

Would you like to make these precessionary job leads pop up more often,
instead of relying on chance?

You can.

By putting yourself in motion, like a honey bee visiting more flowers, “you
can find and get hired by the best companies you’ve never heard of,”
according to Dr. Barry Miller, Manager of Alumni Career Programs and
Services at Pace University.

And it starts with networking on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.

“Say you’re looking for a certain type of employer, like a hedge fund. On
LinkedIn, you search for people in your network who work at a hedge fund.
Then you target somebody in your area of expertise. For example, you look
for people in finance, accounting, or IT,” says Miller.

If you’re a recent graduate, aim to meet somebody who’s relatively entry
level. If you’re more experienced, go higher when making contacts.

“When you find people and click on their profile, you may see they work for
a company you’ve never heard of,” says Miller. And this is a good thing.

Why?

Smaller companies are the driving force in American employment, creating
between 60% and 80% of all new jobs, according to the U.S. Small Business
Administration. Larger companies, by contrast, are not hiring en masse
these days . in case you hadn’t noticed.

So try searching your LinkedIn network for small employers. When you find
one that intrigues you, click the profile of the person who works (or
worked) there and ask for a conversation.

Miller suggests sending an email like this: “I notice on LinkedIn that you
work for a hedge fund in the area of IT. That’s an area I’m interested in.
Could I possibly meet or speak with you to get the benefit of your advice?”

Never ask a contact for a job outright — nobody will hire you before they
know you. But it’s fine to ask to learn more about a company, to make sure
it’s right for you.

By meeting people at smaller companies, you get the inside scoop on their
corporate culture and prospects for growth, among other things. “Employers
don’t advertise this type of information. You need to go and talk to
people,” says Miller.

Of course, you can and should take this idea offline.

My own unscientific estimate, based on helping more than 10,000 job seekers
over the years, is that one in-person meeting equals 15 phone calls and 30
emails in terms of the number and quality of job leads you can get.

So, the more people you meet face-to-face, the better.

Why not put this idea into action and put yourself in motion today?

You can do it by using Dr. Miller’s tips to research and contact people who
work for companies you’ve never heard of.

Or, take a more general approach and simply help three well-connected
people today — give of your time, contacts, knowledge, or expertise,
either by email (good), phone (better), or by meeting in person (best).

In the past, you may have thought of networking as the best way to “get the
word out and get hired. But so many people do such a poor job of networking
that I’ve decided to abandon the word. Instead, start thinking of how you
can help other people get what they want — that’s networking, done right.

As you contact more people, you can create your own “precessionary” side
effects — job leads from unexpected sources — like a honey bee visiting
more flowers.

Get busy!

Kevin Donlin is co-author of Guerrilla Resumes. Since 1996,
he has provided job-search help to more than 20,000 people.
Kevin has been interviewed by The New York Times, USA Today,
Fox News, ABC TV, CBS Radio and others.

To learn more about Guerrilla Resumes, Click Here

copyright (c) by Kevin Donlin

If you’re looking for a job, here’s an odd question: How much fun are you
having?

Not much?

Well, you might want to change that.

This is the advice of former Minnesota Viking Fran Tarkenton, who suggests
you try to find the fun in every task: “If it’s not fun, you’re not doing
it right,” he says.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you were as motivated to write your resume tomorrow
as you were to play Little League or skip rope as a child?

While I can’t promise to make it as much fun as a trip to Disney World,
there are ways to make job hunting more enjoyable by making it more like a
game.

In fact, here are 6 ways to do it …

1) Use a Scoreboard
Grab a whiteboard, bulletin board, or a large piece for paper.

Then, start “keeping score” of your vital job-search activities, such as
networking calls and jobs you’ve applied for.

Think baseball here. Score every voicemail you leave as a single, a phone
conversation as a double, a networking meeting as a triple, and a job
interview — that’s a home run. (What will your double plays be? Stolen
bases? Walks?)

Remember the advice of top sports agent and author, Mark McCormack: “When
the day is done, make one more phone call.” Then score it.

2) Become Your Own Agent
Speaking of sports agents, almost all pro athletes — the people who get
paid to play games — have one.

Why not become your own agent? Then you can have some fun with the two
most-important things any agent does: promotion and salary negotiation.

First, to promote yourself, join Toastmasters. There you’ll meet local
movers and shakers with connections to hiring managers. And you’ll polish
your communications skills in the process, something that can only make you
more employable.

Another way to promote yourself is to start a blog. Then, promote your blog
– which promotes you! — via Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook, and by
posting intelligent comments on the high-traffic blogs of others.

Second, every agent must know how to negotiate. Do you? Your local library
and bookstore are full of books on interviewing and salary negotiations. If
you haven’t read at least one book on the subject in the last 30 days, get
going — today.

3) Join a Team
There’s nothing like the camaraderie of playing with others against an
opponent. It probably dates back to the first team of cavemen who brought
down a mastodon.

Why not inject some teamwork into your job search? Simply get on the phone
and start “drafting” like-minded people to join your team. Can’t find three
or more people to build a team? Visit area job clubs and join them.

The important thing is to team up with folks whose company you enjoy, and
leave the negative people to themselves.

4) Keep Stats
How could you measure your performance, like a batting average or a
quarterback’s passer rating?

I suggest you track the following numbers each week: networking phone
calls, resumes sent by email, resumes sent by snail mail, people added to
your network, networking meetings attended, and job interviews.

5) Start Competing
Every game is a competition — that’s part of the fun. How can you compete
against yourself and/or others to find a job faster?

For example, if your neighbor John had a job interview last week, how could
you schedule two interviews this week and “beat” him? (Never letting him
know, of course!)

Who among your friends has an excellent blog or attractive resume, and how
could you set about “beating” their efforts, one step at a time?

6) Celebrate Your Wins
Don’t forget to celebrate the “wins” in your job search. The bigger the
victory, the bigger the festivities should be, right up to and including
champagne when you get your new job.

Example celebrations: a cup of mocha or a walk in the park this afternoon
if you schedule a networking meeting this morning; a cigar or bottle of
wine for every job interview, etc.

For this and the other elements of the job-search “game,” you’re limited
only by your imagination. Still stumped? Ask a five-year-old. Seriously.
They’re experts on fun.

Remember: More fun leads to more self-motivation, which leads to faster
results — and faster employment.

Kevin Donlin is co-author of Guerrilla Resumes. Since 1996,
he has provided job-search help to more than 20,000 people.
Kevin has been interviewed by The New York Times, USA Today,
Fox News, ABC TV, CBS Radio and others.

To learn more about Guerrilla Resumes, Click Here

copyright (c) by Kevin Donlin

If you’re looking for a job, you don’t need to be reminded about
how bad the economy and employment markets are.

But you may need to be reminded of a simple fact: You will never get hired
for any job, in any economy, by an employer.

Instead, you will be hired by a person.

A person with feelings, hopes, and fears, just like you.

The more persons you can meet, talk to, and help, the faster you will get
hired. In any city. In any economy.

With that in mind, I went through my past columns from this year and
collected three proven ways to get hired faster by “getting personal” …

1) Meet Employers in Person

You can shorten your job search simply by meeting more hiring authorities
in person.

But you have to do it right. You must dress and act the part you want to
play on the job, if you want to impress an employer enough to hire you.

That’s the advice one man gave his wife that helped her win a job at a
local college.

“She was going to mail her resume to apply for the position, but I told her
that it was so close, why not hand-deliver it instead?” said Daniel
Dallaire, from Kamloops, British Columbia. “That way she could check out
the employer she might be working for at the same time.”

But it almost backfired. As his wife was heading out the door, Dallaire
noticed she was dressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt. Solution? “I told her
to change clothes and look professional before delivering her resume.”

Good thing. She ran into the hiring manager at the office, and her
appearance had a positive influence on the decision to hire her later,
according to Dallaire.

And it never would have happened had she not visited that employer in person.

2) Personalize the Internet

Here’s a clever method one woman used to land a director-level position she
found advertised on one of the biggest employment Web sites, where millions
of other job seekers have uploaded their resumes.

She did it by creating a personal buzz about herself that got the hiring
manager’s attention.

Her story is short and sweet …

“A search online turned up the opening I wanted. I then used my network to
find people who’d refer me. I timed submitting my resume through the job
board with the referrals,” says Barbara Finer, from suburban Boston, Mass.

Finer’s efforts ensured that her resume and the referrals from people in
her network all arrived about the same time.

“The resulting confluence of resources got me on the top of the pile, and I
was hired as Director of Product Marketing at a Boston-area company,” says
Finer.

Here’s how you can do this, too …

1. When you find a job posted online that you really want to apply for,
don’t. First, use your network — especially your contacts at LinkedIn,
Facebook or MySpace — to reach out to people who work at the employer.

2. Ask those people to forward your resume by email or hand it to the
manager you would work for. Give them a specific day to do so, say, Thursday.

3. On Thursday morning, submit your resume to the job posting online.

4. These multiple, coordinated contacts — your resume coming in via the
job board and people delivering it to the hiring manager — can generate
enough buzz to catapult your name to the top of the list.

3) Help Well-Connected Persons

Here’s my take on some good advice from an article by Phil Rosenberg in the
Oct. 8, 2008 issue of CIO Magazine, called “Hubs in Your Job Search.”

Rosenberg discusses how the most-connected people in your network, called
“hubs,” can help you make connections with employers.

In essence, if you help hubs get what they want, they’ll likely help you
get the job you want.

Here are example questions you can ask your hubs, to get conversations started:

* What are your top two challenges at work right now?
* What three people would you most like to meet?
* If you could wave a magic wand at work, what one thing would you change?

These questions will prompt the most-connected people you know to tell you
how to help them. If you help them, they’ll help you. In this case, their
help may lead to employment opportunities.

Why not offer to help a well-connected person today?

Kevin Donlin is co-author of Guerrilla Resumes. Since 1996,
he has provided job-search help to more than 20,000 people.
Kevin has been interviewed by The New York Times, USA Today,
Fox News, ABC TV, CBS Radio and others.
To learn more about Guerrilla Resumes, Click Here

Top 3 Ways to Find a Job in 2010

copyright (c) 2009 by Kevin Donlin

As 2009 draws to a close, most job seekers can only say,
“Good riddance.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average
job search as of November 2009 took 28.5 weeks — more than 7
months. That’s the longest since record keeping began in 1948.

But there is good news: People are still finding jobs, often
faster than average.

How are they doing it?

From what I can see, talking to and counseling hundreds of
people in 2009, successful job seekers do three things that
can get you hired faster in 2010 …

1. Start with clarity

Here’s the best predictor of job-search duration: To the
extent that you can clearly describe your target job title
and a shortlist of 10-20 ideal employers, you will find work
fast.

To the extent that you can’t, you won’t.

Think of it like this. If you walked into a bank and asked for
a loan, they’d ask you a series of questions: How much do you
need? What is it for?
How will you pay it back?

If you can’t clearly tell the bank what you want, they can’t
help you.

And if you can’t clearly tell networking contacts and potential
employers what you want, they can’t help you, either.

2. Stop “networking” and start being helpful

Hands up — who loves networking?

I thought so.

Like eating your broccoli, most people see networking as a
necessary evil.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

You can make better connections that lead to better job leads —
and have a good time doing it — by helping other people.

Fred Stuck, from northern New Jersey, was hired last month
for an IT position after networking effectively. Did he
“work the room” at networking events or spring a “30-second
elevator pitch” on friends and family?

No. He simply tried to be helpful.

“When a recruiter contacted me, I would say, ‘Send me the
full job description,’ even if I wasn’t really interested
in the job,” says Stuck.

He then offered to help the recruiter find candidates by
forwarding the job description to friends and colleagues who
looked like a good fit.

Stuck did more.

After being contacted by a recruiter, he asked to connect
with them on LinkedIn, where many recruiters update their
status with jobs they’re trying to fill. “I saw one update
that said, ‘I’m looking for a Linux Systems Administrator.’
I knew someone and asked if they were in the job market. They
said, ‘Yes,’ so I forwarded their LinkedIn profile to the
recruiter. That person didn’t get the job, but they did get an
interview.”

Meanwhile, Stuck was hired from a networking contact he made
at a prior employer, in a job search that took only about half
as long as the national average. He got what he wanted while
helping others get what they wanted.

3. Go beyond email

Finally, let’s look at how most job seekers communicate with
employers and networking contacts. It’s probably how you
communicate, too.

It’s email.

And I submit that email is the root of most employment struggles.

Yes, email it convenient. But is it effective?

Put another way, if you had to get a message to someone across
town by 5:00 tonight or face certain death, would you email it
and then update your Facebook profile until dinner?

No. You might email that message, yes, but here’s what else you
would do, in this order:

* pick up the phone, call, and ask if they got it;
* fax the message, call, and ask if they got it;
* get in your car and hand-deliver the message yourself.

So. If you wouldn’t trust your life to email, why trust your
career … which provides the money you need to live your life?

If you make one resolution in 2010 make it this: Stop relying on
email and online applications to find a job, and start doing
whatever it takes to make personal contact at companies you want
to work for.

To prove this non-email approach works, here are three mini-case
studies from the Guerrilla Job Search files …

1) Jeff Donaldson, former Chrysler program manager, hired in
November 2009.
He got his winning job lead from a letter he mailed to
networking contacts.
Time to hire: 45 days.

2) Gail Neal, sales rep, hired in November 2009, after mailing
her resume and cover letter in a thank-you note to an employer
she learned of by meeting a LinkedIn contact offline.
Time to hire: 52 days.

3) Mary Berman, marketing executive assistant, also hired in
November 2009, after mailing her resume and cover letter in a
box, with a coffee cup, asking to meet the employer for coffee.
Time to hire: 53 days.

Now. What do the three success traits in this article — clear
goals, helping others, going beyond email — have in common?

They are uncommon.

If you adopt them, you will not be common, or average. And,
with the average job search taking 7 months, who wants that?

Resource: The same Guerrilla Resumes that got the 3 job seekers
in this article hired in only 7 weeks — 75% faster than the
current national average of 28.5 weeks — are found here:

http://www.career-related.com/recommends/guerilla-resumes.html