7 Steps to Job Search Success

7 Steps to Job Search Success

Introduction

Thank you for taking the time to read 7 Steps to Job Search Success. You

have taken one of THE most important steps towards finding the job you want

through a system that I have personally used in my own career.

Just by reading this e-book, you are going to be WAY AHEAD of 99% of

everyone else whom you might compete against in the job market.

What you are about to learn is a culmination of 30 years of experience in job

changing, hiring, training and sales and marketing.

There is an expression…”the harder you work, the luckier you get”. In the

case of a job search, this is definitely true.

By following the recommendations contained in this e-book, your chances of

getting the job you want will dramatically improve.

Step1 How Many People Do You Know That Hate Their Job?

How many people do you know that hate their job, but have been doing it for

YEARS? Do you know why? Because finding a better job is hard work. I

hate to be the one to tell you this, but somebody has to. Finding the job you

want “ain’t gonna be easy”.

People would actually rather stay where they are and be miserable than take

the time to find something better. Too many people give up because “life”

gets in the way and inertia slows.

These people will always have an excuse:

• It’s just not the right time right now…

• My husband/wife is in the middle of a big project and…

• My son and daughter are in college now and…

• We just bought a new car and …

• The job market just isn’t’ good right now and…

• I am a little nervous about the economy and…

• Yadda, yadda, yadda…

I understand that life happens and that many of the reasons that people give

for not changing jobs are valid, but I also know that just by changing a few

things in your life, you can carve out the time needed to make your life better.

If you follow the 6 suggestions and ideas in this article, you will get where you

want to go a lot faster. So let’s get started.

1 – First and foremost, get your personal life in order as best you can.

Before you start looking for a new job, be sure that your personal life is “in

order” and prepared to accept what it takes to find a new job. You are going

to need a lot of quality time and support at home in order to find the job you

want.

Place your job campaign ahead of all other personal priorities. Make a

commitment. This doesn’t mean ignore your family by any means, but it does

mean that some things will need to be sacrificed. If you have a choice

between working on your resume and going to you son’s concert, go to the

concert. But if you have a choice of watching Monday Night Football or

working on your cover letter, well…you get the picture!

2 - Set a target amount of time you will spend on your job search each week

and stick to it.

As with so many other things in life, you get out of it as much as you put into it.

I’ve seen books entitled, 20 Minutes to a Better Resume, and so on. I’m sorry,

but if you really want a great cover letter and resume, you have to spend a lot

more than 20 minutes to make it right. Even a half hour to one hour a day is

better than nothing.

3 - Begin gathering facts, figures and accomplishments about your career to

date.

Dates of employment, job titles and responsibilities, salary progression, major

achievements, special skills that make you unique, educational background,

including any courses you’ve taken since college or high school. Be sure to

include any training your company has provided or courses they have paid for.

Get it all down on paper because you’ll need it to write your resume, cover

letter and on interviews.

4 - Create your own personal portfolio.

When advertising agencies are looking for new clients, they always show you

their “portfolio”. This usually includes copies of their finest work,

achievements and the great results their campaigns achieved.

You also have a product to “sell” …it’s you! Consider that you are your own

company. It’s called…ME INC. As president of ME INC. you need to create a

product that your prospects (in this case a potential employer) sees value in

and is willing to “buy” (literally and figuratively).

A good portfolio will visually demonstrate and support your abilities during an

interview. Anything that is not proprietary, confidential or property of previous

employers should be kept in your portfolio. This works particularly well for

artists, marketing personnel, architects, designers, etc.

Some of the things you might want to include could be catalogs, brochures,

letters of success, anything you created – ads, PR, reports, patents, products,

etc. Any successful “before and after” campaigns work particularly well.

5 - Create a list of companies that you think you’d like to work for.

Get the address, phone number and the name of the CEO/President if

possible. You can get this information from the ads you cut out from the

newspaper or from your local Chamber of Commerce (they usually have a list

of member companies that might be helpful).

Many local business journals publish annual “LISTS” editions. These usually

list the top 10-25 companies in different categories including the largest

private and public companies, largest Advertising and Public Relations

companies, largest non-profits, etc. Creating this list helps you focus your

energies on a smaller group of target companies – a “rifle” approach versus a

“shotgun” approach.

6 - Get organized and be ready for the months ahead with these final 6

suggestions

1. Get a personal/private cell phone if you can so you are not making

phone calls from your work office. Make sure to take off all those cute

greetings too. Get a home answering machine and again – change the

message to be more professional.

2. Appearance counts! Make sure that you have the right clothes to go on

interviews. This doesn’t necessarily mean formal suits. Your wardrobe

should match the industry you are in and the job that you seeking.

3. Try to find a quite place in your home that you can devote to your jobhunting

effort. A home office is ideal if you have one.

4. Change your e-mail address to something appropriate. Your

SugarPie@hotmail.com address my have been cute while you were

dating, but it doesn’t make for a good first impression and certainly

doesn’t present the professional image you want to project.

5. Start thinking about who you will use for references. You’ll need to find

people you can trust. Start gathering their names, addresses, phone

numbers and e-mail addresses now. Don’t forget to call and let your

references know that someone might be calling then in the near future.

6. An organized desk will be your best friend especially if you get an

unexpected call from a hiring manager. You’ll also need to set up a

system of tracking who you send resumes to and what job you were

applying for.

Remember, in the end, no one owes you a job. It truly is your responsibility to

find a job. Sure, there are recruiters, friends, etc. but the bottom line is that

you can’t/shouldn’t depend on anyone else to get you a job.

Step 2- Job-Hunting? - The Best Story Always Wins

There’s an old joke about two men hunting in the jungle. Suddenly, they come

upon a man-eating tiger that has not eaten for days. The hunters both start

running with the tiger in hot pursuit. As they are running, one hunter says to

the other. “You know, we’ll never be able to outrun this tiger.” To which the

other hunter replies, “I don’t have to outrun the tiger; I only have to outrun

you.”

The point of the story is that, yes, there will be many other candidates in the

stack of 500 cover letters and resumes that the hiring manager will receive for

just one ad and many will have more experience and better qualifications than

you. You just need to be sure that your cover letter and resume shows off

your strengths and experience better than the other guy. And if you follow the

ideas in this article, they will!

Job-hunting is like the sales profession. It always comes down to…he who

has the best “story” wins. Unless your boss was either friends with the hiring

manager, or the nephew of the owner, or had compromising photos of the

President, he/she probably got into the position because they had a great

“story” to tell.

I have better credentials yet they got the job. How did they do it? The answer

is simple: They did their “homework” ahead of time. They put the time

required into the job-hunting process. In addition all the pieces of their jobhunting

process had the same CONSISTENT look, feel and style. Not only

did their cover letter, resume, interview, thank you letters, and negotiating

have the same style, it was the style the company was looking for. As a

matter of fact, the hiring company felt damn lucky to land such a find as your

boss!

What does it mean to have the “best story”?

Let me define “story”. A great story essentially means that to the employer,

you have “The Right Stuff”. A great story evolves from a well thought out jobhunting

system where all pieces of the “campaign” are closely aligned. It

requires thought, logic, study and of course practice. It’s a theme that

continually shows up in anything and everything you write or say.

Developing a great story takes time and it takes thought. As agonizing as it

can sometimes be, the process of gathering information for your cover letter

and resume will prove to be one of the most rewarding experiences in the jobchanging

process. It forces you to compile and summarize the most important

facts and significant achievements of your career to date. It also helps you

narrow down the focus of your current job search objective and develop your

story.

During the all-important screening process (as written in a previous article)

you have less than 30 seconds to convince the hiring manager that you have

a great story. You do that by clearly showing the hiring manager:

• What you are looking for,

• Your major skills,

• Whether or not you can you help solve their problems and

• Your greatest accomplishments

Step 3- Five Easy Ways to Become a Job-Search “Commando”

According to current Department of Labor statistics, today’s college graduates

will, on average, have 8 to 10 jobs and as many as 3 careers in their lifetime.

In addition, in today’s job market with downsizing, rightsizing, layoffs, mergers

and acquisitions, etc. your job skills and job-hunting skills need to be

constantly updated and refined.

The job market is getting tougher and your competition is getting smarter.

That’s why you need to gain every advantage you can. You need to become

a Job-Search “Commando”. Commandos commonly use guerilla tactics to

win. What I am about to share with you are tactics that have helped me find

good jobs over the last 28 years.

Commando Tactic #1 - Problem solvers get jobs!

All companies have problems. Demonstrate that you can solve a company’s

problems and the world will beat a path to your door.

What type of issues do companies have?

• Sales are down

• Expenses are up

• Market share is decreasing

• Layoffs are coming

• The company is in acquisition mode

• New departments/divisions are being formed

• Someone is retiring or going on leave

• The company is entering a new market

• A new product has been developed

• New ad campaigns are being discussed

• A department that was outsourced is now being brought in-house (ad

agency, Public Relations)

• They are in need of new leadership

• Assignments/goals/objectives are not being met

• The competition is continuing to gain market share.

At this moment, dozens of companies in your surrounding area are in

immediate need of someone like you to help solve their problems; you just

need to find them. That leads us to broadcast letters.

Commando Tactic #2 - Broadcast letters uncover positions in the “hidden” job

market.

A Broadcast or Marketing letter is an excellent way to uncover positions that

have not been announced yet. Many people call this the hidden job market.

Once you tap into the hidden job market, your chance of success increase

dramatically.

Why? Because you are not competing with a “million” other people that

answered the same ad. There are no other people because there was no ad!

Broadcast letters can help generate leads for you because companies always

problems that need to be solved. As they say, timing is everything so if your

letter arrives at the right time, you may find yourself with a job interview.

In addition to solving a problem (see list above) that the company currently

has or will have in the near future, considering you might actually save them

money.

How? If you are the right candidate to help solve a problem or address a

specific issue, they will not have to pay a recruiter, or place any ads on

Monster.com, or in dozens of newspapers. – Everyone wins!

Commando Tactic #3 – Answering blind ads lessens your competition.

Many people think that answering blind ads opens yourself up to the

possibility that you might be sending your cover and resume to your current

company. While there is that possibility, the ad hopefully gives you enough

information to recognize it as your won company.

What most job hunters don’t realize it that blind ads will usually only get about

50% of the responses that a traditional ad would get. What that means is that

you are competing with half the number of people you normally would. This

essentially doubles your chances of having your resume and cover letter

selected for a follow-up phone call.

Commando Tactic #4 - The best time to answer an ad?

Be the last resume received. I made it a habit of sending in my cover letter

and resume 2 weeks after the ad ran. By then I knew I was not competing

with 500 other resumes that were sent in right away. My information got more

time because the hiring manager did not have to read 499 other resumes the

same day.

Commando Tactic #5 – Answer ads twice

If you never hear from a company where you sent in your resume, send

another cover letter and resume in about 2 months. Many times, the position

was not filled because there was no qualified candidate or the company and

candidate could not come to terms on a compensation package. This means

they have to start from scratch. Your resume may arrive just at the right time

and get a second look.

By following some of these Commando tactics, you chances of finding the job

you want will increase dramatically.

Step 4 - Cover Letter Versus Resume – Which Is More Important?

Some people say that the resume is THE most important part of the job

changing process, while others say it’s the cover letter and even others say

it’s the interview. The truth is that they are all right and wrong!

It’s like asking …what is more important in a car, the brake pedal, the gas

pedal or the steering wheel. Obviously you need all three to get you from

point A to point B.

The main purpose of a resume along with the accompanying cover letter is to

get you the interview, pure and simple. The way to accomplish this is to show

off your strengths and achievements and minimize your weaknesses (we all

have them). Now is not the time to be modest - if you don’t tell the hiring

manager how good you are and what you can do for his company, no one

else will.

Cover letters and resumes are both used to get you the interview; they just do

it a little differently.

The cover letter serves many purposes. The cover letter:

• is the perfect place to expand upon your resume, add information you

couldn’t fit on the resume or to place more emphasis on a specific point

or experience.

• directs the reader to your resume for more information.

• tells the reader how, where and when to contact you.

• explains why you are interested in their company and why they should

be interested in speaking with you.

• suggests action...I’ll call you...please call me, etc.

• lets you clearly state why this company is interesting and a good match

for you and the potential employer.

• should concentrate on how your skills and abilities can benefit the

employer both now and in the future.

In addition, a cover letter gives the reader more information about you such as

your writing style and your “personality”. It must be interesting enough, to

entice the reader to read your resume.

The cover letter may say something like, “as you’ll see in the attached

resume, blah, blah, blah” or “in addition to the information listed on the

attached resume, I have also done, blah, blah, blah.”

A good resume:

• zeros in on those skills and abilities that you have that are most relevant

and important to the job you are seeking.

• focuses on your achievements and accomplishments not just the

responsibilities you had at each job.

• reveals the results of your achievements.

• should project your career as a series of progressive accomplishments.

• needs to be short on words and long on facts.

• is eye appealing and visually inviting.

But remember, your past accomplishments and achievements are relevant

only as it relates to what you can do now for the hiring company. No matter

how good you were at a previous company, to the hiring company, it’s all

about what can you do for them.

Step 5- Solve My Problem and You’re Hired!

Resumes and cover letters that get acted upon are those that demonstrate the

writer’s potential to solve an employer’s problem based on how similar

problems in the past were solved by the applicant. Companies like resumes

that demonstrate what you can do for them…that you are a problem-solver.

Put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager/screener and you’ll understand

why a good cover letter and resume MUST make you stand out and therefore

is so important. To make a point, let’s make some “worst case” scenario

assumptions about the hiring manager reading your cover letter and resume

for the first time.

Assume that the person reading your resume and cover letter:

is doing so after having been in meetings all day,

• ate a big lunch

• is dealing with numerous personal problems

• is very tired

• is over worked and under paid

• and it’s Friday afternoon at 3 PM

• leaving on vacation tomorrow

OK, maybe I’m being a little dramatic here, but you get the picture? In many

instances, the hiring manager just wants to get through the giant stack of mail

ASAP. If you assume all this, then you’ll write your cover letter and resume so

it is easy to read, impactful and commands a stronger presence than the other

letters in the “to read” pile.

Keep these 5 points in mind when writing your cover letter and resume.

1. You want to make it as easy as possible for the hiring manager to get a

sense of you in just a few seconds.

2. Your cover letter and resume have to be exciting, dynamic and be

EXACTLY what the screener/hiring manager is look for.

3. You need an easy-to-read format that can be scanned quickly and

easily, so be sure that your letter and message is clear, succinct and

direct.

4. Your cover letter should have a lot of white space and use bullet points,

with short effective phrases that are easy to read quickly.

5. The experience and accomplishments in your resume are only relevant

to the hiring manager if he/she thinks it can address the issues and

problems important to the company.

Good resumes and cover letters help you organize your career by presenting

the achievements and events that YOU have selected to showcase the way

YOU want.

In an interview, these documents serve as a pre-planned agenda because the

hiring manager will obviously question you on what appears on them. In

addition, they both serve as a leave behind and a “silent salesperson” that

others will view after the interview.

If you have captured their attention after reading your information, you will get

called for an interview. But remember, resumes don’t get jobs, people do so

you’ll need to start preparing for your interview.

Step 6 - Screening Job Applicants – What Really

Goes On Behind Closed Doors?

The first goal of any hiring manager is not to find a candidate, but to

ELIMINATE unqualified candidates. Most hiring managers reading your

resume will take the pile of up to 500 letters they received and try to separate

the definite “no's’ (Don’t Call) into one pile and the interesting resumes into

the second pile (Might Call). They then go back and eliminate again until

what they have is a manageable pile (5-10 max) of pre-qualified candidates

(To Call).

Getting into the second pile (Might Call) is your first goal. The first cut may

take you from a stack of 500 resumes to a smaller yet still intimidating stack of

20.

At 20 resumes, the reader will spend 2-3 minutes on each resume versus just

a few seconds the first time through. The objective here for the hiring

manager is to take the stack of 20 down to a more manageable 5-10 resumes

mentioned above.

At 5-10 resumes, the reader will be spending some quality time reading what

you have written. They may be highlighting and making notes about the

things that interest them the most or closely align with what they are looking

for.

A few more resumes will be eliminated during this round, but not necessarily

put back into the Don’t Call pile. These candidates go into the Might Call pile

but will only be called only if the hiring manager cannot find enough qualified

candidates from 4-8 resumes they have left. This is the To Call pile that you

want to end up in.

The hiring manager begins to make some calls and do some initial phone

interviews. From here a few more people may be eliminated for a variety of

reasons. Some of the people may have already taken other positions or the

hiring manager does not like the candidate enough to invite him or her in for a

face-to-face interview.

The hiring manager will keep interviewing until they have invited 3-5 people in

for a personal interview.

As the realistic numbers I’ve indicate above reveal, in order to be invited in for

an interview, you’ll need to have a resume and cover letter better than 495

other candidates. Notice I did not say you needed more education, better

experience or more years on the job than the other people applying for the

same job. You just need to have better paperwork…”you just need a better

story.” This will be the topic of my next article.

Step 7- Job Interviews Are Predictable – So be Prepared

For the most part, 80% of what goes on in an interview is routine and

predictable. There are hundreds of books out there on what to ask and what

you’ll be asked. In addition to the standard questions, you need to decide

what questions you are most afraid the interviewer will ask you so you can

prepare and practice answers to those questions now.

A common interview agenda that looks something like this:

1. Introduction

2. Walking to the interview room

3. Small talk

4. The interviewer may give you a brief description of the position/overview

of the company (depends on the interviewer)

5. The interview then asks:

• Tell me about yourself

• Job highlights/work experience

• Achievements

• Strengths and weaknesses

• Maybe education

• Maybe outside interests – community service

6. The interviewer may ask you if you have any questions

7. The interviewer should let you know a little more about where they are in

the interviewing process and advise you of what their next steps are.

Are you the best candidate?

Companies and hiring managers want to make sure you are the best

candidate. Because of that there are certain things that they want from any

candidate they hire. These are the things you need to be sensitive too and be

prepared to emphasize. I have listed below just a few of the things they look

for.

Companies want:

• Someone who will stay for a while

• Someone who can and wants to do the job

• A person who will compliment or lead the team

• Fast learner

• Appropriate skills for the job

• Can advance if required

• A good “soldier”

• Someone who will make the hiring manager and hence the company

look good

• Someone who can and will help advance the company goals and

objectives.

Hiring Managers want:

• Skills, abilities

• Personality, integrity, character

• What is NOT written on your resume?

• Communication and interpersonal skills

• Fit and finish

• Intelligence

• Self-confidence

• Initiative

• Leadership

• How you handle conflict and pressure

• Technical skills

• Industry contacts

Don’t look at the interview as just reciting your resume, or to just answer

questions that the interviewer will ask. Make no mistake, you must at least in

the beginning, be on the selling side. The best way to sell yourself is to help

the interviewer learn all the good things about you. Knowing ahead of time

what companies and hiring managers are looking for will help you prepare.

Want to learn more? Click Here www.JobChangingSystem.com

Conclusion

Since 1977 I have worked for 9 different companies ranging from a start-up

venture with virtually no sales to a multi-billion dollar, multi-national company.

During that time I have held 20+ different positions in both sales and

marketing. In addition, I’ve interviewed and hired hundreds of people for a

multitude of positions.

Now other job-changers like you can benefit from my 28 years of knowledge

and experience in hiring and getting hired by some of the toughest screeners,

hiring managers and recruiters in the country.

I hope this book has done three things for you. First, I hope you have picked

up some information that will help you get the job you want faster and easier

than before. Second, I hope it has inspired you that you can win at the “job

changing game”. And lastly, I hope it has motivated you to learn more about

how to find the right job.

Believe me, I know first hand how hard and frustrating a job search can be –

been there, done that. My advice is simple…Hang in there. Follow the ideas

in this book, stay focused and don’t give up. There’s a job out there with your

name on it. You just have to prepare yourself to find it.

By This Time Next Month, You Could Have the Job You

Want, the Money You Deserve and Respect that’s Been

Missing.

100% GUARANTEED!