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Fill a Need and Get Hired (By Kevin
Donlin)
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Most entrepreneurs will tell you that the #1 rule for succeeding in
business is, "Find a need and fill it."
But you don't have to be an entrepreneur to benefit from this
advice.
The "Find a need and fill it" approach will help you write better
resumes and cover letters, and it will help you ace your next job
interview, too.
This method has two steps. Here they are ...
Be The Expert They Want to Hire (By
Kevin Donlin)
Friday,
August 17, 2007
You already know that most employers will use Google to research
your background before hiring you, right?
If hiring managers find nothing online about you, you won't stand
out from the crowd. That's bad.
If they find photos on MySpace of you table dancing in a fur bikini
or videos of you on YouTube doing keg stands ... that's worse.
But, what if, during their Google search, a hiring committee finds
that you've written several industry-related articles and you've
been published all over the Internet? You'll look like an expert in
their eyes -- and be much more likely to get a job offer.
To read the rest of this article, please click
here.
How to Supercharge Your Job Search in
One Week (by Kevin Donlin)
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Back in the 1990s, when I worked for other people, one of my clients
was a little company from Tennessee called Federal Express. Since
its founding in 1973, FedEx has grown from literally a
"fly-by-night" 14-plane operation into a multi-billion dollar
corporation.
And ... what does this have to do with your job search?
Well, success leaves clues, as the success experts say.
And one of the reasons for the astounding success of FedEx can be
traced to the following motto, which is a part of their corporate
culture: You can't improve what you don't measure.
It's the same for your job search.
To read the rest of this article, please click
here.
Old-Time Job Search (by Kevin Donlin)
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Real wisdom is timeless.
Whether it's "Love thy neighbor as thyself," from the Bible, or "You
can observe a lot by watching," from Yogi Berra, wise words have a
habit of sticking around.
The same goes for your job search. Some of the best employment
advice you can get is as true today as it was back in your
grandfather's day.
To prove this -- and to share some old-time job search wisdom with
you -- here are three ways to find a job faster, taken from two
books published more than 65 years ago ...
For the rest of this article, please click
here.
2 Ways to Reverse Your Job Search
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Sometimes you can achieve a breakthrough by thinking in the opposite
direction.
Take 7-Up, for example. It became hugely popular in the ‘60s by
branding itself as the Uncola. 7-Up went in the reverse direction
from other soft drink companies, who were competing with Coke and
Pepsi in the cola market.
Or how about the Volkswagen Beetle? Back when Detroit was pumping
out big, fast, hot muscle cars, VW was selling the small, slow, ugly
Beetle. They went in reverse -- and found huge commercial success.
Success in your job search might be right around the corner, if
you're willing to do the opposite of what the hordes of other job
seekers are doing.
Here are two examples of "reverse thinking" that could help you find
a job faster ...
1) The Reverse Personal Commercial
You may have heard that you need to develop a "personal commercial"
about yourself when networking -- a sort of 30-second advertisement,
like: "I'm a sales manager with 11 years' experience, who's looking
for a job at a Fortune 500 company."
The trouble is, if every other job seeker has a commercial like
this, you may find it hard to stand out when networking or attending
a job fair, for example.
Well, here's a new take on that idea, adapted from "The Little Black
Book of Connections," by Jeffrey Gitomer (www.gitomer.com).
It's called the "Reverse Personal Commercial," strategy. And if you
follow it, you can engage more people while networking. All you have
to do is ask questions, instead of spitting out a canned
"commercial" from memory.
The questions that make up your Reverse Personal Commercial might go
like this: "Hi, my name's Fred. Say, how many (insert your field
here) companies in Minnesota do you know that are growing? What
companies do you know that need to improve their (insert your
expertise here)? Who do you know that I should be talking to?"
Now. Why do questions work? They're hard to ignore -- they force
listeners to pay attention. Plus, questions let you gather valuable
data, so you can quickly tell whether or not you're talking to
someone who can give you a job lead.
So, I have two questions for you:
1) What questions could you ask about your industry and your
expertise that would engage listeners?
2) Whom could you meet and try your Reverse Personal Commercial on
today?
2) Reverse Engineer the Job Posting
Reverse engineering is taking an object apart to see how it works,
in order to duplicate or enhance that object.
When you reverse engineer a job posting online or in the newspaper,
you can see how the mind of an employer works, which will enhance
your job search!
According to career expert Carole Martin (www.interviewcoach.com),
hiring managers put a lot of time and effort into writing job
postings that list the qualities and skills of their ideal
candidates.
In other words, the typical job posting is a wish list. If you can
match its language in your resumes and cover letters, you're much
more likely to get called for an interview.
Here is an example, provided by Martin, of desired traits found in
six job postings for the position of Executive Secretary:
"Confidential" (used in all six postings)
"Ability to proofread and edit" (used in all six)
"Organized, attentive to detail" (used in all six)
"Excellent written and verbal communication skills" (used in four of
six postings)
Do you see a pattern here?
If you're applying for an Executive Secretary position, you need to
highlight the above traits in your cover letter and resume ... so long
as they apply to you, of course!
Bonus: You can use these same words in an interview to make it sound
like you're a natural fit for the position. After all, you'll be
speaking the same language as your employer. So get busy reverse
engineering today!
Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes and creator of
GetHiredNow.TV. Since 1996, he has provided job search assistance to
more than 10,000 people. Author of "51 Ways to Find a Job Fast --
Guaranteed," Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, The Wall
Street Journal, CBS Radio and others. His latest product, The
Instant Job Search System, is available at
www.gresumes.com/instant.
Steal These Ideas to Get Hired
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
I've written before that your job search is really a marketing
campaign, designed to identify, qualify and contact prospects
(companies you want to work for), meet decision makers (people who
can hire you) and sell them (convince them to hire you).
Today I'm going to ... write about that topic again. Because there's
an almost limitless number of marketing ideas you can "steal" and
adapt to your job search.
Here are four ...
1) Write Sales Letters, Not Cover Letters
Why imitate the same dull-as-dishwater cover letters most job
seekers send out?
To write a better cover letter, emulate the best sales letters.
After all, you're trying to sell an employer on the idea of hiring
you, right?
You can Google "writing sales letters" or visit your library to
learn how, but here's a quick list of the essential elements in
every sales letter:
- Personalized opening. Example: "Dear Mr. Jackson." Never, ever
write: "Dear Sir or Madam."
- Reader-focused. All good sales letters are written about "you,"
the reader, and not, "I," the author. If you change all instances of
"I" to "you" in your cover letter, you'll instantly make it more
interesting and effective.
- Prove your claims with specific facts, numbers and dollars.
Self-explanatory.
- Ask for the sale. Example: "Please call me today to learn how I
can save you $42,000 or more as a customer service manager." Or, say
you'll follow up your cover letter with a phone call -- just make
sure that you do!
2) Treat Your Voicemails as Radio Spots
Here's a great marketing idea I got from Internet radio host and
producer, Martin Wales. It's this -- think of your voicemail
messages as 30-second radio commercials. That means you should
script and rehearse every voicemail you leave for employers.
While other job seekers leave rambling, unplanned, unprofessional
messages, you'll give employers one more reason to hire you. How
simple is that?
Try to leave tantalizing messages that practically force hiring
managers to call you back. Example: "Hi, this is Steve Jones. I just
wanted to make sure you received the resume and cover letter I
emailed you on Monday for your accounting position. I thought you
might want to discuss the part where I saved $27,000 last year for a
firm just like yours. If so, please give me a call at 702-555-1212.
Thank you!"
3) Networking a Little Better Can Mean a Lot
According to the book, "1001 Ways to Market Your Services," a study
by Stanford University showed that a small increase in the size of
your network can greatly increase your odds of reaching the right
person.
How much? Just a 10% increase in the number of high-quality contacts
can double your results, according to the study.
What does this mean for your job search? If you've been networking
and not connecting with decision makers who can hire you, try to add
just 10% more qualified people to your network. You can do this!
4) "Sell" to Past "Customers"
Most businesses spend most of their marketing efforts attracting new
buyers ... while neglecting past customers who already know and trust
them, and would likely buy again -- if only they were asked.
Similarly, most job seekers get so caught up in looking for
positions at new employers that they neglect the co-workers and
managers who already know and trust them.
Are you committing this same boo-boo? If so, here's how to fix it
and produce more job leads.
Make a list of every co-worker and manager you have ever had, going
back to high school. Now, cross off the ones you can't stand. Then,
call or email each of the remaining people to let them know about
your job search. If somebody has moved on to a new company, rejoice!
You can not only contact them at their new employer, you can also
introduce yourself to their replacement at the old employer --
turning one contact into two.
You should be able to pick and use at least one of these marketing
ideas for your job search, starting today. Why not start now?
Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes and creator of
GetHiredNow.TV. Since 1996, he has provided job search assistance to
more than 10,000 people. Author of "51 Ways to Find a Job Fast --
Guaranteed," Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, The Wall
Street Journal, CBS Radio and others. His latest product, The
Instant Job Search System, is available at
www.gresumes.com/instant.
3 Job-Search Success Factors
Friday,
April 27, 2007
I've written before that your job search is like an advertising
campaign: to be successful, you must sell yourself to employers and
convince them to "buy" by hiring you.
When it comes to advertising, you can learn a lot by emulating
copywriters -- the people who write words on paper that persuade
other people to buy.
And among the best copywriters, it's a rule of thumb that 3 factors
largely determine the success of any sales letter. They are, in
order:
1) The list (the people you mail to);
2) The offer (what you want prospects to say Yes to; this includes
the price, payment terms and perceived value of your
goods/services);
3) The creative (the actual sales letter, which includes the copy,
graphics and packaging).
By adapting these 3 factors to your job search, you can gain new
insights -- and a new job.
Here's how ...
1) The List
This is paramount. The more people who know you and look upon you
with favor -- the bigger your "list" of qualified prospects -- the
faster you will get hired.
Think of it like this. If your daughter is a Girl Scout and asks you
to buy a box of cookies, guess what? You're going to buy. Why? You
are #1 on her Prospective Customer List. More than anyone else, you
know your daughter, you trust her and you want her to do well.
Let's switch to your job search. Who's #1 on your Prospective
Employer List? And how many people know you, trust you and want you
to do well in your career?
You can't improve what you don't measure, so your first step is to
write down the names of everyone in your network. If you're average,
you should come up with 200-250 names.
Then make a plan to contact 10 people per day for the next 30 days.
Let each of them know exactly what kind of job and employer you're
looking for. At the end of each conversation, ask: "Who else do you
know that I should be talking to?"
Doing this will make positive impressions on the people you know,
while systematically expanding the size of your network -- your list
-- at the same time.
Repeat until hired.
2) The Offer
The second job-search success factor is your "offer." What are you
offering to do for employers and at what salary? The more
attractive, the better.
In advertising, one of the best offers is, "Send no money now. We'll
bill you later."
Now, if you wrote in your cover letter, "Pay me no salary now --
I'll bill you later," you'd get lots of calls. Yes, it's an
attractive offer, but no, it's not in your best interests
financially.
Still, let's run with this idea ...
What if you revised your cover letter to include examples of how
much money you have made or saved for employers? What if your offer
were this: "I'm a bargain. I consistently make or save far more
money than I get paid in salary." What if you backed up your claims
with specific dollars? Do you think that kind of offer might
convince a few hiring managers to call you? You bet!
(For more on how to determine your specific value, Google my earlier
article, "Stop Being A Job Seeker.")
3) The Creative
Your "creative" includes your resumes and cover letters, of course.
But it also includes every word you say while networking and in
interviews, as well as your "packaging" -- the clothes you wear,
your grooming, how you interact with others, etc.
In other words, pretty much everything you write, say or do after
getting out of bed each day can affect how quickly you get hired. It
all adds up to form your employment "creative." Everything counts!
Act accordingly.
Okay now.
I've given you 3 advertising success factors that you can adapt to
your job search. Don't stop there, however. What other sales,
marketing and advertising ideas could you "borrow" today ... and use
to get hired tomorrow?
Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes and creator of
GetHiredNow.TV. Since 1996, he has provided job search assistance to
more than 10,000 people. Author of "51 Ways to Find a Job Fast --
Guaranteed," Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, The Wall
Street Journal, CBS Radio and others. His latest product, The
Instant Job Search System, is available at
www.gresumes.com/instant.
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