What it Takes to Lead a Successful Job Search Campaign to Find and Create Job Openings Within the "Hidden Job Market"

Mining the "Hidden Job Market"
Building a Network of Contacts
Cold Calling: What It Is and Why You Need to Cold Call Employers
Applying for Work in Person
Understanding the Job Search Challenge and the Importance of Generating Leads
Information Interview / Job Interview Preparation
Finding Jobs with Information Technology Employers

Don't Wait for Employers to Post Jobs or Find Your Résumé!

Finding work in today's increasingly competitive job market can be challenging, and so job seekers as a result must learn and effectively use proven job search methods to find better employment and minimize time spent "between jobs". Not surprisingly, you can find better jobs faster if you act on the knowledge of what it takes to lead a successful job search campaign. The following job search tips are designed to be accurate and sufficiently complete to enable you to find better work faster, and so that you won't have to read anything more before starting your new job.

Job search results prove that people who draw on the lessons of other successful job seekers experience a heightened ability to efficiently find better employment in less time than would be required using conventional job search ideologies and methods.

These results prove that job seekers able to stand head and shoulders above the competition by applying the following effective job search strategies that are relatively unknown to the majority of job hunters will benefit to the tune of thousands of additional dollars in their bank accounts as they find work faster while avoiding possible loss of self-esteem and unemployment-related depression and anxiety.

That said, it may sometimes be overly optimistic to believe that you can beat the competition through hard work and clever tactics. In some cases, it may be necessary to change objectives to find work and recognize that your job finding problems are rooted in a tough job market in order to avoid feeling that you must be doing something wrong when employers are not calling you for interviews.


Understanding What Works and What Does Not

The collective experience of job seekers proves that posting your résumé at hundreds of job sites or "blasting" it to hundreds of recruiters and employers is a self-defeating strategy. This approach won't let you customize it for a specific employer or job opportunity, and so you likely will not be called. You also won't be able to follow up by calling or e-mailing the large number of employers who receive your résumé and will miss opportunities to establish contact and move your application forward in the hiring process.

In fact, sending a résumé in response to an ad is one of the least effective methods of finding a job, according to J. Michael Farr, author of "Getting the Job You Really Want" (JIST Works Inc., 2002). This is because hundreds of other candidates are responding to ads, causing a deluge of résumés in human resource departments.

As part of your proactive job search campaign, you will find it more effective to (when possible) send résumés only to named individuals having the power to hire you. Try to avoid office managers, the Human Resources department where it exists, and other "gatekeepers" whose duty is to keep you from communicating with people having the authority to hire you.

As an alternative to mass mailing form letters, you can take important steps toward  meeting employer contacts by sending individual, targeted messages to these named individuals as part of building your network. 

The key word here is 'contacts,' because, as part of implementing the proactive job search campaign targeting employers advocated in this paper, you will be creating a network of employer contacts who know you as someone intelligent, trustworthy, interesting and easy to work with, in addition to being skilled and experienced [if you are]. Once you're clear on the steps taken by employers to recruit new hires [explained later], the value of being in this position will become even more evident.

To develop and strengthen your network of contacts, you will need to research employers to learn about their needs and also to find the names and contact information for people working for them who have the power to hire you. These are the people you need to include in your network, and to meet, so that they can get to know you.

The feedback you receive while researching and getting to know employers and employer contacts can provide you with the motivation you need to take action to advance your job search. Having quick access to company and contact information as you go about this task will enable you to maintain your job search momentum and avoid getting bogged down in the time-consuming task of manually searching for the information you need to effectively target employers.

Your employer research will help you identify their needs, and your main challenge knowing their needs will be to find a way to communicate your ability to meet them using your cover letter and résumé, and by talking to them on the phone and in person. Contacting employers and making your talents known to them is easier than you think, especially when you use the following proven job search ideas and methods.

These job search ideas and methods are on topics ranging from What Networking Is to Tapping Into the Hidden Job Market, to Effective Résumés and Cover Letters, and are here to assist you in making an informed choice on how to most effectively find your next job, future jobs, and continue building your career.


The JobPro Directory for Vancouver and Area Job Seekers

The JobPro Directory offers Vancouver and area job seekers company and contact information you need to find, research and target local employers as part of your proactive job search campaign. If you would like to use this resource for free, ask your local job search resource centre to investigate purchasing JobPro, or contact us to purchase your own copy.

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Running a Proactive Job Search Campaign Targeting Employers

Mining the Hidden Job Market To Create Your New Career

Job searching and networking are really about getting yourself noticed. You must do this in an organized and formal process so that you maintain control. You will be creating lists of companies to approach, lists of people currently working at your target companies, maintaining records of interviews, records of conversations and their results, and next steps you must perform per company.

Networking is the process of making acquaintances and getting to know many other people. You need to let them find out who you are, what you have to offer, and what kind of job you are looking for. Networking is considered the most effective way of finding a job, and it demands time and motivation. The more people know you, the better your chances of finding the right job. 

When first conceived, new jobs are like precious gems: They're hidden until you find them. It makes sense, then, to be a job 'miner' instead of a job seeker. Job miners combine their skills, experience and connections to strike at the entire lode of possibilities. Miners are active, not passive, and they focus on the future, not the past, to create opportunities.

Lily Jiang, an internationally trained professional with an engineering background, used the mining approach after being terminated from her position as a market research director for a Vancouver area biotechnology company. Following the firing, Ms. Jiang moved back to a job she previously held with a BC government agency while she looked for more challenging work. She began networking, and, based on the information she gathered, developed a job proposal that led to a new position as Director of Engineering Services being created for her at another government agency.

For Ms. Jiang, mining for connections and support taught her how to learn from every experience during her search, no matter how difficult, and to apply that knowledge to her quest of finding a new position.

In contrast, a former senior marketing manager for a telecommunications company in Richmond, BC, remains a job seeker. He's been looking for a new position since last year, when he was reassigned to a project that's clearly not going to advance his career, and which will soon end and result in him being laid off. His method of looking for work has been passive: reading company bulletins and trade journals for advertisements.

"Perhaps something will come up before this position ends. For now, I'm applying for everything I see advertised that's remotely appropriate", he says.


Untapped and Unpublished

Job mining makes sense for many reasons. Consider that only about 20% to 30% of all available positions are advertised, but since most people focus 80% to 90% of their search effort on these jobs, the competition for them is greatest. That means the smallest probable returns for your effort.

In contrast, about two-thirds of all jobs are on managers' wish lists, still unofficial or being circulated on networks in the form of, "I'd like to find someone who could..." These comprise the hidden job market. Once advertised, the window of opportunity closes on getting hired quickly. Besides more competition, there are structured hiring protocols (job descriptions, hiring committees, résumé screening) and established compensation ranges to contend with.

The mining process is focused less on past titles and more on accomplishments, flexibility and transferable experience. You may need to prove your ability to react quickly, apply your experience in new ways or get things done without title-power. Here's where miners find chances to strike it rich.

Barbara Dawid, Marketing & Resource Advisor, Job Placement & Resource Centre@Training Institute, Immigrant Services Society of BC says: "Job miners take action to translate their areas of strength into new situations, tune in to opportunities beyond those described by someone else and change their focus from what 'is' to what 'could be' ".


Become a Miner
 
Job mining involves shifting at least half of your search energy and strategies into finding ways to become the solution to an organizational challenge. It may mean using short-term or "disposable" employment to gain experience and exposure. This might include taking on project work, portfolio jobs or volunteering in a community setting or professional association to make new contacts or broaden your skills. Here are the steps to take to become a miner:

1. Determine what interests you

What is it that you want to do? Marketing professionals begin by defining the product and the audience. Who will be interested in you? Whom do you want to interest? What do you offer them?

Do some self-assessment. What engages and challenges you? You may not have time for a long self-exploration process. However, Internet resources, published career guides and career coaches can help you to gain insights quickly.

Build a database of skills and anecdotes showing how your experience translates into results. Don't expect employers to make the leap. Be ready to say how your skills can be applied to different functions or industries. Also know how to discuss your failures. Self-knowledge means being able to say what you learned from difficult situations.

"Mining requires applying all your experience in new ways into the next opportunity," says Ronald Ma, Vice Principal and Director of Employment Services, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Training Institute. "Be prepared to bring out the positive from every thing you've done. Defining yourself by job title isn't realistic. Portability of experience is what's important".


2. Market yourself

You must shake the tree for opportunities. This means focusing on the future, researching new growth areas and making connections. Whenever possible, choose people over paper. Try to meet with contacts instead of mailing résumés, says Rosemary Barnhart, a career consultant in Olympia, Wash.

A monthly networking group she started that meets at 6:45 a.m. for breakfast now includes more than 75 attendees from various businesses and industries. They focus on forming business collaborations and learning about new opportunities. They mine all year long.

Create opportunities to talk to new people, especially those in different segments of your industry, other industries, positions of leadership or other roles that allow them to know about future growth plans. Most miners find jobs through a wider circle of contacts than the four or five people they know well. To meet more people, attend conferences, volunteer for committee work or make presentations.

Job titles can be limiting. To create new possibilities, discard labels you've worn. Have personal business cards printed without your title. Use them to introduce yourself. Create a personal commercial - a brief, positive self-introduction to describe yourself in a way that helps others feel they've connected with you.

Examine your self-marketing documents such as biographies, résumés and portfolios. These are your personal representatives. Does the information in your résumé reflect what you want to do in the future? Is it presented in a way that will hook a prospective employer? Do your cover letters address solutions employers are buying? Consider sending personal letters to hiring managers instead of typical cover letters and résumés. Determine if your personal appearance and presentation skills are adequate. If not, seek help in both areas from career professionals.


3. Remove obstacles

Mining involves seeing the possibilities that lie below the surface and being ready to seize them. If hiring is slow in your industry or geographic area, do research to determine areas of greatest opportunity and explore them.

This may mean making difficult decisions in advance about relocating. Few things can be more damaging to a family or personal relationship than having to decide whether to stay or move after an opportunity becomes available. The process is doubly difficult if you are part of a dual-career couple.

Decide on your job-search criteria before you start mining. What are the relative weights of each? How long will you look locally before branching out? Write down your specifications. Invent a point system for evaluating opportunities and rating your progress.


4. Stay energized and positive

If you have let things slide, now is the time to accelerate your efforts. Build mental muscle by talking about your desires and goals. Just as your body's muscles become stronger with repetition, your mental picture of your desired outcome will become more real every time you repeat it.

To stay positive, use the rubber-band trick. Wear a rubber band around your wrist and snap it when you think a negative thought. Ask a friend to hold you accountable for thinking positively. Talking positively about your mining activity will help you stay focused on the future.

If you're unemployed, resist the temptation to isolate yourself. Don't spend your days sending e-mails and résumés. This can make you feel productive, but the lack of response from employers can lead to self-criticism and depression.

Change your schedule so your days are spent calling contacts, arranging meetings and attending events that allow you to meet more people. Save evenings for Internet follow-up activities. Set goals and track your accomplishments. Keep a success calendar and post your big and small achievements in it each day.

In your job search, you've talked to your ex-boss, five former co-workers, your in-laws and their in-laws. You've e-mailed your sister, your first cousins and even your second and third cousins. You've probed for leads from your best friends, your uncle John and your niece Sue. You've handed out more business cards than you can count at chamber of commerce lunches. You've even left four voice mails for that guy who moved to Toronto. He hasn't called back.

If you continue in this manner, you're bound to find someone who knows someone, but it isn't likely to be soon. The guy from Toronto has given up on the corporate world and is on an extended vacation in Mexico. Your relatives would love to help, but don't know anyone influential in your industry. And members of the chamber of commerce simply aren't hiring.


What's the Alternative?

Networking is usually defined as seeking referrals through others. The emphasis is on securing an introduction to a hiring manager before you make the call. Almost everyone who has ever studied job hunting will tell you that it's the surest method of finding a job, yet you've networked your network to the bone and the results are skimpy or nonexistent. Don't fret. Research shows that there's another method of landing interviews that's even better than networking.

It's called cold calling or direct contact, and it means just that: making cold calls to people who might be able to hire you, and telling them about your availability and interest in working for them. Research shows that it's surprisingly effective.

A recent survey of professionals, managers and executives by the Five O'Clock Network, a career-counseling network based in New York City, shows that direct contact is a more effective use of your time when seeking meetings with hiring managers.

Their results showed that job seekers who called association members, professionals identified through newspaper articles or Internet research, and other contacts in a position to hire were more effective in their job search.

They also found that job hunters spent 24% of their time making these kinds of cold calls, which yielded 27% of their meetings. In contrast, they spent 45% of their time networking, yet this job-search technique produced only 35% of their meetings, the Five O'Clock Network reports.

While these results may not seem too startling, they reveal that cold calling/direct contact is the most time-efficient method for getting meetings because you can take action yourself. Networking takes more time and is more cumbersome than using direct contact, because if you're networking, you have to use a third party. Then you may have to get yet another name before you reach the hiring authority.

The survey also showed that direct contact was effective for even job hunters looking for work as senior executives. Although they secured most of their meetings through networking, direct contact accounted for almost 30%.

Because of the high level of success many job seekers have in cold calling, career counselors often recommend that you spend at least 80% of your time on the phone contacting hiring managers directly. In making your cold calls as a job seeker targeting employers, keep in mind that two-thirds of all job openings are with small businesses having fewer than twenty-five employees.

It's also super important that you understand that most of your "cold calls" can be made warmer and more effective if you take the time to research employers to determine their needs and how you may be able to help them before calling them. Doing this employer research prior to contacting them can not only make employers more receptive to your calls, but will also enable you to create better customized résumés and attention-getting cover letters which give you a stronger competitive edge, and through them, more interviews and job offers.


Why Direct Contact Works

Why is direct contact so effective? The approach emphasizes looking for new positions in the marketplace before they're known to the general public via newspapers and other advertising.

Using direct contact circumvents the many time-consuming steps required by traditional methods of job searching. You don't have to find someone who can refer you to a hiring manager.

If you're applying to a large corporation, you must get through a series of screening techniques...filling out an application, getting your résumé entered into a database, getting through the human-resources department, and passing a phone interview before you even see the face of a decision maker. Picking up the phone and talking to somebody almost always works better.

Dr. Sayer concurs: "Everyone makes the mistake of placing too much importance on published openings." His advice? "Contact organizations that don't publicize openings now, and stay in touch with them. This increases the chance they'll hire you, rather than post the job, when they need help."


Four Simple Steps

Most job seekers can use this technique if they apply some time-tested tactics. It involves just a few simple steps.


1. Adjust your attitude

Adopt the posture of a busy CEO running your own business. When you approach executives and hiring managers at businesses you'd like to work for, think of yourself as an equal. Act as if you're a busy professional making a business proposal, rather than a job hunter seeking a position. Think of your résumé as a powerful business proposal outlining a contribution you'd like to make to that company, not as a document describing past accomplishments.


2. Do your homework on employers

Select the companies you'd like to work for regardless of whether they advertise an opening. You can choose companies you know about, peruse the Yellow Pages for businesses in your area, and use Internet databases. Choose search criteria including industry, location and company size to limit search results to a manageable number so you can target these employers in a quality way. Find a job search resource offering useful company information including a company synopsis, location, names of decision makers and other related material.

Your local library will also have some helpful business databases. If you're unemployed, you will most likely qualify to use a local government-sponsored job search resource center like YWCA Career Services, or a host of other HRSDC-funded organizations paid to assist you in your job search.

Unfortunately, many people make employment decisions solely on the information they glean from job interviews and perhaps what they read on a prospective employer's web site. In short, they're making long-term career decisions using only information over which the employers have a great deal of control.

Such blind faith can be especially dangerous for technology workers, who often find themselves choosing between a company that has a clear information-technology vision and one that's about to be left in the technological dust. The result: Within months or weeks you may find yourself in a difficult work environment after letting a better opportunity slip away.

You should also care about the company's work culture and how satisfied its employees are to work there. You can do this using both the internet and in person as part of your employer research.

Once you're done researching an employer, it's time to visit them. If you're arriving for an interview, get there early. Try hanging out in the parking lot to pick up clues about a company. Act like a sponge collecting information. Notice how employees dress - you'll get a sense of how formal or informal the work environment is to help you gauge how you might fit in.

At the same time, seeing how people interact - do they greet each other or walk to the door with their heads hanging - reveals a lot about how enjoyable the place is. If possible, go both early and late in the day to try to determine the time commitments the company places on its employees. Try informally chatting with landscapers, guards and receptionists to gauge their degree of satisfaction and long-term interest in the company.

Try to catch someone standing in the lobby or walking out the door to see if they'd accept a phone call after business hours. People don't know you and many may not cooperate. But others will, and from them you'll learn a lot about whether this is a great place to work or whether the managers are tyrants who will keep you there every night until 10.


3. Research the decision makers

Once you've targeted the companies you'd like to work for, identify the person with the power to hire you. Most likely, this is the boss of the person who would be your manager if you worked at that company. Introduce yourself, by phone, with a "pitch" that includes your name, level of experience and a key accomplishment. If he or she is receptive, give them a bit of background information on, say, your experience or education, and request an interview.


4. Follow up

Offer answers to the contact's objections. If he or she says, "We don't have any openings right now," your response should be: "That's fine. What I'm really interested in is finding a company that's a good match for my skills for the long term. I'd like to meet with you to discuss potential future opportunities. When would this be convenient?"

After you've agreed on an appointment time, send a thank-you note citing your appreciation for the manager's time on the phone and confirming the meeting.


Picking Up the Phone

It's true that most people don't want to pick up the phone and "pitch" their skills to a complete stranger. But many job seekers have had success with this approach.

Michael Guevara, an unemployed director of engineering in Concord, Washington, was laid off last summer. Initially, he balked at the idea of cold calling. "I'm not a salesman," he protested. "I'm an engineer!" But since he'd been jobless for seven months and was running out of funds, he decided to give it a try.

Mr. Guevara didn't hit pay dirt on his first, second even tenth call. It took 15 tries before he finally set up an appointment. He secured a meeting with an engineering executive at a large media conglomerate. The interview was a success. Six weeks ago, he was promised a senior engineering manager position in the next three months, when the job is vacated due to retirement. He's continuing to search in the interim as he knows the hiring climate at employers can shift at any time.

As a sales and marketing executive in San Jose, Toni Goldberg was an old hand at cold calling. After being laid off from International Business Machines Corp. in 2001, she made this method her chief job-search tool. Ms. Goldberg was either lucky, or all those years of cold calling as a young sales manager paid off. She made appointments for four face-to-face meetings in less than an hour. She had her pick of new positions. Within three weeks, she had accepted an offer that came with an 18% pay increase.

Given the scarcity of openings in this tight job market, relying on published advertisements isn't the best way to learn about available positions. And when networking isn't working, direct contact is an effective route to a new job.

It doesn't take a special personality to use this strategy. Even shy people can make it work. Be prepared to persist. The majority of your calls won't result in a meeting. When one finally does, you'll be booking an interview before your competition gets a chance to lick the stamp.
 

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For many people, cover letters are an annoyance they'd be quite happy to avoid. People frequently ask me "Do I have to send a cover letter with my résumé?" - nearly always in the hope they'll hear that in their particular case a cover letter is unnecessary ... that they'll do just as well sending only their résumé to prospective employers.
But I can't tell them - or you - that.

Perhaps the reason this question is so common is because so many cover letters are indeed a waste of paper. It's perfectly reasonable to wonder if you have to include a letter when you're going to say little more than "here's my résumé; hope to hear from you soon."

Even the term "cover letter" suggests a mere formality - just a cover for the real material you're sending.

But you can do much better than that. A cover letter is an opportunity to tap into an individual employer's aspirations and anxieties. Your résumé is about you, but employers don't really care about you. They care about what you can do for them - the problems you can help them solve and the opportunities you can help them take advantage of.

The cover letter is your opportunity to go beyond the résumé and its focus on the past and other employers and talk about what the reader cares most about - themselves. It is a sales letter, and all good sales letters are written with the reader's interests foremost in mind.

If you're mailing your résumé to an employer, you should always include a cover letter. Always.

You should customize the letter as much as possible to the needs of the particular employer you're contacting. This means you will usually avoid generic cover letters - letters that you could send to any employer you have an interest in. Instead, you'll make the effort to write a letter that addresses the specific concerns of each individual employer. You'll probably be able to use certain parts of your letter over and over, particularly when you're approaching very similar businesses, but you want to customize whenever you can.

Customizing requires thinking about the company, their customers, and the work you see yourself doing. It means imagining yourself in the position and the situations you'd be facing, and figuring out the abilities and traits you possess that are important for success.

For any position, there are two types of skills: core skills that any serious applicant will be expected to have, and a much broader range of skills that would be useful to the employer but go beyond the basic requirements. You have to spend some time thinking about both types. Having the first kind gets you in the game; the second will make you stand out from the competition.

Your letter should be as close to a business proposal as you can get - not a plea for an interview. What do you offer that's of value? What objectives can you help them achieve? Try to focus on their needs - what they want to buy rather than what you'd like to sell.


Writing the letter
Someone is going to read your letter. It will land on their desk and they will take time away from the work they were planning on doing to open your envelope and look at what's inside.

What action do you want the reader to take at this point? What is it you want them to do with your letter? Why are you writing?

One way or the other, the next step you want to get to is usually a telephone conversation of some kind - preferably initiated by the employer, but far more likely initiated by you. What you want the reader to do at this point is either to call you, or to accept your call. From there, you'll usually try to move on to a face-to-face meeting.

You're going to try to get to that next step by answering the fundamental worksearch question: What value do you have to offer? How will the employer be better off with you than they are now? Your résumé should provide the evidence to make your claims credible.

Appeal to their self-interest. Whenever possible, take advantage of their hopes and worries - and greed. The hiring process is as much emotional as logical. In all effective sales letters, the reader comes first. This is a lot easier to say than do. You have to imagine them, empathize with them and do your best to give them the motivation to do what you want them to do.

Keep paragraphs short. No more than seven lines, and preferably five or fewer. Vary the sentence length. None of the sentences should be very long, but you don't want a staccato stream of very short sentences. Try using the occasional sentence fragment. Like this. Or begin with conjunctions - and, but, or.

Use a one-sentence paragraph to emphasize a statement.

And you can use boldface type and italics to draw attention to specific parts of your letter. You have to be careful with underlining because the line is often printed too close to the word, reducing its readability.

These devices should be used sparingly to make the highlights stand out when the reader gives your letter a quick skim (which may be all it ever gets if they don't see anything to make them want to read on).

Write in a friendly, conversational tone, and avoid stiff businessese like "enclosed please find my résumé for your perusal" or "I am sending my résumé in regards to the above mentioned position." Forget all about what you think a business letter "should" sound like. Don't use a thesaurus to replace good simple words with ornate and awkward language.

Be a real person, not an automaton churning it out by rote. Show some personality and enthusiasm.

Avoid vague statements - specifics sell. A letter that could be sent to any employer merely by replacing the name of the company - called a "broadcast" letter - can probably be improved with more specifics. If you're planning on a mass mailing, the broadcast format may be your best choice, but you should be aware that there are trade-offs between high volume and customization. It's much harder to create reader involvement with a letter that could have been sent to anyone (and probably has).

Think twice before using any adjectives or adverbs. A common mistake is what I call the Roget Style of writing where a truck load of adjectives is dumped all over the letter. The writer of one letter I've got in front of me claims to be "competent," "reliable," "committed," and "outstanding" - all in one paragraph! Another says she's "motivated and dedicated."

Says you! Unsubstantiated puffery adds nothing. The reader isn't going to think of you as one scintilla more competent just because you describe yourself that way.

"Effectively" and "efficiently" are particularly weak - and some people sprinkle them in their letters like confetti. What was so efficient or effective about what you did? How do you know? If you can answer those questions, then put that down instead. And if you can't answer them, you're probably better off saying nothing.

If you start describing yourself as "well organized, proactive, and dedicated; a team player with excellent oral and written communication skills" or any other clichés, you'll be laughed at more than admired.

What can you do for this organization? Try converting "I haves" into "you wants" - or "you don't wants" if you can play on a fear the employer may have and show how hiring you would eliminate it.


Open quickly ... with a difference
Every cover letter guide talks about the importance of an opening that "grabs attention" or "generates interest." Then they turn around and give sample letters with standard openers like:

"Please accept this letter as application for the Process Engineer position currently available with your company."

"I am very interested in obtaining a position with your organization. Enclosed please find my résumé for your review."

"In response to your ad in the [paper] I wish to apply for the position of [whatever]"
Give these lines full marks for getting to the point, but they could have been written by a machine. Instead of generating interest, these openers have the employer thinking "here's another one!" They've read the same line dozens of times before.
For advertised openings, probably 90 percent of the responses begin by mentioning the ad. Which means this is something you might want to avoid.

Patrick Coady, a cover letter writer in Seattle, Washington developed this opening which, while not particularly gripping, lets you get to the point quickly and sound like a human being:

Several things you mention in your ad for a [position advertised] make me think you may be looking for someone with my experience. Let me briefly explain.

There are many ways to open your letter. Whatever opening you use, get to the point quickly - or the reader will move on to something else. Here are some ways to begin:

Personal Referral: "John Hughes from [wherever] suggested I contact you about ..." If you have a name to drop, the beginning of your letter is usually the best place to do it. A good way to get your letter past anyone screening the mail of the person you're writing to.

Question or Headline: I'm not a fan of this approach. As much as I like to apply techniques from direct mail selling, this approach may scream out "advertising!" (or, even worse, "junk mail!") and hinder the personal connection you're trying to make.

News You've Read: Usually about the company or their industry. This can be done very well or very poorly - it comes down to how strongly you connect this tidbit to something that will make the reader interested in you. No one really cares about what you've read, but if you quickly segue into discussing how this news made you think you can contribute to the organization, then you've got a strong opening.

Quotation/Saying: Certainly different, but it should be directly related to a good reason for the employer to meet with you (see sample letter #2).

Your Job Objective: You haven't done anything yet to make the reader care what you're looking for. It's better to talk about what the reader wants - how you can help them achieve their objectives.

No matter how you begin, get right to discussing the value you think you'd bring to their organization. In fact, I've found one of the best openers is to say something like "Here's what I will bring to/can offer [organization] as a [position]" and start describing the benefits they'd receive in hiring you. It tells them right away why you're writing, and brings you immediately to communicating the value you offer.

There are many other offbeat ways to open your letter so it won't sound like it's been copied out of a dull cover letter book or be just like the same old boilerplate material that nearly everyone else still uses.


Finish with a call to action
Despite your best efforts, when the employer comes to the end of your letter it's unlikely they'll be left with an irrepressible urge to call you immediately. They have many other things to do, and they aren't going to put everything else on hold and jump for the phone just because you decided to mail them a letter - even if they were interested by your offer.

That's why you will usually have to initiate the follow-up communication yourself by picking up the phone and making a call. You should do this within three days of the letter's arrival, and let the employer know in your letter that you will be following up. This may just be enough to get them to hold on to your letter and maybe give it a more thorough reading.

John Lucht, author of the excellent Rites of Passage at $100,000+ doesn't agree. He calls this the "Mafia approach" - a threat that they'd better call, or else you will. He counsels his clients to just mail out résumés and letters and hope some calls come in. But before you sigh in relief and decide to follow Lucht's advice, you should also know that he has his clients mail out at least 1,000 résumés and tells them to expect only one or two offers from this. And all of his clients are senior executives with proven track records.

Lucht agrees, however, that the biggest drawback of this approach is that it encourages people to "hide behind the post office" and not make contact. And what a drawback that is! The only thing that can hurt your work search more is to do nothing.

End your letter with a call to action, and take responsibility for initiating the next step yourself. By saying you'll call in your letter, you're more likely to overcome the "call reluctance" that almost all sales people sometimes experience and avoid procrastinating when the time to call comes around.

If you're responding to an advertised opening, you may have to be satisfied with a more passive approach. Organizations advertising an available position will receive hundreds of résumés and dozens of calls. You won't stand out from the competition by phoning, and because of the volume of calls they'll receive, you may be perceived as an annoyance.

The very final sentence? I like to end all my letters with "thank you." It's not necessary, but it puts a positive and clear end to the letter.


Some strategies for responding to advertised positions
First of all ... good luck! You'll need it. By responding to advertised positions, you just about guarantee that your résumé and letter will end up in a pile with hundreds of others. From this, the employer will select maybe five people for interviews ... and all they have to go on to make this decision is your résumé and cover letter.

When an employer receives this many résumés, you can bet there will be a ruthless screening process. Eighty percent or more of the résumés and letters may even be weeded out before any are passed along to the hiring manager or team.

Often, your letter and résumé will be scanned by a clerk with little knowledge of the intricacies of the advertised position. They may have a checklist put together by someone in Human Resources of the specific experience someone decided is "essential" for the job. Score poorly on their list, and no one else will ever see your résumé. But you say you have something equivalent or better? Too bad it's not on their list. You're out.

Yes, it's a tough sell. But not hopeless. Every job my wife has ever had she got by responding to an ad in the newspaper. I don't think she believes me when I say this isn't the most efficient way to look for work.

First, you have to think about who's going to respond to the ad. You'll be selling against competition and you have to think about who that competition is likely to include. There will probably be résumés sent in by people with nearly identical jobs at other, maybe smaller, companies. In other words, there's almost certain to be applicants who "fit" better on paper. People with more checks on the checklist.

So what do you do? You can pretend you're a perfect fit and show how you fulfill all of their requirements - no matter how feebly. Or you can try to show how you'll bring something else to the position and the company - maybe something they hadn't thought of or expected.

The strategy in selling against competition is: 1) differentiate yourself, and 2) help the employer feel the value he or she will gain from those differences. Everyone who gets selected for an interview will probably have the core requirements, so it's often easier to stand out from the competition by showing the employer the full bundle of valuable abilities you can offer.

This may not make any impression on the clerk with the checklist, but unless you're perfect for the position as the employer has imagined it - and can prove it - it's probably your best chance at getting an interview.


Salary expectations
What if you're asked about salary expectations? It's never a fair question. You won't learn enough from a description in an ad to know exactly what's involved. If the employer was really concerned about wasting their time interviewing people with unrealistic expectations they could have printed the salary range they have in mind right in the ad.

You're more likely to be eliminated for saying the "wrong" number than for saying nothing. At this point, they're only trying to screen you out. Yes, occasionally, not quoting a number may remove you from consideration, but it's probably a risk worth taking. If you feel you have to say something, give a broad range or say "negotiable."


Format, paper, and other basics
The content and organization are the most important elements of your letter, but presentation has an effect too. No one's going to interview you because your letter looks nice, but engaging and persuasive content combined with a professional appearance is a powerful combination.

Here are some suggestions for improving the appearance of your letter:

Paper/ink: Black ink on white paper is easy to easy to print and easy to read. I like white 8˝" by 11" paper with a laid finish. Heavier paper has a nicer feel - 24-pound paper with a rag content of 25% or more should be easy to find. But if all you have is standard 20-pound photocopy paper, go ahead and use it. Don't let this delay you.

I don't think a week goes by where I'm not asked about colored paper. It seems to be a concern for many people, so here's my opinion:

It doesn't make any difference.

No one's going to interview you because you used ivory paper. No one's going to refuse to interview you because you used light blue paper. White paper is just as "professional" as any other color. Yes, colored paper might stand out in a pile to a small degree, but so what? Standing out is no achievement in itself. Your objective is to stand out in a way that will improve your chances for an interview, and you don't do that with something as superficial as colored paper.

If you want to use colored paper, that's fine. If it gives you a better feeling about the materials you're sending out, that's terrific. But give your reader a little more credit than to think they're so easily manipulated by shallow gimmicks.

Margins: Never less than an inch - 1Ľ" or even 1˝" is better. Don't shorten the margins to squeeze your letter on to a single page. Either edit some material out or lengthen the margins and the space between paragraphs and go on to a second page.

Typeface: There are thousands available, but stick to a simple serif font like Times Roman. You'll probably want 11 or 12 point size.

Your name, address, and phone number with area code go at the top (see samples). The date comes next, followed a few lines below by the name of the person you're sending the letter to. Give their name, title, company, address, city, province/state, and postal/zip code.

Usually, you'll want to address the letter to a person by name, and not just to the company or to a title. If you don't have a name, you can usually get one by just picking up the phone and asking: "Hello, I'm sending a package to your sales manager/controller/office manager/whatever. Could you tell me their name please?" It doesn't always work, but it takes 30 seconds to try. And check the spelling of the name when you get it.

You will typically address them as "Mr." or "Ms." Don't guess gender! If you can't find out, just use their full name - Dear Kelly Smith. If you can't get a name, address your letter to a specific title or a general description of the intended reader's responsibilities - Information Systems Manager, Office Manager, Plant Manager, for example.

After the body of your letter, close with "Sincerely," or something similar, followed by 4-5 blank lines and then your name. Your signature goes in between. I rarely bother with "Enclosure" or a secretarial designation at the bottom, but if you know what these are and like to use them, go ahead. If not, don't worry about it.


Sample letter #1 - Chris McKarthy

Chris McKarthy is applying for a position as manager of a mid-size airport. The position was advertised nationally and will likely attract applicants who have managed smaller airports throughout Canada.

Chris never managed an airport. He did look after an air-strip for a few years, but that amounted to little more than keeping a big field mowed. He'll just look silly if he tries to play up that experience.

He may not have much of a chance anyway, but with this letter he tries to take the employer's focus away from the areas where he's sure to come up second (or 100th) best, and put it on the strengths he would bring to the position. Now it's up to the employer to decide whether this is enough to make up for his lack of experience as an airport manager.

Also notice how Robert doesn't go into detail about his aviation experience. It's all on his résumé, but any serious applicant will also have a strong aviation background. So he moves the focus of his letter to where he expects he'll have a competitive advantage.


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Robert McCarthy
13 Park Street, Richmond, Ontario N0J 4X7
519/555-1212


March 21, 2009




Danny Fishman
Chief Operating Officer
Township of Richmond
55 Charles Street
Richmond, ON  N0J 2N6

Dear Mr. Fishman:

There are many others who have spent more time than I maintaining airport facilities. Although I've been a pilot for nearly 20 years, have been an aviation safety officer, and have operated a specialty air carrier in this area for the past eight years, I expect that every serious candidate for this position will also have a strong background in aviation.

But I think I have a lot more to offer.

I know this region, and understand the important role the airport will play in our economic development. I know the airport, and many of its clients. I also have a vision for the future of the airport. One specific idea I'd like pursue is convincing the cargo & courier carrier industry to move their operations to Hillside. An aggressive marketing of the benefits Hillside offers to business would increase profitability without costly expansion. I have the experience and skills to take on this responsibility.

As my résumé details, I have 10 years' experience in senior management, with hands-on responsibility for everything from customer service and sales & marketing to financial planning and personnel management.

The creativity and innovation I have used to develop and grow my own business, my entrepreneurial approach and my proven sales & marketing skills are some of the unique attributes I can bring to the management of the airport, along with the necessary aviation experience. I look forward to the opportunity of presenting some of my ideas to the selection committee. You can reach me at 604 777-1212 any time. Thank you.

Sincerely,





Chris McKarthy



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Sample letter #2 - Samantha Gainer

Samantha is responding to an ad from a pharmaceutical company looking for sales reps. Her formal sales experience is minimal, and pharmaceutical sales positions usually attract a heavy response from experienced reps.

If Samantha tries to focus on her sales background she's doomed. There's no way she can compete on those terms with someone who has five years' experience working a sales territory making cold calls and presentations. And the ad will get dozens of responses from people with that kind of experience.

So she takes the focus away from sales experience and describes her belief in the product, her involvement in the health field, and the relationships she's already developed with potential strategic partners and customers for the company's products.

This letter is filled with I's, me's, and my's, but I still give it a thumbs up. Every paragraph addresses a skill or experience that the employer will want to see in their reps.


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Samantha Gainer
13 Park Street, Waterloo, Ontario N2J 4X7
519/555-1212


January 13, 2009



Vista Vitamins
5000 Maple Leaf Road
Hamilton, ON L0N 1N1

Re: Sales Representative position

There's an adage in the insurance industry that you can tell how successful a salesperson will be by the amount of insurance he or she personally carries. If you accept that line of thinking, you'll understand why I believe I would be an effective representative for your company. Let me briefly explain.

As a registered massage therapist, I have a strong interest in the health field and in promoting healthy living. For years, I have been taking daily vitamin, mineral, and food supplements - including Vista products. I not only use these products myself, I recommend them to my clients. I know first-hand that they are effective, beneficial, and without the detrimental side effects of drugs and other therapies.

The health food store environment is one I am very comfortable in. I make it a habit to drop in on the health food stores in the areas I visit and stay informed of any new products. I have personal contact with all of the stores in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, and my practice also brings me into contact with naturopaths, holistic healers, and others who promote innovative approaches to health care.

I have worked as a commissioned sales rep before and know how to find prospects and build relationships with them. I am no stranger to cold calling and making sales presentations. For the last six years, I've run my own practice and my success has been completely dependent on my abilities to develop a customer base.

May I have the opportunity to further discuss how I might contribute to your organization during a personal interview? I can be reached at 519/555-1212 any time. Thank you.

Sincerely,





Carol Gainer


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Sample letter #3 - Lesley Waite

I love this letter. You may find the style too brash and pompous (my wife did), but I see it as an employer-focused breath of fresh air. And, in the real world, this letter did its job and got the interview.

Lesley puts a powerful spotlight on the value he can deliver to the employer. And he sells the interview by promising "specific examples" and thorough references. The opening is attention grabbing, he focuses on the benefits he will deliver, and he gives just a bit of evidence to justify his claims (it's the résumé's role to provide the evidence in detail).

This really does everything I think a cover letter should do.


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Lesley Waite
13 Park Street, Waterloo, Ontario N2J 4X7
519/123-9876


July 8, 2009



Human Resources Manager
The Zilcos Agency
1313 Alta Vista Drive
Waterloo, Ontario N2J 2V1


Re: Sales Manager opportunity

There's no shortage of people who can "talk the talk."

Now that you've scanned through a stack of résumés, you know that all too well. Profit gains, sales increases, winning key accounts - all these achievements are described on my résumé, but you've been reading over those kind of claims for the last hour. Everyone seems to be able to find statistics which make them look like the real deal.

So let's get down to business. You're looking for aggressive strategic growth. I can help you achieve your goals. Here's some of what I've done for others and will do for Zilcos:

Seizing opportunities, making contact, cultivating relationships, and getting results - usually over fierce competition.
Planning sales targets & strategies, and implementing account management processes that focus on customer satisfaction & commitment ... with bottom-line accountability.

Holding my own with a client or prospect's CEO and senior executives in face-to-face meetings and presentations. And coaching others to do the same.
Building and focusing a skilled and motivated sales team.
Currently, I develop new business for one of Canada's most respected marketing agencies. In the last year alone, I've brought in over a dozen strategically targeted new accounts. I've proven throughout my career that I create new business, develop existing accounts, and cultivate client loyalty. I can do it for you.

I'm very good at what I do. You'd expect me to say that, but when we meet I can provide specific examples to support this conclusion - and you can get references from senior managers at any company I've worked with to confirm the value I've consistently created.

A few minutes of your time will go a long way in convincing you that I have something to offer. Together, we will achieve breakthrough sales results. Please call me any time at 519/123-9876 and we can arrange a time to meet. Thank you.

Sincerely,



Lesley Waite


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Final word
The problem with all guides to résumés and cover letters is that they may make you believe there are absolute rules which must be followed. When your own efforts fall short of what's described in the books, it's easy to become paralyzed because you're convinced that what you've done isn't good enough.

I've never seen a perfect résumé or cover letter. I've never written one, and you probably won't either. But perfection isn't the goal. Strive for excellence - but remember that while you're sitting around tinkering with your letter, other people are out getting work with letters and résumés that are far weaker than what you had to begin with.

Keep these tips in mind, then go with whatever you come up with. Be persistent and make contact!
 

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Write an Attention-Getting Résumé

If you realize that a great résumé can be your ticket to getting the exact position you want, you will be able to muster some genuine enthusiasm for creating a real masterpiece.

Your résumé is a tool with one specific purpose: to win an interview. Like a response to a Request for Proposal (RFP), a résumé is intended to show that you have successfully performed and produced results in the capacity required and that you are qualified for a face-to-face interview.

Again like an RFP response, the selection committee will quickly and without bias, make a decision whether or not they will take the next step and meet with you to hear your presentation. The reader wants to see a compelling reason to take the time to meet with you.

The most successful résumés are those focused on key and quantifiable accomplishments. Accomplishments and achievements differentiate the average performer from the one that truly delivers results. At best, a reader will only skim through your document. Résumé skimmers get distracted by unnecessary detail, wordiness, generic statements and information that is too high-level. The reader is looking for performance statements.

Avoid "job description" filler or low value content and focus on personal accomplishments. Job descriptions are the reason a person is paid a base salary. Accomplishment statements will describe how a sales person earned their commissions or what outstanding results a manager contributed to earn their bonus.

In today’s job market a résumé built on simply a job description is not competitive. Job descriptions provide the reader with a list of functions and no results. A potential employer is not interested in what was expected from you - they want to know how well you performed against those expectations.

Example: 'Managed six direct reports' is a job description. 'Increased sales by 14% in twelve months by leading a team of six inside and outside people to exceed sales forecasts' is an accomplishment statement.

Please be aware that our clients are only interested in viewing résumés that are written in reverse chronological order. résumés must begin with your most recent employment and work backwards. A functional résumé, one that groups skills and abilities, frustrates the reader because they do not know when or where you performed the results.

Résumé Checklist

Make sure to include:

OBJECTIVE - one sentence explaining what kind of work you wish to do.

PROFILE - A brief three to four sentence overview / summary of who you are and what you offer the potential employer.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY - reverse chronological order. If you have held more than one position at a company, list them separately with dates.
Include all awards, recognition and accolades. If you have several, list them in a separate section entitled AWARDS & RECOGNITION following your employment history section.

EDUCATION - is always listed AFTER your work history. Recent graduates/students list their education before their work history. Make sure you include dates. Post graduate degree is listed above all of your "continuing education", training, seminars, courses, etc.

LENGTH OF résumé - if you have less than ten years experience, two pages is advised. With more than ten years experience you never exceed three pages. If your résumé is very long it will not be read. Edit it to include only the information that is relevant to the position for which you are applying.
Bullet points get read - paragraphs do not.

DO NOT use first person pronouns - I, my, mine, we, us, our, etc.
Use a consistent verb tense to begin each of your accomplishment statements - preferably past tense - Exceeded, Increased, Oversaw, Won, Achieved, Led, Acted, etc.

On another note, one of the most common mistakes we see in résumés at the managerial and executive level is the omission of context in professional experiences.

Why is context important in your résumé?

1. Whenever you make a résumé reader work hard to figure out your potential value and fit, you are likely not going to benefit.

2. Résumés are selling documents and context at the company, role, and career path levels can be additional arrows in your quiver.

3. Fit is a subtle but important thing. You are helping highlight where you do indeed fit through context.

When you leave the reader of your résumé guessing who your employer was (industry/sector, ownership (public, private, family business, etc.) size, market position), the chances are that they won't guess. They will just move on to the next résumé.

If you have worked with recognizable names, market leaders, etc. use that to your advantage. If you haven't, make sure that you sell your past employers. If the person hiring doesn't know and therefore doesn't value where you worked, then you have a big problem.

You also want to place your role in the context of the company you worked for. A Marketing Manager, for example, might have reported to a Sr. Marketing Manager, a Director of Marketing, a VP, or even the President. That same marketing manager might be one of several marketing managers or the only marketing person in the company. It is vital that you place your role in context.

The best résumés describe a theme, or thread through the candidate's career path. The various experiences and education should show someone who knows where they are going and a story explaining why the candidate made certain choices, and more importantly, why they are being interviewed for this opportunity.

Interview Pointers

Although you may spend an hour or more in an interview, in fact the interview is really over in five minutes. If you have not convinced the interviewer within the first five minutes that you are the right person for the job (or at least a contender who should be taken to the next level), it can be next to impossible to recover. Recoveries do happen, but they are very rare.

In that first five minutes of the interview, expect the interviewer to have noted your appearance, your grooming, your handshake, your personal presence, your eye contact, your articulation and most importantly, your personality. It is the "soft factors" that will take you to the next level. Conventional wisdom holds that being late for a job interview is an automatic black mark against a candidate, as is showing up on time with only a very sketchy knowledge of the company's business.

The next level starts with your ability to “sell” your experience, background and value proposition. Your job is to ensure that the interviewer hears where you bring value to the business, in both the short and long-term as well as how quickly will you “ramp up” and provide results. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of hiring managers say they would pass over inarticulate candidates or those candidates that are vague about their previous experience. If an candidate is a vague communicator in an interview, chances are that he or she will not communicate well on the job either.

It is important to be prepared so that you can verbally articulate your “value add”. If you have done your interview homework and have fully researched the company and where you “fit”, the words will flow smoothly. If not, it will show. This is where a positive attitude and demonstrated confidence will establish the tone for the interview. This is also where you have the opportunity to make your personal connection with the interviewer. The clearer and more specific you can be, the more likely an interviewer is to be impressed.

There are many kinds of questions asked in interviews. Two key styles include:

Behavioral questions
This type of question includes "Can you give me a specific example of how you did that?" or "What were the steps you followed to accomplish that task?" Its purpose is to anticipate predictable future behaviors based upon past responses.

Competency questions
This type of question includes "Can you give me a specific example of your leadership skills?" or "Explain a way in which you sought a creative solution to a problem." Its purpose is to align your past behaviors with specific competencies which are required for the position.

Behavioral and competency interviewing is gaining greater acceptance by trained interviewers because past performance is the most reliable indicator of future results, especially when it is tied to the specific competencies for the position. Always provide examples and stories. That makes you a real person with real experiences. Real experience benefits a future employer.

The following is the list of the top ten critical success factors that nearly every employer is seeking:

1)   Positive attitude toward work
2)   Proficiency in field of study
3)   Communication skills (oral and written)
4)   Interpersonal skills
5)   Confidence
6)   Critical thinking and problem solving skills
7)   Flexibility
8)   Self-motivation
9)   Leadership
10) Teamwork

Show your competence in as many of the above critical success factors as possible and you will rise above the competition.

One of the worst "sins" an interviewee can commit is to speak in generalities rather than specifics. It is not enough to say, "I'm a very goal-oriented person." You have to back it up with specifics.

For example: "I'm a very goal oriented person. In fact, I regularly update a list of personal and business goals with specific time frames. Since I started keeping this goal list three years ago, I've successfully reached or surpassed over 95% of these goals. I'm confident that the other 5% are also within reach in the coming year."

Uncovering an Employer's Corporate Culture is a Critical Task for Job-Seekers

Why should job-seekers care about a potential employer's corporate culture?
Aren't there more important factors to consider, such as the job itself, salary and bonuses, and fringe benefits? These factors are indeed important, but increasingly career experts are talking about the importance of employee-employer fit in terms of culture, with the idea that how well the employee "fits" the culture can make the difference between job-search success and failure.

What is corporate culture? At its most basic, it's described as the personality of an organization, or simply as "how things are done around here". It guides how employees think, act, and feel. Corporate culture is a broad term used to define the unique personality or character of a particular company or organization, and includes such elements as core values and beliefs, corporate ethics, and rules of behavior. Corporate culture can be expressed in the company's mission statement and other communications, in the architectural style or interior décor of offices, by what people wear to work, by how people address each other, and in the titles given to various employees.

How does a company's culture affect you?
In many, many ways. For instance:

 * The hours you work per day, per week, including options such as flextime and telecommuting.
 * The work environment, including how employees interact, the degree of competition, and whether it's a fun or hostile environment - or something in between.
 * The dress code, including the accepted styles of attire and things such as casual days.
 * The office space you get, including things such as cubicles, window offices, and rules regarding display of personal items.
 * The training and skills development you receive, which you need both on the job and to keep yourself marketable for future jobs and employers.
 * Onsite perks, such as break rooms, gyms and play rooms, daycare facilities, and more.
 * The amount of time outside the office you're expected to spend with co-workers.
 * Interaction with other employees, including managers and top management.

How do you uncover the corporate culture of a potential employer?
The truth is that you will never really know the corporate culture until you have worked at the company for a number of months, but you can get close to it through research and observation. Understanding culture is a two-step process, starting with research before the interview and ending with observation at the interview.

Before the Interview
Before you've even been invited for an interview, you might consider doing an informational interview with the company. Informational interviewing is a great research and networking tool.

Once you've been invited for an interview, while you are researching the company for the interview, spend some time searching for clues about the company's culture. Review the company's annual report, web site, and other materials. Some companies even discuss their corporate culture on their web site.

At the Interview
Experts suggest arriving early to the interview - unannounced if possible - and spend the time observing how current employees interact with each other, how they are dressed, and their level of courtesy and professionalism.

During the interview, you should consider asking one or more of these questions to get a feel for the corporate culture - as well as gain key information you'll need to make a decision if a job offer is made to you:

 * How are decisions made - and how are those decisions communicated to the staff?
 * What role does the person who gets this position play in decision-making?
 * Does the organization emphasize working in teams?
 * What are the organization's priorities for the next few years?
 * Are there established career paths for employees in this position?

If you get a chance to meet with other employees (or make your own chances by finding out where they hang out), you can ask one or more of these questions to try and get a handle on an organization's corporate culture:

 * What 10 words would you use to describe your company?
 * What's it really like to work here? Do you like it here?
 * How are employees valued around here?
 * What skills and characteristics does the company value?
 * Do you feel as though you know what is expected of you?
 * How do people from different departments interact?
 * Are there opportunities for further training and education?
 * How do people get promoted around here?
 * Around here what behaviors get rewarded?
 * Do you feel as though you know what's going on?
 * How effectively does the company communicate to its employees?

Concluding Thoughts
The bottom line is that you are going to spend a lot of time in the work environment - and to be happy, successful, and productive, you'll want to be in a place where you fit the culture. A place where you can have a voice, be respected, and have opportunities for growth.
 

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Cover and Broadcast Letters

A Cover or Broadcast letter accompanies your résumé to introduce you to a prospective employer as a knowledgeable and capable applicant. You may wish to send your application package by overnight delivery to show the urgency and importance you place on being of service to the company.

Cover letters are used when applying to a specific, advertised position. Remember, a maximum of 20% of the positions available at any one time are advertised ("visible" job market), so do not limit yourself to these jobs. The position you want may not be advertised for a long time, if ever. You will have many competitors who are also trying to obtain an interview. In fact, 90% of all job seekers are applying to the 20% of advertised jobs!

Broadcast letters are used to uncover opportunities in organizations. Jobs in the "hidden" job market can be found most easily by speaking with people (for more information regarding the "hidden" job market, review the Networking section of this paper). Through your contacts, you should be able to get the names and addresses of people who hire for the work you would like to do. Targeted employer directories like the JobPro Directory and company and industry association web sites are also good resources to use to discover which organization might hire.

Strategies
The quality of your letter will determine the employer's first impression of you. Do your research so that you can clearly articulate your competitive advantage. This letter should summarize only job relevant information, particularly your work experience (paid and volunteer), education, accomplishments, and job skills. The letter highlights the most important information while your résumé is more comprehensive.

Write down ideas as you think of them. Then analyze the material, organize it into themes, and write in complete sentences incorporating those themes into paragraphs. Stress the contributions you can make to the employer. Highlight achievements and how they are transferable to the job you are applying for.

From your research or the advertisement, note words such as "required, must have, very desirable, proficient in", and pay special attention to pointing out your strengths in these areas. Use action verbs, but do not repeat verbatim what is in your résumé. Avoid using negative words or mentioning negative ideas. Stress the qualifications you have for the job rather than mention those you do not have. Avoid words such as "although" and "however" because you will set up a negative statement.

In a broadcast letter, choose the phrasing of your job objective carefully. If you are too narrow, you may not be considered for some positions, but if you are too broad, you may be perceived as being unfocused or indecisive, just wanting any job. When sending letters into the hidden job market, don't send hundreds because you will not be able to do the necessary research.

The response rate does not justify the time and cost. Concentrate initially on 15-20. Then expand to the next group of 15-20. More organizations are using equipment to scan résumés into their database. You can therefore increase the number of company contacts you are targeting, but only to the quantity of quality applications you can produce.


Details That Matter
Use high quality 8-1/2" x 11" paper (same stock as your résumé)

Ensure a neat, uncluttered and well-organized appearance

Edit your draft for clarity, tone, accuracy, proper spelling, punctuation and grammar

Send your letter and résumé unfolded in a large envelope


Similarities Between Cover and Broadcast Letters
Cover and broadcast letters are similar, and you should include the following elements in both:

Focus on your strengths; highlight them in such a way that the employer can clearly see a connection with their organization

Give proof, using examples with specifics such as dollars or numbers, to show that your assessment of your capabilities is accurate


Differences Between Cover and Broadcast Letters
Address and send to the person or office specified in the advertisement

If no name is included in the advertisement, do try your very best to obtain the name of the person receiving applications so that you can address your letter to a person rather than to an office

In your first paragraph, state the job title from the advertisement and mention the benefits you bring to the organization or position

After you think the employer has received your application, telephone to restate your interest in an interview and to inquire about the interview process and dates

Broadcast
Address and send to the head of the department you want to work in

If the organization is small, send to the President, Executive Director, or whomever is in one of the top positions

In your first paragraph, based upon your research, mention the job title or area you are interested in, what you can offer that they need, and what it is about that organization that appeals to you

Include the name of the person(s) (with their permission) who gave you the information

Advise that you will initiate, stating how and when; do not leave the responsibility for arranging follow-up to the employer.

Quick Résumé and Self-Marketing Tips

What Message are You Trying to Communicate?

The main message you need to communicate to an employer can be simplified to just two points:

• Claims - "Here's what I can do for you. Here's the value I can deliver to your organization."
   
• Credibility - "Here's why you should believe me."

You cover letter will usually focus on claims. Your résumé's role is to restate the substance of your claims and to provide the credibility needed to support them.

Most job search coaches will tell you to focus on the employer when writing your résumé, even though you're writing about yourself. Knowing that this is what you're supposed to do is the easy part. The challenge is to do it convincingly.

Begin by thinking about the employer's needs, desires, and expectations, and follow a path back to yourself. In writing your résumé and cover letter, keep the following in mind:

1) What do they want to achieve?

2) How will the work you see yourself doing help them achieve these objectives? To reach their goal, what will they need that you can provide?

3) How will their customers benefit? (Preferably the organization's customers, but possibly "internal" customers as well.)

4) What would someone who could do these things look like on paper?

5) What else might they want that you could do that they may not be expecting?


You don't get hired by describing your past. You get hired by painting a picture of the employer's future and making them believe that you can help them achieve it.


Focus on the Future in Your Résumé

Your résumé is organized in a way that makes it seem like it's about your past. To the casual reader, it's a list of what you've done. But this is an illusion. You take your source material from your past, but the focus is on the future - the employer's desired future. Your résumé shows the skills and experience that you have to offer to help your next employer achieve their objectives.

Once the reader has some understanding of how you propose to benefit their organization - once your "claims" are stated, they can begin to interpret your credibility.

You create credibility by probing all aspects of your experience, abilities, traits, and beliefs for information that will support that claim. Credibility is established with specific details, provided in context so the reader can get a mental image of you.

You can also foster credibility through fresh, vivid expressions of beliefs and traits that will be perceived as more genuine than tired words taken out of a book. This is always "says you" material, but how you say it can make a big difference in whether it's believed. 


Don't Try to Tell the Whole Story

Don't try to tell the whole story in your résumé. Say just enough to whet the appetite of the right person. This will encourage contact. Needed details can be provided during an interview..

Examine your self-marketing documents such as biographies, résumés and portfolios. These are your personal representatives. Does the information in your résumé reflect what you want to do in the future? Is it presented in a way that will hook a prospective employer? Do your cover letters address solutions employers need?

Consider sending personal letters to hiring managers instead of typical cover letters and résumés.  Be clear about what you want for yourself in terms of building your career, and also in terms of what you can do for employers. With this in mind, personalize your résumé and cover letters, and send them only to named individuals who are directly involved in the hiring decision. Remember to avoid company gatekeepers so that you can make your talents and interest in their company known to decision makers.


Stay Energized and Positive

If you have let things slide, now is the time to accelerate your efforts. Build mental muscle by talking about your desires and goals. Just as your body's muscles become stronger with repetition, your mental picture of your desired outcome will become more real every time you repeat it.

If you're unemployed, resist the temptation to isolate yourself. Don't spend your days sending e-mails and résumés. This can make you feel productive, but the lack of response from employers can lead to self-criticism and depression. Change your schedule so your days are spent calling contacts, arranging meetings and attending events that allow you to meet more people. Save evenings for Internet follow-up activities. Set goals and track your accomplishments. Keep a success calendar and post your big and small achievements in it each day.


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Aggressive Job Search Strategies

Assess your progress and measure your results to avoid the trap of being busy but unproductive.

Looking for a new job can be extraordinarily taxing - scouring classifieds, searching the web and mass-mailing your résumé will usually produce unsatisfactory results, despite the intense time and personal effort.

The issue may not be the amount of work you put into your job hunt, but the type of work. Now, there isn't an easy way to find a job - you are still going to have to work hard at it. But the following principles of an aggressive job search can lead you to bypass the classifieds and HR departments and get in front of employers.

Don't waste time mass mailing résumés and spending hundreds of hours searching job sites. Instead, do some company research and begin targeting employers. Then, knowing something about the company and how you can help them, call the person who hires people with your talent. Do this because cold-calling works to find you job openings and to get you interviews and jobs.

Bonus: You should expect better-than-average cold-calling results when your "cold-calls" are warmer than most, after you have taken the time to learn about the employer's needs and thought how you can apply your talent and experience toward solving their problems.


As part of leading an aggressive job search/career-building campaign targeting employers to find jobs in the "hidden job market," consider the following job search tips:

1. Measure your job search progress and use proven methods to find work

Are you regularly getting called for interviews? Unless you are known to and liked by people (often called bosses) having the power to hire you, you need interviews to find employment. If employers are not calling you for interviews, then you need to find what part of your job search needs changing, and quickly change it. Either your cover letter or résumé, or job search methods, or amount of time and effort you put into your job search, or a combination of these needs to be strengthened.

The idea is to be aware of and use proven job search methods to avoid the trap of being busy but unproductive. However, if you are getting interviews but no job offers, you need to improve your interviewing skills. Interviewing is perhaps the only job search topic not addressed by this paper.


2. Be in control

Aggressive career building works on the basis that you are in control. The idea is to be primarily targeting employers instead of passively applying only to companies advertising job openings. This aggressive, proactive approach to your job search will help you find better paying, more interesting jobs which build your career. Keep in mind that career building takes time, and that you may need to occasionally apply for and work "filler" jobs to be able to pay your bills during your search for better quality, more rewarding employment. 

Before you can begin targeting employers as part of an aggressive job search, you need to select your targets. Start by actively researching prospective employers and put together an initial list. You might create your list based on several factors, including how interested you are in the company's projects, current job openings, company size, location, reputation, rate of pay, whether it's union or non-union, and whether you know people there who can help you get hired. Your research results will help you include and rule out companies.

Focus on targeting a manageable number of companies to avoid being overwhelmed and becoming bogged down by "information overload." If done thoroughly, the work of selecting about twenty-five companies for your initial list should keep you busy for several days. You likely will need to refine your list over the course of your job search based on what you learn, as some employers that at first appeared important will likely end up being removed, while other employers get added.

Then, once you have a list of employers you are targeting, you need to consider which job search methods are most likely to result in interviews.

As mentioned later in this paper, successful job seekers recommend using a number of methods to keep your job search active and increasingly effective. Proven job search methods include:

• sending résumés both by email and by regular mail
  cold calling to make initial contact and to arrange interviews
  making your talents known to employers before they advertise a position through "information interviews" - stay tuned for more on information interviews later in this paper
  
  dropping off your résumé in person while trying to meet people having the power to hire you
  using follow-up phone calls, emails and printed letters including 'thank you' notes

You need to know which of these techniques are most effective in your job search, because experts warn that you can only employ no more than about five of them simultaneously without "casting your net too wide" and reducing the quality of your job search campaign.

Targeting employers also means reading the business press and industry journals specific to those companies. Their web sites and those of related industry associations may also provide you with a "heads up" about possible job opportunities. Try to find out what expansion plans the company has. Is management refocusing its target market? What companies is it partnering with?

The challenge then will be to ferret out the potential jobs and learn who can get you in the door. Remember to not take on more work than you can do in a quality way, because the idea behind waging an aggressive, planned, high quality job search is to make you stand head and shoulders above other job applicants. The key to your job search success rests much more on your perceived quality than on the quantity of résumés you send out, or the number of positions you apply for when your focus isn't on demonstrating how hiring you translates into investing in their business.


3. Know the people and companies

News articles, corporate web sites, press releases and personal contacts can lead you to the people you really want to talk to at your target company. Also, talking with vendors, customers and employees of your target company will - directly or indirectly - lead you to upcoming jobs and opportunities. Your aim is to gain insight into how you may be able to help them and also to find out who are that company's decision makers having the power to hire you.


4. Make your move

Call the decision maker(s) at each company you are targeting. Explain who you are, who referred you, and what you know about the company. Ask for an informational interview or a short meeting in which you will demonstrate your ability to contribute to their bottom line. If you are prepared to offer ideas and solutions they need, you will be far ahead of other job seekers who only send their résumés. When you meet them, listen carefully, so that you can fully respond to their questions and concerns. Remember to be respectful of their time.

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Change Your Job Search Strategy

What if 80% of what you're doing every day in your job search is a total waste of time? Well, it's true, according to the Pareto Principle.

Here's the explanation:

Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923) was an Italian economist who found that 20% of the Italian people owned 80% of that country's wealth. But what's fascinating about his discovery, also called the 80/20 Rule, is that its implications go far beyond economics.

Examples: 20% of your carpeting gets 80% of the foot traffic ... 20% of any sales force produces 80% of sales ... 20% of your customers cause 80% of your problems, etc.

In other words, a small number of causes produce a large percentage of effects, in a ratio of about 20:80.

What does this mean for your job search?

About 20% of what you do accounts for 80% of your results. Conversely, 80% of what you're doing to find a new job is producing only 20% of your results - it's largely a waste of time.

So, to get hired faster, you must focus like a laser on the 20% of your actions that produce 80% of your employment leads. It's that simple.

Here are three ways to do just that ...

1) It's the Network
The observations of many career development practitioners/employment counselors point to up to 80% of job leads coming from networking.

Bottom line: if you're not spending up to 80% of your time expanding your network, talking daily to friends, colleagues, family and new contacts about the job you seek and the value you can deliver ... you're screwing up.

Turn it around. Change your priorities. Make time to network every day - starting today.

2) Begin Your Résumé Forcefully
Recognize that the opening lines of your résumé must grab readers by the lapels and force them to keep going. Typically, that has to happen within the first 15-30 seconds. Otherwise, you'll lose out to more compelling candidates. Every time.

So, in the top 20% of page one, clearly tell employers what you can do for them and why you're the one to do it. Back your claims with specific facts and figures that are easy for busy readers to grasp - no puffy language or empty assertions, please.

When you do this, and fire off your big guns early, you'll be 80% of the way toward getting employers to read your entire résumé ... and call you for an interview.

3) Make the Best First Impression at Every Interview
Where do 80% of your results in the job interview come from? You guessed it - the impression you make in the first 1-2 minutes - the opening 20%.
Here's good news: the first 20% of every interview is largely under your control. You decide what clothes to wear, how to groom yourself, when to leave so that you arrive on time, how to smile and shake hands, what opening words to say, questions to ask, etc.

So prepare thoroughly and treat the opening 20% of your job interview like the golden opportunity it truly is.

OK. You understand the Pareto Principle and its effect on your job hunt. Now, here's your homework assignment. Sit down and add up how you've spent your time over the past 5-10 days. What 20% of your activities have produced 80% of your employment leads? Do more of them. What 80% of your efforts have been unproductive? Stop doing them, or delegate them.

Focus Three Times to Get that Job!

Focus and repetition are two key part of every successful advertising campaign. It's how billions of dollars in cars, coffee, cookware - you name it - are sold.

Why not borrow this strategy for your job search?

In your case, create an attractive, focused theme for yourself, then repeat it three times - in your résumé, your job interview and the thank-you letter(s) you send.


Focus in your résumé:
Employers only want to solve problems and grow profits

About 90% of all résumés and cover letters are doomed to produce only a fraction of the results they could.

Why? Because they're centered solely on the desires of the job seeker. The underlying message of the typical résumé and cover letter is this: "Give me a job where I can get promoted and make more money." When in reality, your résumé and cover letter must say this: "Dear Mr. or Ms. Employer, I understand your problems. Here's how I can help you solve them and increase your profits."

Everything you say in every document you send out that's connected with your job search must be centered on the needs of the employer. Because no employer wants to hire you. Employers only want to solve problems and grow profits. If you can help them do that and tell them so in your résumé, cover letter and job interview, you will enjoy massive success in your job search and in your career!

When writing your résumé, remember to tell employers exactly what you can do. Don't force them to figure it out for themselves.

The best way to do this is to start your résumé with a clear objective. It shows that you know exactly what job the employer is trying to fill. Example:

OBJECTIVE
Restaurant Manager where more than 10 years of experience in food service and management will add value to operations.

If you don't know the job title, focus on the 2-3 skills you want to use, which gives you the flexibility to apply for different positions. Example:

OBJECTIVE
Position where more than 12 years of sales, management and operations experience will add to profitability.


Focus in your job interview

Use the job interview to reinforce the theme you developed in your résumé. Be sure you are able to elaborate on every point in that résumé.

If you focused on the skills of sales, management and operations, for example, have additional facts, figures and/or letters of recommendation that you can share with interviewers to prove you have those skills.


Focus in your thank-you letter

Follow the same logic in your post-interview thank-you letter. Get the correctly spelled name of everyone you met in the interview, either from business cards or the receptionist.

For best results, write your letters in the lobby before leaving and drop them in the nearest mailbox. That way, they'll arrive the next day.

In your thank-you letters, reinforce the skills and character traits you've already talked about in your résumé and job interview. This is a final opportunity for you to hammer home the advantages of hiring you!

Every successful advertiser knows that focus and repetition produce results. If you focus on 2-3 attractive skills/traits and reinforce them in your résumé, job interview and thank-you letters, you'll see results in your job search.

It is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL that you send a thank-you letter after every job interview, addressed to every person you met at the company - including the receptionist.

Get a business card from every person you encounter, so you spell their names correctly. Write and mail your thank-you letters the same day you interview, so that they arrive the next day.

If you skip this EASY step, which will set you apart from 75-90% of other job seekers, you are limiting your job search to only 10-25% of its potential, assuming other job seekers' résumés, cover letters and interviews are as good as yours.

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Job Application Follow-up Recommendations and Résumé Follow-up Methods

The following résumé follow-up methods are more aggressive than what any company's Human Resources department or other "gatekeepers" will suggest, and should be employed as part of an effective job search campaign aimed at effectively targeting employers.

Try this:

1) Print and send a stationery version of your cover letter and résumé by "snail mail" to the hiring authority, along with copies to other company contacts. Make sure to address each copy using their correctly-spelled name and title. Your cover letter is especially important in making your application stand out, and following the cover letter and résumé guidelines included in this document will go far toward getting them to phone you to arrange an interview.

2) One day after you expect the employer to receive your résumé, e-mail them a quick note to ask that they confirm that they received it. Also ask if you can assist them in assessing your qualifications by supplying them with additional information such as your portfolio, or by answering any questions they may have. Doing this increases the chance that they will call you for an interview.

3) One week after sending your first email, ask for a convenient time to contact them for a brief phone interview.
Whatever method you use, your goal in following up aggressively is to sell your abilities and experience. Gently push for the face-to-face interview as soon as possible to get that job!

The reason for pushing for a face-to-face meeting at this point is because employers like to hire someone they know, like and trust. Unfortunately, there's no way they can know you in a meaningful way if they haven't met you in person. You may have the best résumé and cover letter they've seen, and sound great on the phone, but they still likely need convincing you're the best person for the job.

 

What to do if you do not get the job? / Dealing with Rejection

Rats! You've received the dreaded "thank-you-for-your-interest-but..." letter, and you really thought you were going to get that job. Maybe you were the number 2 or number 3 candidate. Close, but no cigar.

What now? Move on to the next opportunity, right? Of course. But first...

Send a nice thank you note to the hiring manager, the recruiter, and everyone else who was in the interview process.

 A thank you note? For rejecting you? Yes!

They've already offered the job to someone and gotten an acceptance, but the person may change their mind and never start the job. Or the person may take the job but prove to be unsatisfactory. It happens more often than you think.

So, what does the employer do when they face this situation? They groan, roll their eyes, and take another look at the applicants who almost got the job. Why? Because they really don't want to start from scratch, post the job, review the résumés, etc. Filling a job takes an employer a lot of time and energy. Staff time for interviews plus the cost of posting the job, etc. is expensive for most employers.

This is where your thank you note comes in handy. It reminds them of you (nicely) because you included the following elements in your note:

• thanks for letting you know the outcome of the search, even though they didn't choose you
  thanks for the time, courtesy, and consideration shown you during the interview process
  expression of disappointment in not getting the job
  expression of appreciation for the opportunity to learn about the organization and meet the people working there
  reiteration of your continued interest in working in their organization
  a request that they get in touch with you if the situation (hiring someone else) chan