Meet Steve C., from Pittsburgh. Like many laid-off executives, he was given an outplacement package with job-search “help” that flopped — “0″ job offers in 9 months. In his ordinary job search, Steve emailed his resume “hundreds of times” to employers, with no response. (Sound familiar?) But in a Guerrilla Job Search, coached by Mark [...]
** To View Climber Catalyst offerings and capabilities first-hand register for free HERE In a challenging economic environment, we often assume that the number of unemployed provides target rich active candidates that are easily assessable. The unexpected complication however reveals a more complex introduction exchange between recruiter and job seeker. The disenfranchised effected by layoffs [...]
As “headhunter” and author Skip Freeman points out in this blog, the vast majority of cover letters are boring, without direction and are therefore doomed to experience the old “DELETE” Key! As Skip further points out, though, it doesn’t have to be that way! He shows you how to write an effective, creative cover letter that is very likely to get the attention of a recruiter/hiring manager and generate a response!
It’s a million times easier for yoiu to answer the phone than to try and get an employer to talk to yoiu if you’re looking for one – right!
In grade school we learned the 3 Rs of Reading, wRriting and aRithmetic. Those were our most important lessons [ok so I’m dating myself]. For job-hunters it’s Research, Relevancy, and Resiliency which will deliver an A+ interview.
Does your resume excite and motivated people like lingerie from Victoria’s Secrets or keep them guessing like flannel? Make it easy for an employer to see what they’re after. And what exactly is sexy to an employer? Quantifiable results and accomplishments! Prepare a 1 page resume and dress it up with the names and logos of the major clients you’ve sold. Employers want to know about your wins first not your responsibilities. Boring black and white resumes are like flannel nighties – they’re comfortable but may not get you the attention you’re looking for.
The 7 Rules of Engagment is a multi-part article so you may wish to start here. 2nd Rule of Engagement: Find a head-hunter BEFORE you need a new job. Most job hunters are a lot like people who drive their cars until they run out of gas: pathetic souls standing on shoulder of life’s highway waitng for someone to stop and help them out. Not smart. Don’t wait until you know you’re going to be reallocated to make friends with a headhunter because we all know 99% of people wait until their heads are in the guillotine and the blades being dropped before they wisper sweet nothings in our ears. Too late! In business you always try to stay ahead of the curve. Plan ahead! Put another way, you bought life insurance to prepare for the inevitable – treat your career as your biggest asset – goodness knows it’s not your house anymore. You need to have a six-month runway to work a head-hunter strategically. Your initial contact is to let the head-hunter know you exist. Your goal is to get them to keep you in mind for career-building positions opportunities and/or to market you. Want more ideas like these?…
Then act like an MVP. The more you appear to be instrumental to a company’s success [with out the mind numbing ego part] the more bargaining power you have. Be forth coming
3rd Rule of Engagement: Be Selective – Target Your Efforts
Don’t bother sending your resume to all 1,000,000 recruiters; find one who specializes in recruiting your talents
The 7 Rules of Engagment is a multi-part article so you may wish to start here. 4th Rule of Engagement: Don’t Play Dumb There are three people in this world that need to know your current salary: the IRS, your spouse and your head-hunter. (Actually, I’m not convinced the first two need to know – but I digress). I know most people like to keep this information private, but head-hunters need to know because We need to exclude you from all jobs under your salary level. If you play cat-and-mouse with us you’ll end up in the circular filing. Most head-hunters don’t use your salary to peg your seniority. Provide your cash salary requirements. In fact you likely already know that most recruiters work on contingency which means they only get paid IF they place you AND they get paid a percentage – so the more money you make – the more money they make. It’s a symbiotic relationship. Want more ideas like these? You can listen in on an hour’s worth of unconventional, Guerrilla secrets and judge for yourself by grabbing a copy of our Free Audio CD.
