Hey great - another day of work at this place. Are you looking forward to it? Yeah, you're not alone. Over the years I have known dozens of people that were fed-up at work, laid-off, fired, downsized, replaced, upset with compensation, mismanaged, etc. Heck, I was one of these people. What boggles my mind is the approach that most people take when looking for a job. Let me walk you through this because there is definitely a right and wrong way.
First, here is what happens too often and please note that I see it as a long-time hiring manager and I see it as a friend to people that need a job. We will call this the "wrong" process.
- Search for ways to create a resume
- Create Resume
- Send Resume to company or recruiter
- Wait for a phone call
Really, what is that going to do other than add your piece of paper to a pile? Is any resume that different than the rest? No, you are wasting your time, creating false hope, and worst of all you're not changing the situation you set out to change. Sure you may get lucky with this approach but it's not likely.
Here is what I always do and what I tell friends to do. Nothing is fool proof but this approach has certainly helped several people. Sure, if you are not qualified you're not getting the job but this at least takes you out of the herd of sheep applying.
- Create a Resume - and make it great. I created mine almost entirely based on a book named, Resume Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer.
- Look for Jobs in and out of your field. Now is your chance to choose something you like so don't be shy about it. It doesn't matter where you look for jobs but I generally choose the usual suspects: Monster.com,
HotJobs
, Vault
, and Careerbuilder.
- Edit your resume's objective for each position you apply to. It has to be pertinent to the field and it has to be in line with the level of aggressiveness the company has. For a small tech company, you would use words or terms like quick to adapt, nimble, exciting, buzz, aggressive, eager, growth, etc. For a huge bureaucratic company, you'd choose different wording that wasn't as intimidating.
- Edit the bullet points under your previous positions to use keywords that are important to the company and position. If it's a sales job, talk in percentages; 182% is always more attractive than $50,000 in new sales, 99% efficiency is always better than 572 issues closed, etc.
- Don't be afraid to have 5 or 6 versions of your resume, I certainly do. Just be sure to keep an accurate log of your activity. Track who you talk to, dates, and the name of the resume file sent. I just toss all of this information into wordpad.
- Send the appropriate resume in to the companies you are interested in AND a second tier that contains companies you'd settle for. Your financial and employment situation will dictate this. If you are in a high demand position, you can skip the second tier.
- Wait 24 hours
- Call the person you sent the resume to. If you simply faxed or emailed it to a generic email address, just stop and listen. Your goal is to talk to the hiring manager, not HR. Of course HR will be involved but they are the resume collectors. You need to have someone internally, preferably a manager, ask HR for your resume. This will put you on top of the pile. Here are a few ways to find the hiring manager:
- Call the company's main phone number and shoot too high on purpose. If you are going for a sales job, ask for the VP of Sales. If you are going for a programmer job, do the same thing but ask for the position that fits. By calling too high in the company, the executive's admin will tell you who to call after you mention the ABC position (what you applied for). The admin's #1 goal on the phone is to protect the boss from solicitors and garbage. She/he will gladly refer you to the right person just to get rid of you. Now you can call that manager saying that you just spoke with Mr. Exec's office, and they indicated that you're the person hiring for the ABC position.
- If you cannot get to the right person, just ask for Accounts Payable. You will always be transferred immediately. When you get there, act dumb and say that you applied for ABC position and the company operator was connecting you to the head of the ABC group. They will happily transfer you 99% of the time - again, all they want to do is get off the phone - it's human nature. Now you are being transferred internally so your call may have a better chance at getting answered because the caller ID will indicate "internal call" or something similar. If you get a voice mail, that's fine - now you have a name. Don't leave a voice mail. Call back until you get the person or eliminate them as the possible hiring manager. Voice mails will just delay things.
- If all that fails, Google the company and try to get another manager's name. Most of the time, company's name executives on their website or they are listed in an online directory somewhere. If one Exec doesn't work, try another. You will continually use the same type of script until you get routed to the person that says, "Yes, that's my team's opening".
- If you keep getting stumped by an admin, call at 7:00 AM the next morning. Execs start early, admins generally don't. Calling that early definitely increases your chances of getting to talk to someone with power. To do this, you will need to either have a direct phone number or the company will need to have a touchtone directory.
When you get their voice mail, collect their name and hang-up. Again, no voice mails. Now you have a name that you can constantly ask for and you should do so until you get them live.
When you finally get them on the phone, introduce yourself and say that you know X, Y, Z, about their company and you've applied for the ABC position. This needs to be a very brief statement. Do not ramble. Mention that your phone call is to briefly get a better understanding of his/her requirements in real terms (not HR terms). In most cases, this person will either be open to scheduling a 10-minute conversation with you or they'll answer your questions right there. I usually try to push for the 10-minute conversation and I make sure to mention my name at least twice during the conversation. I admit, they may tell you to take a hike and send you to HR but at least you are showing how serious you are. Anything you obtain is inside scoop that no other applicants have AND your name is inserted into this person's brain. You can then take this information and use it by contacting HR indicating that you've already talked to Mr. Exec about the ABC position and you want to be sure that they have your resume on file and you want to know specifically when interviews are being setup.
If you are applying to IBM or some huge company, I am telling you now, this navigation process will be difficult. However, it's very possible. In the past, I've navigated through IBM, Sun, and American Express. If you want the job, try it. What do you have to lose?
The goal, like I mentioned earlier, is to build your name's value. You want that hiring manager to ultimately ask HR for YOUR resume and by calling them directly, you are engaging them and subtly asking them to take action. From what I have personally seen, less than 5% of the applicants do any of this. That means you're getting a huge leg up and you may even bypass people more qualified than you. I can tell you now that the aggressive, excited, eager person will get hired every time over the ultra-passive person that may have a few better credentials. Remember it's not what you know, it's who you know. By engaging the manager directly, you are beginning a relationship that other applicants won't have.
At some point, you will have an interview and I plan on writing about that soon. In the meantime, just know this: I would ditch a lot of the books that give you tips on interviewing - they're a waste of money. The bottom line is that you are going to have to remain aggressive in the interview and you are going to have to know what you're talking about. If your resume contains a bunch of fabricated details, be ready to be caught. If you have skills in certain areas, you should answer questions and then transition the conversation into your strengths. Again, I will detail this very soon.
- Jay
