Career Watch: Finding a job in a third the time

Computerworld -

Q&A: David Perry

The co-author of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0 explains how an unconventional search strategy can result in a new position in a third the time.

Is there one thing job hunters can do that would shorten their searches? Stop looking for jobs. Start looking for employers and influencers. Pick a list of 10 to 20 companies where you want to work. They're not hiring? Doesn't matter. The one-word cure for "hiring freeze" is attrition. People get fired, laid off, quit or die every day, even at companies that aren't hiring. When you focus your efforts on a short list of target companies, you will make connections that lead to meetings that lead to employment.

How can technology be better utilized in the job search? There are 4 million HR managers and 174,932 professional recruiters in America today. The first place these recruiters will go to find a potential candidate is ZoomInfo.com. The second is LinkedIn. If you don't have a profile, you can't be found -- in fact, you don't exist. By creating a profile, you are basically putting your résumé on the Web. Better yet, ZoomInfo will update your profile with new career info whenever it appears on the Internet.

Online tools can also be helpful in focusing your job search. FreshContacts.com is a free, downloadable plug-in for Microsoft Outlook that gives job hunters unfettered access to intelligence on 45 million executives. Using FreshContacts.com, it is simple to put together a list of the companies you want to work for and the e-mail or phone number for the vice president or department head that is doing the hiring.

Once you have identified your target employers and influencers, Google Alerts can notify you when there's a reason to call, such as a significant event involving a company or one of its executives.

What are some examples of guerrilla marketing? Career experts claim that only 20% of open positions are posted online. Guerrilla job hunting is about targeting the other 80% of jobs. Unfortunately, most people still focus on applying for advertised positions.

To crack the hidden job market, a person needs creativity, focus and persistence. Guerrilla job hunting is about engaging your audience and surprising them. It can take the form of an educated and targeted phone call, developing a guerrilla résumé that includes full-color graphics and testimonials from past clients and managers, or something as bold as the coffee cup caper.

What is the coffee cup caper? And has it really helped anyone get a job? It's literally a job in a box. The ingredients are simple: a full-color guerrilla résumé, with logos and quotes from past employers; a paper Starbucks cup; and a cover letter that asks, "Could we meet for coffee to discuss how I might help you?" You send it in a FedEx box. Does it really work? Ask Mark Thomas, the systems admin from Mesa, Ariz., who started his new job on March 8. He got so many interviews that he had to stop after sending 10 coffee cup capers to employers.