David E. Perry's Blog, page 9
April 3, 2012
Marketing and your resume
I subscribe to several e-newsletters. One perennial favorite is Dan Kennedy's. Dan is a professional marketer like my co-author Jay Levinson. His latest newsletter contained the following quote which is applicable to job hunters:
"The spider looks for a merchant who doesn't advertise so he can spin a web across his door and lead a life of undisturbed peace!" The two main reasons businesses of any kind fail are: 1. They don't market and advertise. Sadly most new business owners spend their money and their time on everything other than marketing. 2. They don't market the business effectively. You can spend a ton of cashola on marketing and not get any results if you are not following a proven direct marketing system. Take a look outside your door and make sure that there isn't a spider getting ready to spin his web.
So how about you job hunter? Are you spending your money and time focusing on the right things? Is your list of prospects honed to a razor sharp edge? Is it a list of your top 10 employers or top 100? My experience is that a list of 10 employers is doable. A list of 100 is too large for any but the most zealous to maintain focus and clarity. But even before your list, are your marketing materials all they can be? Is your value statement clear? Are you using a different resume for each opportunity or is it a one-size-fits-all generic piece of pulp? Do you have an eXtreme resume to open doors and a general one to leave behind? Does your resume make you stand out? Is it an invitation to dance or an obituary? Is your marketing message too diffuse to be of value? Or does the reader instantly understand the value you bring? Most marketing and advertising misses the mark.... all you have to do is check the "junk mail" delivered to your home today to realize this is fact. So, Guerrilla job hunters fail because they lack focus and proper marketing materials. These are easy things to fix. So as we enter into the Christmas job hunting rush I suggest you hone your focus down to a handful of companies you can demonstrate real value to and then tell them how you're going to do it. It's nearly Xmas. Go put your dream job under your tree.
Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for job hunters blog and download the free audio CD.
April 2, 2012
Q: How can you tell a sincere job posting from a fluffed up job posting?
A: It's more than 25 words long. A sincere ad will as much try to screen people out as in. For example minimum requirements often means exactly that. If you don't know the difference between thermal underwear and a thermal coupler – you shouldn't apply – chances are your transferable skills won't be enough. Sometimes it really is rocket science.
Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for job hunters blog and download the free audio CD.
March 30, 2012
10 Reality Checks of Job-Hunting
10 Reality Checks of Job-Hunting
When my own college aged kids ask me for career advise and then look at me all wide-eyed... I send them to this site by Quintessential Careers for a 2nd opinion. You would be smart to do the same. Here's a great article to start them off and get them out of your basement.
March 27, 2012
Christmas interviews: Are you ready?
More hiring happens during Xmas than you would imagine. I'll blog another day on the reasons – in the meantime are you ready? Here are six questions many employers use to get at the true motivation of a job hunter. Can you answer them? Your answer needs to role off your tongue without much thought. You need to appear relaxed and confident in your answer. For sales people this is easy because it's a feature-benefit discussion with you as the product. 1. What five or six adjectives best describe you? 2. If we had three or four close associates with us and asked them to describe you, what would they likely say? 3. What aspects of the work environment did you feel you had greatest influence and impact? 4. In which of your past work environment did you feel you had the least amount of influence and impact? What caused these feelings? 5. From a job standpoint, which of your past positions did you least enjoy? Why? 6. In which of your past positions were you most motivated and productive? a) What work factors accounted for this motivation? b) What factors most affected your positive feelings? c) The absence of what factors enhanced your positive outlook? Your responses will be followed up by these three probing questions: "What has been your biggest achievement in your business career?" "Why"? "Take me through the project/deal/change and tell me exactly what you did." So memorize the details of your career beforehand and relate your answers to their situation. What are they looking for? You have it and they know it OR they wouldn't be interviewing you. Now you just have to pre
How to answer interview questions
A bold solution for Interview Bores. I look the boring candidate right in the eye and say, "You're wonderful. Your experience is unbelievable. But I'll bet you're having a tuff time getting the type of gigs you deserve". As she smiles and nods her head, I go for the jugular. "I can tell you why but you need to be open to hearing what I have to say." When she agrees, I proceed: "You're really smart but you're boring! Fortunately, you can fix that in about 10 seconds by learning how to give a 1-2 punch interview answer. "Answer the question by summarizing at a high level in under 30 seconds and end your summary by asking, 'Would you like me to elaborate on that or fill in any details for you?' " If she wants to know more, she'll ask and then you're having a real conversation between peers and not a dull, endless monologue. Now, I admit, some people are shell-shocked but I've never been punched or had anyone stand up and leave. Most appreciate the honesty and everyone of them has called back (sometimes years later) and said it was the best advice they ever got. So for what it's worth, try it.
Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for job hunters blog and download the free audio CD.
March 26, 2012
In résumés, cutting the fiction reduces the friction
It's okay to sell your strengths (and admit your weaknesses), but recruiters prefer you back it up with hard facts, ROMA LUCIW writes:
Nothing in the job interview alerted Lorna Hegarty to the candidate's lie.
It was only after a routine check with the company where he worked that she learned his term there was closer to 18 months rather than the three years he had claimed. When Ms. Hegarty asked for an explanation, the applicant said part of his working stint had been on contract. But that also turned out to be untrue. Several awkward phone calls later, his credibility fading fast, he withdrew his application.
See the Globe & Mail article for the balance of the article.
Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for job hunters blog and download the free audio CD.
March 20, 2012
Resume lingerie: How to get invited to the party!
Like lingerie, the purpose of a good resume is to heighten the reader's interest in what's possible. What might be if only…
It's not your life story [nobody cares]. It's not a manual [no one has time to read it]. It's not a manuscript [you're not that interesting]. It's a marketing brochure.
Your resumes only purpose is to pique their curiosity: To get you a face-to-face interview. That's it. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have 10 seconds to make an impression you have 6 seconds, or worse 3 seconds if the company has no opening and your just networking.
That's the harsh reality. The truth bites. Now you know why the analogy applies. Sex sells. Are you desirable? Your resume must be eye-candy in a sea of deadly dull and boring black & white résumés or you'll miss your opportunity to impress them and regale them with your accomplishments.
Don't save the best to last. It won't get read. Lead with your best foot. Put your accomplishments up front and if you haven't yet figured this out ---- the names of your clients or better yet their logos strategically placed in your resume will get an employer's attention --- especially if they want them as clients too.
Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for job hunters blog and download the free audio CD.
March 19, 2012
Creative Work Environment - What do the really mean?
We don't have a lot of money to give you but we sure have fun together on the weekend!
Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for job hunters blog and download the free audio CD.
Job hunting phrases and what they really mean.
Here are some of my favorite phrases and what they really mean.
Phrase
You probably think
What it really means
What you can do about it
Phrase: Self-starter
You probably think
This job requires a great deal of initiative
What it really means
You're on your own. Remember that old saying "sink or swim". Here's where the rubber really meets the road cause your on your own baby!
What you can do about it
Go to Google and run a search with the name of the company as well as the word resume. This will return the resumes of people who used to work at the firm. Call them up and ask them what it's like to work there.
Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for job hunters blog and download the free audio CD.
9 Most Depressing Professions | Business Insurance
It's easy to get down in the dumps about your job, especially every Sunday night when you realize that the next day is Monday and you have to go to work again. But some careers out there do more than just give workers a case of the Mondays. While people in these fields may be thankful to have a job (the unemployed tend to have higher rates of depression), not every career field is equally fulfilling. Whether it's the hours, the work itself, or, more than likely, a combination of it all, these professions have higher rates of depression or suicide than most.
It's just as easy/hard to find a great job you'll love as it is to find one you'll hate... here are a few you might want to consciously consider avoiding!
March 13, 2012
Knowledge + Aptitude = Brand
Today we buy the value implied by our favorite brands, and Employers do the same! Do you buy generic beer? Clothes? Cars? Not likely.
Personal Branding
Why personal branding is critical for you today:
Employers are looking for results.
Results demonstrate Your Qualities, which satisfy Their Value Requirements.
Employers are not buying generic beer.
They will buy the intangible Qualities implied by your brand (you are Nike too).
How Do You Create a Brand – without a million dollar budget?
It's pretty simple actually. Personal Branding is all about making yourself stand out so that people trust you and are interested in you.
To do this you borrow your previous employers Brand (names, slogans, and logos) to create an identity that is memorable and desirable to the people you want to reach.
For your cover letter this means name-dropping which projects you worked on or which clients you sold to. Be specific. Be detailed. Sell the sizzle AND the steak.
For your resume it may mean taking the logos (with permission of course) of the companies you worked for or product you developed and putting them on your resume for extra punch. Nothing will get an employer's attention faster than a well-known brand's logo, especially if it's a competitor or a coveted account for the sales group.
For telephone queries it's all in how you set the stage. When you are following up your letter, email, resume try standing out from the other 1000 applicants. For example:
Typical:
"I sent you my resume…"
"I'm following up the resume I sent…"
"I understand you may be looking for… "
"Do you need a …"
Those are the standard opening statements people use when they call me or leave me a voice-mail message.
Try this instead:
You Inc:
Mr. Jones, I was in
New York
when the world-trade towers came down. My company sent me there a few days earlier to close a deal and told me not to come back without it because there'd be no company to come back to…
Mr. Jones, are you getting all the new business you deserve or are you of the opinion there's room for improvement between now and the end of the next quarter?
This is not exactly rocket science. It just takes a little forethought and planning to leave a message or start a conversation that is more likely to get you a quick return call. In case you're looking for more examples, this comes out of both of my books, Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters and Career Guide for the High Tech Professional
Next week we'll tackle branding for your resume. It's actually pretty easy and terribly effective.
Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for job hunters blog and download the free audio CD.
