Six Degrees Apart: Job Hunting More Effectively

Using Targeted Opportunity Search Techniques

By Debra Feldman

Career Launchpad

Targeted opportunity job search relies on job-hunting campaign efforts focused on those businesses most likely to appreciate and therefore, be actively interested in a particular candidate's talents, skills, goals, achievements and personality. It requires that the job seeker develop clear specifications for the kind of career opportunity that is exciting to him. Thereby, it eliminates soliciting job offers that aren't a terrific match to the candidate's employment goals. While the number of inquiries sent out is relatively limited compared to direct mail campaigns or broadcast email efforts, the response rate is very much higher (usually over 20 percent compared to one to three percent) with more precisely targeted results and net-net a more productive yield of solid and suitable job leads.

Correspondence introducing the candidate is designed individually for each business selected and contains hardcore evidence illustrating extensive research done prior to the initiating contact and suggesting mutual business interests. Each resu-letter demonstrates to the potential employer how a candidate's accomplishments and abilities are a perfect complement to their needs, how a candidate will be able to make an immediate, significant contribution to their organization's success, resolve outstanding problems and fit right in immediately.

A customized resu-letter is a high impact, situation-specifically focused, marketing tool that combines extracts from a resume touting a unique selling position designed to entice the letter's recipient into contacting the sender-candidate. This produces an invitation for a personal interview, the first step and one that is mandatory to getting in the door to pitch oneself for a new career opportunity.

Nothing happens until a candidate gets to talk or better yet, meet face-to-face, with a potential hiring manager. The premise of writing a letter of introduction or sending an email communication is to solicit enough interest on the part of the employer's representative so that the candidate is offered a chance to sell their whole selves, not just what is highlighted in a printed resume. Not enough emphasis can be placed on how a certain interpersonal chemistry plays a key role in whether a candidate is pursued or triaged out of consideration. But, for this unquantifiable element to come into play, the candidate's written resume must first overcome any hurdles impeding its path. So even though a resume is never a complete picture, it must be good enough to promote a candidate far enough along so that he is invited in to meet in person or have a thorough telephone interview.

Yes, this approach takes substantial time and work, but the pay off is more and better new opportunity leads. With the new contacts made through this process, a candidate gets an added bonus from all the work that goes into crafting individual letters of inquiry and researching background to prepare customized letters of introduction: his professional network is widely extended by virtue of the efforts pursued in seeking a new opportunity . If nurtured over time, these new business contacts are the basis for future career transitioning and add more value to a candidate's expertise, extend his resources and enhance his value as a player in the field.

Debra Feldman, the JobWhiz@CareerLaunchpad, develops a personalized strategy for individual's job hunting campaigns that are designed to access the hidden job market or unlisted career opportunities where over 85 percent of new hires report finding jobs. Her Targeted Opportunity Job Search methods are far more effective than mass mail or broadcast email because the focus is on selling a candidate's unique qualifications for helping a potential employer resolve current business challenges. Taking a daily JobWhizQuiz remedies job-hunting woes and improves progress towards the candidate's career transition or workforce re-entry goal. She can be reached by e-mail, JobWhiz@CareerLaunchpad.com or by telephone, (203) 637-3500

The above is an excerpt from The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need: How to Find and Get the Job or Internship of Your Dreams, which is available for sale for $19.85 in our bookstore or $27.00 at Amazon.com but for free to those who subscriber to our free career newsletter. This hot new book contains job search secrets of the most experienced, most knowledgeable and most respected career experts. Learn career planning, job hunting tools and tactics, interviewing, cover letter and resume writing (lots of samples!), networking, and how to find an internship. Written by 149 career experts. To receive a free copy, subscribe to our free career newsletter.

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