Kelly Murphy Landed at Emerson Ecologics. Read her landing story.

From: Kelly Murphy <murphyk7575@yahoo.com>

Subject: [AN] My Landing Story!

To: actonnetworkers@yahoogroups.com

Date: Wednesday, August 5, 2009, 9:52 PM



I am thrilled to share that after 5 1/2 months I have finally landed a
great direct marketing opportunity for me as Director of Marketing at a
small and rapidly growing company in southern NH in the integrative
medicine space - Emerson Ecologics! 

 

This particular story is not all about networking (although I did more
than my share of it during the search), but a good story nonetheless;
here's the abbreviated version:  while I targeted them to visit at the
Manchester Job Fair, I didn't make it there (for reasons you well
know!!!0, so instead, being the direct marketer that I am, I sent a
good old fashioned hard-copy letter and resume to the president,
recognizing that their # of job postings suggested growth mode.  Follow
up over time ultimately led to applying online as well, which got me an
immediate screening interview... unfortunately which led to 'closing'
the door' for parameter reasons. But a week later, a friend happened to
mention and endorse me to the president (not knowing I had already
contacted them), so I proactively followed up...again, and was in turn
invited in to interview and again for a second.  (Meanwhile, a
headhunter on the same assignment also found me on careerbuilder.

com and contacted me as well.)  We closed the offer and negotiations
shortly after the second interviews and reference checks...all because
I didn't quit or give up!

 

Besides the classic networking best practices, I offer the following
recommendations that proved successful to me during my search:

 

1) Use LinkedIn to garner contacts at companies who post and get that contact to forward your resume

 

2) Tailor the cover letter explicitly to the job description and have multiple versions of your resume to choose from

 

3) Post your resume on the job agent sites and change at least every
30days so it ranks back at the top of the recruiters search results

 

4) Follow up persistently on job applications - your LI contact, the HR mgr, the hiring mgr....email/ call, call and call again

 

5) Prepare thoroughly for interviews - I researched them online, I
visited their sites/stores and talked to customers, sales reps and
store owners, I came with prepare questions, I practiced my personal
success stories, I sent thank you notes and messages.... .I did this
for EVERY interview

 

6) Provide value-add documents - e.g. personal Value Proposition slide, "Why Hire Me", 30/60/90 day personal development plan

 

7) Learn what you don't know - for me as a marketer it was Social
Media; I self-educated myself with webinars, conferences,
certifications and participating in the space (e.g. Twitter, Facebook)
so I could talk the talk

 

8) Prepare a marketing plan with target companies - this really help
others help you when you can be specific (people are better able to
respond)

 

Remember it's a process ...take it one day at a time. You never know
what the next phone call or email will yield ...but be prepared!  There
are things you can control (like the practices suggested above). Don't
give up and try again. Be creative in your approach.  Differentiate
yourself from others - you will stand out. 

 

Good luck to you all.    May you find inspiration in my success story.               Kelly J.Murphy 

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