Three habits of job seekers who get hired fast

From the Examiner | Jan 10, 2010

After helping more than 20,000 job seekers since 1996, Kevin Donlin has
met a small number of people who seem to sail from one position to the
next, no matter what the economy is doing.

What do they do
differently from average job seekers?

Three things. Habitually.

Best
part: These 3 habits are recession-proof.

Here they are ...

1.
Focus on results, not processes
People who struggle to find
work always seem to be in the process of doing something. They can't
tell friends exactly what job they seek because they're in the process
of deciding. Or they can't improve their Linkedin profile because
they're in the process of revising their resume. Highly successful job
seekers know that results are what count. So, they just get stuff done.

A
job seeker who meets 3 networking contacts with an imperfect resume
will get hired faster than one who spends all week revising their resume
and zapping out emails. Every time.

2. Pick up the phone
and call
Donlin has never met anyone who was hired solely
on the strength of their resume or cover letter. You have to talk to and
meet employers first. In other words, it takes multiple conversations
to get a job. Successful job seekers know this. They stack the odds in
their favor by proactively calling, talking to, and asking to meet
employers they've sent resumes to.

What's the worst that can
happen if you call and ask an employer to meet?

They say no.

But
... if you wait for a phone call that never comes, you're still getting
a "No" from that employer, albeit a tacit one that can take weeks to
play out.

Make your own luck. Call to verify that employers got
the resume and cover letter you emailed.

Better: Print and mail
your documents. In your cover letter, say: "I will call your office at
10:00 a.m. Tuesday to answer any questions you may have."

Two
very good things can happen when you call at a specific time to follow
up:

1. Your call may turn into a phone interview.

2. If
you get voicemail, your message will be stamped with the time you
called, which should be when you said you would in your cover letter.
Congratulations -- you've proven that you're detail-oriented and keep
promises. And you're not even on the payroll yet.

3.
Contact employers 7 times
In advertising, it's a rule of
thumb that prospects must be exposed to your pitch at least 7 times
before they buy. Successful job seekers recognize this. So, create a
plan for contacting target employers 7 times in the next 3-4 weeks. Be
sure to vary the means of contact and -- this is vital -- always give
employers another reason to hire you with every contact.

Here's
an example campaign to illustrate:

Day 1: Mail well-researched
cover letter and resume to ABC Corp., promising to call in two days to
follow up.

Day 3: Call, as promised. Ask for interview.

Day
5: Mail newspaper clipping of interview with company president,
underlining comments about strategic plan that I can help achieve.

Day
8: Visit company office, saying I was "in the area." Ask if president
got article by mail.

Day 14: Mail hiring manager a white paper,
"5 Ways to Save on Purchasing at ABC Corp.," based on research done on
days 1-10.

Day 16: Call hiring manager to follow up. Ask for
interview.

Day 22: Email company president with 5 news items
about ABC Corp. found via www.Google.com/alerts in days 1-21. Offer
suggestions for how I could help with each.

Now. Is contacting
one employer 7 times a lot of work?

Yes.

Do you think any
other job seeker will create and follow such a detailed plan of action?

No.

So,
which is better: a little work now, or no work later?