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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how the job hunting industry has changed over the last several years and the major changes it is about to undergo. Truly, it’s dizzying.

But, in the midst of Monster this and blog that, there are still some very low-tech, old-school techniques that still work, some even better, that you should have as part of your job-seeking arsenal.

Also, and I’m not sure how this happened, I seem to be “Stuck On The 80’s” lately. Perhaps I’m just feeling old, but my radio is stuck on the “Best of the 80’s” station and all of the old marketing slogans have been coming back to me. Is this a sign of dementia?

So, anyway, I’ve combined this post that has been simmering in my mind for a few weeks with old advertising slogans and a ProBlogger contest for Top 5 lists and - viola! - Back To The Future was born.

But, wait! There’s More….

OLD SCHOOL IS THE BEST SCHOOL

So, without further ado, here are the Top 5 Old School Ways To Get a Job - That Still Work!

1) It’s In There! - Many people today go through their entire job search without ever sending out one piece of paper. It didn’t used to be that way, though.

Before e-mailing resumes, people would actually mail them. You know - an envelope, a stamp, hand writing an address. That doesn’t happen much any more.

And that’s exactly the reason for you to do it! Target a specific hiring manager for specific job and MAIL him your resume and cover letter. Even more effective - use a Priority Mail envelope or, if it’s a higher end job - FedEx your resume.

So few people are doing this that it will, if you’re moderately qualified, get you at least a call and often an interview.


2) Reach Out and Touch Someone. - I’ve trained (and been) a beginning salesman. So, I understand how much fear there is associated with calling someone you don’t know. But it works great!

If you’re a guy, think about asking some girl that you really don’t know for a date. It’s nerve-wracking, but you managed to do it, right? The worst she could say was, “No!”

Well, it’s the same with hiring managers. Give one a call, tell him why you’re on the market AND why you’re a great employee (and maybe why you really want to work for his company, and you’ll be amazed at the results.

Most hiring managers like employees who take initiative (which you could actually mention in your call) and it’s always great to have the solution to a problem come find you.

So make that call!


3) Where’s The Beef? - It is still true that, even with the ease of posting a job on Monster, around 40% of the jobs are never posted anywhere. They are just travelling around inside of people’s heads.

The only way to get these jobs is to get yourself in people’s heads, too. And that means networking.

Wait! Don’t run away! Networking could be as simple as calling every single, solitary, stinking person that you know and let them know that you’re looking for a job. And if they should hear of something, pass it along your way, pretty please!

You’ll be amazed at who your friends know that you never knew about - so don’t skip anyone and say, “Nah - He doesn’t know anyone…”

Of course, if you wanted to be slightly more formal, you could go to an actual networking meeting - perhaps there’s one coming up soon in Houston - and meet new people.


4) We Do It The Old Fashioned Way. We Earn It! - Most employees assume that their current and past bosses and colleagues will hold it against them for the rest of their lives that they left their company.

The truth is, a whole lot of them are envious.

In any case, unless you’re a complete disaster of an employee, you should ask all of those folks you used to work with for letters of referral. Not e-mails, not phone calls, but letters.

It’s impressive to be able to walk into an interview and plop down a stapled packet of copies (lock the originals up!) referrals from past bosses and coworkers.

Some of them will even ask you to write the referral and they’ll sign it. In those cases, don’t forget words like, “Best Ever”, “Model Employee”, and “We’ll Fail Without Him”.


5) Move Over Bacon! There’s Something Meatier! - As a recruiter, I can tell you from experience that there’s nothing worse than a resume that tells me nothing. Except, maybe, the 12-page resume that goes on and on telling me nothing.

Your resume needs to be meaty! It needs to tell the hiring manager how you’re going to benefit their company. And if you can’t do it, call in a professional. Good professional resume writers are worth their weight in gold.

If you are the best employee in the company, but can’t write a resume that reflects that, you’re just another employee to the company you’re applying to.

(By the way, if you’re looking for a good resume writer, Wendy Belancourt does a great job!)


There they are! The Top 5 Old School Ways - The Still Work - To Get a Job. Now, do the moonwalk over to your phone, put on your rhinestone dialing glove, and get to work!


Enjoy the Search

Dan
—–
Daniel R. Sweet
Chief Cook-And-Bottle-Washer / Sr. Recruiter
FRACAT.com - Free Resume and Career Toolbox
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielrsweet
Call Me On Jaxter: http://www.jaxtr.com/fracat


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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 9th, 2007 at 6:08 am and is filed under Job Hunting Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.