Pretty much everyone knows the common strategies for job hunting, to include the following: be explicit in what you are looking for, network like crazy, search the job sites on the Web for relevant job openings you might apply to, use a recruiter, etc.
But I would like to share with you three very powerful strategies that can put you light years ahead of other candidates in landing a great job – and they are ones that most people don’t use.
Here are the two reasons why they don’t use them:
• They are not aware of them
• They don’t want to spend the time and energy to execute them.
Job hunting is a tedious and stressful experience and I can understand that you might feel in an energy funk. But nevertheless, if you want to stand out from the crowd and increase your chances of landing a great job, then here are three exceptional strategies that really work.
1. Write a “targeted resume” for every job
A targeted resume is one that is written to respond directly to a specific job description posted by a specific employer (e.g., a Project Manager job description posted by XYZ company) or, as a minimum, that addresses the anticipated requirements of a particular “class” of jobs (e.g., Project Management jobs).
The great majority of job applicants want to write just one resume they can use to apply to all jobs that interest them. And in that one resume they want to describe exactly what THEY want: what type of tasks they want to perform, which of their talents and abilities they want to bring to bear, and what part of their past experience they want to draw upon. They leave it to the Human Resources manager or the hiring manager to figure out how they will fit in the organization and what specific role they might play.
The problem with this approach is that from the perspective of the hiring company or the hiring manager what is most important is not what YOU want but what THEY want. They are simply not going to be willing to take the time or spend the mental energy required to try to find a match between what you are offering and what they are looking for.
You may be wondering, “Why are they not willing to spend this time and effort to help me out?” Think for a moment about the process the hiring manager has had to go through to write the job description in the first place. They had to think about what they needed and also the larger picture – the whole structure of the organization – the personalities of the other people in the organization, etc. And as is natural for any human being, once they came to a decision about what they wanted, they locked in on it, and are not interested in having to rethink the issue. What they want to see in your resume is how you meet the specific requirements they have taken the time and trouble to define.
2. Offer a “Solution” to Your Potential Employer
Many times during a job search you will have an opportunity to meet with a potential employer or to communicate with them in some way (e.g., via email or phone) during the time period when they are considering several candidates. If you have this opportunity then you have a chance to apply the second technique - which is to “offer a solution.”
What does it mean to “offer a solution?” Any employer looking to hire someone is not just looking for a body to fill a chair – what they are really looking for is a solution to a problem they are experiencing. The more you can find out about the problem, the better able you will be to offer a potential solution.
Being able to offer a solution requires that you understand the problem your potential employer is experiencing in some depth. Here are some ways you can offer solutions:
- Sometimes you can gain a perspective on a potential employer’s likely problems by researching the company on the Web, or by talking to others you know who work in the company or department you are hoping to be hired into. You can then use this understanding to help you select key points to highlight in your resume and cover letter that describe how you have successfully handled similar problems in the past. The objective is to create a resume that will allow the hiring manager to effortlessly make the connection between the problems they are facing and the types of solutions you are capable of bringing.
- Sometimes you will be able to develop and offer suggested solutions in “real time” if you ask targeted questions during the interview process to help you understand the particular problems your potential employer is facing that could benefit from your perspective, experience, or expertise. If you sense your intuition is on target and your input will be welcomed, you can offer thoughts about how you might approach or solve an identified problem or some aspect of the problem.
This technique works especially well if the job you are applying for is one in which your prior knowledge, experience, or perspective can bring immediate value. Here is an example: A consultant was applying for a job to help a non-profit corporation solve what the hiring manager thought was a simple “staffing problem.” More specifically, the hiring manager believed that the root cause of several organizational problems he observed was that the organization was understaffed and hence needed a methodology for convincing the Board to approve additional hiring. As the consultant discussed the problem with the hiring manager during the interview, she asked questions that allowed her to gain a perspective on the true extent of the “symptoms” that were showing up, and she was able (based on her prior experience of working with non-profits who had experienced similar problems) to offer the thought that the staffing issue was only the “tip of the iceberg” and to suggest other areas that might need to be addressed to comprehensively solve the real underlying problems. Needless to say, she got the job, and beat out several other potential candidates due to her ability to identify the scope and nature of the real problem that the potential employer had not yet recognized. - Other times the interview process itself will include a phase where you are presented with a real-world problem that the employer or his/her department is currently struggling with and asked for your thoughts and opinions. Here again, you will have an opportunity to “present a solution” or at least an approach for addressing the problem.
Here again, this approach works especially well in jobs where the employer is looking for someone who has a lot of expertise and experience in a particular area – where they expect the person they hire to be able to “hit the ground running.” In the interview they want not only to “hear” about how you have dealt with their types of problems in the past, but to also to “experience” how what you know might be applied directly to solving their current problems.
3. Start working for the company before you are hired
One of the most powerful techniques you can use to position yourself as the best candidate among many hopefuls is to be wiling to invest your time and effort to start working for the company before you are hired, or even before the first interview. Let me explain. I am not referring to offering to a company that you will “do the job you are applying to for free” for some initial period of time. In fact, I believe this can work against you – as it can lessen your value in the eyes of a potential employer if you are willing to work for nothing, or make you appear desperate. Let me explain, via example, what I do mean:
Examples 1, 2 and 3: Working before the first interview
Tim was competing for a sales position with three other, more experienced candidates and was highly motivated to distinguish himself in the interview process. So during his job interview he demonstrated that he had already started working for the company - by researching and bringing with him a list of sales leads and contacts.
Jason was competing for a senior level marketing position in technical company specializing in voice recognition products. Prior to his first interview he researched the company’s products and spent time brainstorming ideas for new product applications. He then presented his product ideas in a professionally put together presentation during his initial interview and was hired on the spot.
Jennifer was brought in to interview for a position as a technical writer of product manuals. She knew that she was competing against several other candidates and would need to do something special to showcase her abilities. During the initial interview she asked several detailed questions regarding exactly what type of manuals she would be working on if hired, what problems the company was experiencing with its current manuals, and the characteristics and expectations of the manual readers. She also asked for, and was given, examples of the current manuals she would be asked to revise if hired. With this information, and drawing heavily from her prior experience, she put together several mini-sample sections of a revised manual to highlight the types of improvements she could make, and sent her samples back to the supervisor who had initially interviewed her. She was called back for a second interview and was hired shortly thereafter.
Example 4: Working before the second interview
Sally was brought in to interview for a senior software position and as part of the interview process was asked to meet with several other software developers in the department she would be working for. During the course of this first interview Sally took the initiative to ask some questions of her own, including asking each of the developers to briefly describe the biggest problems they were facing in their development efforts. She then went home, researched the company’s products and customers on the Web, and came up with solutions based on her prior experience. She called back the hiring manager and told him: “I’ve interviewed your employees, identified three problems you are facing in your software development efforts, and would like to meet with you to offer some possible solutions based on my experience and research.” Guess who got called back for a second interview and eventually got hired?
Example 5: Jumping in to help when you see a need
Linda was contacted by a non-profit organization as a potential consultant. She was told that the organization was interviewing multiple candidates and given a short description of the nature of the work required, which was to be funded by a grant the organization hoped to obtain. She requested a second phone call to learn more about the situation and she was granted the second call. During that call she used her experience and analytical skills to ask targeted questions so that she could get a good grasp of the problems the organization was facing and hoping to solve with the grant money. This allowed her to begin to generate in her own mind an outline of the scope of the problem and the approach she might use for addressing it.
During the call the hiring manager confessed to Linda that the organization was under the gun to develop a draft of the grant proposal within one week. Linda made the following offer to the hiring manger on the spot, “I feel that I have learned a lot about the specific problems you are facing given the information you provided me during our conversation, and based on my experience I believe I have a good idea of what might be required to address them. I would like to offer to prepare for you a draft proposal, in a format I think you can use for your grant, that will spell out a summary of the problem, proposed approach for addressing and solving it, as well as the time frame and cost required. Would you be interested?” The hiring manger’s immediate reaction was “Yes, of course! Thank you.” It took Linda an investment of seven hours of her time to write the proposal but it landed her a lucrative consulting contract. Sound far–fetched? Not at all. Anyone who is familiar with writing proposals realizes that it is necessary to be able to assess potential problems quickly, generate proposed solutions and approaches, and cost them without knowing all the details. If you have this skill you can apply it to offer benefits to potential employers that will knock their socks off. Keep in mind that in this example Linda was not offering to do “the job” for free – but to help in the proposal effort for free – an accepted and appreciated practice that did not diminish, but rather enhanced, her credibility and highlighted her self confidence and generosity at the same time.
The Bottom Line:
If you really want to land a great job, and are willing to go the extra mile to do so, there are lots of exceptional strategies that you can use to distinguish yourself from other candidates. These approaches will not work in all situations, or for all people, but if you are looking for that extra edge you might want to consider them.