This is for the eager job seeker.
You’ve done all the expected approaches and you’re struggling to understand why you haven’t received that call back.
You’ve updated your resume and made sure your Linkedin profile matches accordingly. You’ve followed up with the hiring managers at the companies you’ve applied too.
You still haven’t seen much traction. At this point you’re probably asking yourself what you’re doing wrong.
Instead, I think you need to flip the script.
Why do you do this to yourself again and again?
You’ve sent out your resume, cover letter and/or any other relevant application materials to every available job opening.
You’re waiting for the call to set up the initial phone screen but two days pass and nothing comes through. Four days later. A week later.
Does this painful situation sound familiar?
Now, I know some of you might say this is far from your experience. I’m writing this post for the hungry sales candidate in need of a job who might not realize they’re sitting on incredible opportunities to accelerate the momentum of their job search journey.
We’re at an age where we as professionals have business tools at our exposure that our predecessors would only dreamed of during their career.
Lets get tangible.
Are you blogging?
Blogging has never been more accessible to the average Jane as it is today. Linkedin pulse for instance walks you through the process of writing and editing an article with the same amount of effort as adding that hipster influenced filter to your instagram post.
What should you blog about you ask?
As a job seeker you probably have tons of past experiences and relevant expertise you can recount in a post of 800 words or less.
You can discuss ideas, strategies and lessons you’ve learned from your previous roles and how you plan on capitalizing this knowledge towards crushing your next job opportunity.
Blogging has an incredible ROI. That one-two hours you invest into writing a post about why you would be a valuable asset to an organization is a step in building your personal brand. Your personal brand is how people determine your professional reputation.
Being a successful 21st Century B2B salesperson is heavily reliant on your social presence and how you engage with your network. Today’s first impression starts at your Linkedin profile, your personal website as well as any other relevant social platforms you can leverage in communicating with like-minded professionals.
What if that ideal hiring manager who’ve you sent multiple applications to stumbles upon your blog articles and recognizes your name within the hundreds of resumes that are now playing Jenga on their desk.
You’ve automatically set yourself apart from the noise and now have a fighting chance in landing that ideal job you’ve had your sight set on for so long.
When it comes to blogging and producing organic content, it’s all about consistency. Our CEO, Keenan will be the first to tell you that ASG wouldn’t be here today if he didn’t invest the time to consistently blog about sales. Everyday. For two years straight.
That consistency brought along exposure and an audience which has resulted in our clients and our established sales consulting and recruiting practice.
Don’t Be Boring
Now while you might be doing everything that’s expected as a job seeker you have to ask yourself..what makes you stand out from the rest of the competition?
Is it any surprise that your resume that you spent hours formatting and perfecting ended up in a pile on a desk or even worst at the bottom of a trash bin?
At ASG Recruiting for instance we don’t even review resumes for any internal job opportunities. We ask for a personal message describing why you’re the right person for the job as well as any links demonstrating how you’ve built your personal brand.
You’re all about relationships and networking you say?
A quick LinkedIn search will tell you all you need to know.
When’s the last time you produced any organic content? Are you engaging with your current network? Are you joining and participating in relevant business groups who are working towards the same goals as you?
I’m challenging you to not only stop being boring but also stop being lazy.
It’s easy to mass apply to 50 job openings. Sure it takes time but to strategically target those same hiring decision makers with personalized messages takes work.
If a sales job requires a B2B sales A+ player candidate to be able to navigate past gatekeepers, through internal barriers and get past the noise of day-to-day operations you better be able to get in front of those same decision makers who’re sick and tired of receiving the status quo.
Have you sent your resume with a box of doughnuts?
I came across a post on Linkedin a few weeks back which was a picture of a box of doughnuts with a resume taped inside the lid.
How awesome is that?!
That was the first time I’ve ever seen that approach and it’s just an example within a myriad of unique ways you can grab the attention of hiring managers in a job market that’s desperate for the element of surprise.
Here’s just a few of other approaches you can take to set yourself apart from the pact in landing your dream gig:
- Send a bombbomb video email to follow up your application which I would bet less than 10% of any applicants are doing.
- Send a physical postcard via services like postable.com where you can easily create and customize an intriguing message for why a hiring manager should consider you an outlier in a sea of boring Joe’s.
- Follow and engage hiring decision makers on Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram, etc where you can find commonalities and warm conversation openers through shared interests just by connecting and advocating these individuals online.
The candidates who win and hold the most leverage today understand how and why they need to think differently in their tactics which makes the hiring decision maker’s job that much easier.