.:: K-HITS ::.

Concert Calendar
New Releases
Artist of the Week
Classic Hits Links
Listen Now

Join the Workforce
Promotions
JC & the U-Man
All Around Town
Singles Connection
Air Personalities
Contact Info
Advertise With Us

Great Outdoors
Clubs / Venues
St. Louis Attractions

Career Channel
Autoworld
Traffic

Ask for the Job, then ask for the Referral

Marco Cepeda

I have sent resumes out in response to ads in both the papers and the Internet. I have cold called on businesses, both in response to ads and from lists I have made. I have gone through the phone book, done my research to find a contact point and sent out resumes to them. I have followed up on email and by phone. I have gone to job fairs. I have rewritten my resume and cover letter numerous times, changing both the style and the type.

All told, in the last 4 months I have sent out, delivered and followed up on almost 400 resumes.

I have over 18 years of good experience in my field and resumes that used to get me numerous responses, just don't anymore.

For all that, I have had 1 preliminary phone interview, for a job I could not take (they wanted over 50% travel, I am a single dad and can't travel that much).

So, what am I doing wrong here? What is not getting the job done? I know that once I get in the interview, getting the job won't be so hard (always been good at the interviews). I can't seem to get that far.

Any and all input or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,
Jason

**************

Hi Jason,

The answer is right in front of you, but you are just too close to see it.

The first part of the job hunting formula can be broken down to two components:

Lead Generation System = 1. Playing the numbers, and 2. TARGETED leads

See, there is ONE reason and one reason ONLY that you are not getting interviews. If you are targeting the wrong people, companies, positions, then it really doesn't matter how many resume's you send out, how many people you talk to... you are selling the wrong product to the wrong target.

How do I know this?

It's simple math.

If you're getting a lot of resumes into the hands of hiring managers, you should have had several interviews by now. Since you haven't, I can tell that you need to adjust your approach so you're reaching a more "qualified" buyer.

So how can you increase your target quality and thereby, increase number of interviews to get the job?

Well, it's always industry specific and I don't know exactly what you are doing. But you should be checking out industry directories (such as the ASAE Association Directory at http://www.asaenet.org/find/), joining industry organizations to network and always, always asking for referrals.

Referrals offer the best method to bring the highest quality leads. And I'm guessing you didn't make 400 phone calls after they "rejected" you, to get a referral. Most people don't think that way. And that's why it works.

If you speak with a hiring manager or recruiter and they can't help you, ask them if they can recommend someone who might be able to help a person with your background. Not only does this expand your lead pool, but it also distinguishes you from other job seekers when you make the call to the person you are referred to. If you call someone and say "Sally Smith of IBM suggested I call you because she thought you might have a need for someone with my background," you are no longer just an anonymous person but you're someone who knows their friend Sally. So they're going to be much more receptive to talking to you, and they're going to want to try to help because they like Sally (hopefully Sally does have a good relationship with them)!

If you want to find out how I was able to get a "truckload" of interviews during the down market and got around the "system" designed to screen you out, our self-study course is now available. Please go to the JobSearchInfo site mentioned below and click the "Better Jobs Now" link.

And if you're having trouble getting any hiring managers or recruiters on the phone, an easy way to increase your lead pool is to get your resume on all the job boards. If you sign up for the Employ.com Resume Posting Service, they will put your resume on over 90 job sites for you. Even if you want to post your resume on all the job boards yourself, you should check out the list of job boards under the "Sites We Post You To" option on the Employ.com Resume Posting Service home page just to be sure you have posted your resume on all the relevant sites. To visit the site, click on the following link. http://posting.employ.com.

By Marco Cepeda, Contributing Editor, JobSearchInfo.com
2004 JobSearchInfo.com

« Return to Previous Page

What search engine do you use most?

• Yahoo!

• Google

• Excite

MO Power Ball: 27, 34, 42, 49, 52, Powerball: 23, Power Play: 2

IL Mega Millions: 1, 10, 17, 23, 35, Mega:45

results posted by 9am following day

Saint Louis, MO

Sunny
48°F
MORE→