Job Hunting in Hard Times

Appendix A Job Hunting Basics
Resume / Brochure / Letter Interview Prep Contact Practices Finances Additional Reading

Even if you aren't formally job hunting, you should have your presentation materials prepared. A special opportunity may surface, or someone looking to distribute your solution article may want to know more about your background.

The exercise of sorting through your skills is also useful. The analysis required to write a good resume will clarify your value offering and may point out areas where you could improve. You may surface activities to avoid. These are all good things.

Resume / Brochure / Letter

Your Resume

Fee based services can help develop your resume. Before considering them, you need to do your homework and take a first stab at your own version. Most how-to-books in this area are helpful — Martin Yate's Resumes That Knock'Em Dead is exceptional.

A Brochure

In casual business contact, offering someone your resume comes across as desperation.

A brochure describing your next venture, however, is in step with everyday business discussions. It won't scare off your contact, and it lets you demonstrate your enthusiasm and insight. Since your background is mentioned in the brochure, it also serves as a mini-resume.

Not many job hunt specialists talk about brochures, but if you want to present a positive snapshot of your abilities in a non-threatening way, a personal brochure is an excellent vehicle.

A "contractor" type brochure does this job well. It allows you to point out special skills, problem solving insights, and past successes — all without bragging.

The most flexible way to create brochures is to construct them yourself. Print shops are expensive, and one day after you've accepted the printing, you'll want to add a fresh comment or correct a typo.

Producing your own brochure involves:

On your word processor, create a document with three columns.
Purchase pre-printed, colored brochure paper. PaperDirect has the highest quality paper and the most professional colors. PaperDirect is more expensive than other suppliers, but their paper gives a quality feel to the brochure.
Print your document on the brochure paper.

The combination of color and the quality paper makes a very nice presentation. You'll be surprised at the results.

The Resume Letter

There will be times when you want to pitch yourself for a position, but you don't want your resume in a stack of 3,000. A letter resume improves your chance of getting your skills into the decision maker's hands.

A letter resume follows a standard letter format, and you include a couple of paragraphs summarizing your abilities. If you can start the letter with a specific comment for the manager, such as praising them for their last interview with the press, it's difficult for a secretary to toss it.

Interview Preparation

Unless you've read through the literature on interview questions, you aren't prepared. There are a lot of questions that you just don't think of normally, i.e., "Tell me about the last time you and your boss disagreed. How did you resolve it?"

Many questions have pitfalls that aren't obvious. An excellent source is Martin Yate's Knock 'Em Dead, but the others have good insights also. Read them all.

Contact Practices

Recruiters

If you're looking for a specialized or a managerial position, recruiters in your area should have you in their database. Recruiters will have open positions that aren't available anywhere else.

The best recruiter source is The Directory of Executive Recruiters. The authors remove recruiters who do not follow ethical practices (mainly pressuring job seekers to purchase extra services). The directory can be obtained on a disk that allows mail merging into your contact letters.

An example:

Tony said, "A few years ago, my responses were shrinking. I used the Kennedy tools to send out 600 resumes in one weekend. With my old method, the most I could have gotten out would have been 50-100. That's maximum.

More importantly, I was overwhelmed with the response. I received two hundred follow-up contacts, and in the first month, these generated 20 serious leads. Eventually, this led to a very nice job. Three years later, I still have contact with those recruiters."

Internet Searching

The Internet has opened the floodgates of contact opportunities. Careerxroads 2002: The Directory to Job, Resume and Career Management Sites on the Web is a good source on these sites.

Finances

It should be obvious that if your income is at risk, you need to work up a budget.

You might want to include credit and loan options, especially if they can buy you a couple of years breathing room.

Sometimes it's useful to rethink how much you really need to get by. Marc Eisenson's book, Invest in Yourself, does a nice job of breaking out options.

Additional Reading

Resume / Brochure / Letter

Resumes That Knock'Em Dead by Martin John Yate, 2000.
* The best resume book.
Also: Cover Letters That Knock 'Em Dead and Knock 'Em Dead 2001.
* Great interview questions.

Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1 Million+ by John Lucht, 2000.
* Mr. Lucht does a superb job of stirring the professional attitude that needs to come across in high-end contacts.

What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles. Ten Speed Press, 2002.
* A classic. Pushes you to think through your skill mix and ideal targets. Updated for Internet searching.

Recruiters

The Directory of Executive Recruiters by Kennedy Information, 2002.
* The absolute best source for reputable recruiters.

Finance

Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life by Marc Eisenson, Nancy Castleman, Gerri Detweiler, 1998.
* Offers a fresh look at your minimum financial requirements.