This week’s blog follows up on my August 2, 2010 post – Networking by the Numbers and Offline Opportunities, as far as how you can get yourself noticed amongst the masses of the career-seeking crowd. Yes, it demands some thought, and a little creativity, but it may just pay off for you in the long run. If you’ve been reading my previous blogs, you know that I encourage people to consider their job search as not only work, but it also demands public relations and marketing effort!
Some case studies of those who have been willing to combine these skills so that their next job opportunity will see them “All Alone in the Crowd”:
Case 1 – Alec Brownstein. Alec landed a job for $6 dollars. Yep! As a copywriter, he had targeted his job search to five different advertising agencies. Learning the names of the five Creative Directors in each agency, he decided to use Google versus sending work samples, his resume and a cover letter. This simple yet brilliant idea had him utilizing Google AdWords. All he did was buy ads on Google for the names of the five creative directors (since these pages had little traffic, the ads cost him as little as 15 cents each), so that when one of the five gentlemen Googled their name, a personal message appeared at the top of the page that said “Hey, [creative director’s name]: Googling yourself is a lot of fun. Hiring me is fun too”. The ad also included a link to his website. Within two months, he received phone calls from four of the five directors, and had to decide between two job offers!
Case 2 – Jason Zimdars. Jason is a web designer. What better way to howcase yourself than by creating a website? Specifically, he created a website catering to the employer he sought out. He talked about the company he desired to work for, and why he would be a perfect match for them. Plus, it definitely didn’t hurt that he included a portfolio of his website creations, a blog, and of course, his resume as separate pages on the website. What makes this stand out was that the website didn’t contain only his resume and portfolio, but his main focus was on the company and him! Certainly a unique approach!
Case 3 – Ramiro Pareja Veredas. Ramiro was seeking a Telecommunications Engineering job. He designed his own business cards to attach with his resume or to hand out in interviews. Great thinking on his part – his business card covered the essentials (contact information, conveying professionalism) and some characteristics which made him memorable (the business card served as an example of his engineering skill, and had a practical use as well). His “functional” business card has removable corners which once removed, it exposed a USB connector to allow the recipient to plug the business card directly to their computer. What automatically appears? You guessed it, his resume. Perfect for him to include his cover letter, portfolio, website or other applicable documents.
Three great case studies, and hopefully some inspiration to get your creative juices flowing. Think about what you do, your profession, your industry, where you want your career to go, and how to best connect to those that can help you get there! Doing so may have great rewards for you. After all, employers and recruiters are more apt to remember you if you set yourself apart…all alone in the crowd!
Wow…those are awesome. I always tell people – the job hunting process is never fun but you need to hustle to get noticed.