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By Root 593 0

from an excellent stationer. Make sure it’s nice because you want it to reflect well on you. There is no point in being unprofessional. Time is of the essence, so first impressions will count for a lot. I use a thermographed “house linen” weight paper from ReavesEngraving.com, but you can use any stationer that has a similar quality product. Get the matching envelopes and business cards. $500 should cover it. It’s a small investment to make in your career.

Step 5

Rewrite your resume and prepare a nice sales letter. There’s a cottage industry around resume writing, so I won’t get into it here except to say that you need to have a hard-hitting “metrics rich” bullet-pointed resume. The law of specificity applies. Odd numbers work best. Your resume must highlight verifiable, concrete accomplishments such as:

• Increased sales in XYZ category by $47,215 in Q2 2006.

• Decreased distribution costs by $17.61/pound by renegotiating truck leases.

• Reorganized shipping and receiving workflows for a savings of $12.41/case.

You get the idea. This goes back to the comment about being able to plug-and-play in any company.

About the cover letter: the best cover letters are actually written in the “Problem/Agitate/Solve” format. Google that to see what I’m talking about. The master of sales letter writing is Gary Halbert. Google him, too. Without being long-winded here, you want to write a letter to the head of the company function in which you’d like to work, like Dear Sales Manager, Dear CFO, or whomever.

Then start off with an honest opening sentence like “I stopped by briefly today to apply for a job. I have no idea if you are hiring, but even if you aren’t—I think I could be of value to you.”

Then simply provide a bullet-pointed laundry list of ways that you could help on a full-time, part-time, project, or interim basis. Give some affordable no-strings attached staffing options. Again, position your needs honestly in a way that he or she can identify with—and profit from.

Why such over-the-top honesty? Because hiring managers are busy and they are not expecting such an honest approach. It will catch them off guard because it’s true. It’s completely without pretense. Hiring managers love that.

Step 6

Cold walk buildings. You are looking for full-time, part-time, temp, interim, project, and seasonal work to get you through your job search. You can work from their office or from home. You have a computer with Internet access.

A local Atlanta phone company, Cbeyond Communications, has come out of nowhere in the past few years to carve a nice niche in the hotly competitive small business market. Its sales reps are known for going into high-rise buildings and popping in on office managers to solicit new business. Of course, unannounced solicitations are strictly forbidden in most high-rises, but that hasn’t stopped Cbeyond’s sales reps, who rarely get busted by security.

How Do They Do It?

By starting at the tenth floor, then going to the first floor, then working the ninth floor, then the second, then the eighth, then the third, and so on—finally stopping in the middle.

Why the Strange Pattern?

Because when tenants call security saying that there’s a solicitor on the tenth floor, security goes to the ninth floor to wait for them. But by the time Cbeyond gets to the ninth floor (after having spent 30 minutes on the first), security has left the scene. And on it goes, a goose chase that ends with Cbeyond having canvassed the entire building.

If I were in insurance, legal services, or accounting, I’d swipe this tactic.

THE ONLY GOAL IN DOING THIS IS TO MEET ENOUGH PEOPLE TO GET CALLED IN FOR A REAL INTERVIEW.

Nobody is going to get hired on the spot with this plan. However, if you do meet the sales manager on the first visit, simply say:

Look, I know you are busy, but I’m looking for a new job in this geographic area. The envelope contains a cover letter and my resume. I have no idea if you are hiring or not. My only objective in stopping