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GUERRILLA TIPS

• You need to check and recheck newsgroups every 24 hours because jobs only remain on the site for approximately 24 hours.

• It is more efficient to search for jobs than to post your resume and wait for a call.

• There are far more jobs on the newsgroups than on job boards.

GUERRILLA INTELLIGENCE

The “Shotgun Blast” Approach

Dave Mendoza

A weak personal branding strategy, an ineffective e-mail protocol, and a lack of online due diligence will often adversely affect the quantity and quality of job leads and interviews.

The most common mistake of job seekers is the “shotgun blast” approach. Too often job seekers e-mail, mail, or call anyone and everywhere without a strategy other than hoping the law of averages will inevitably be in their favor. In an online world, however, recruiters can sense desperation or lack of care in the approach of a job seeker that can just as easily call their competence into question. For instance, if a sales candidate only wants to work in Chicago, but e-mails a recruiter in Denver who only works in semiconductor engineering—it becomes readily apparent the job seeker failed to take the time to perform minimal due diligence. Likewise, an ambiguous e-mail subject header such as “Does it make sense to chat?” without any context within the correspondence and without a resume attachment, not to mention a lack of context as to how the job seeker assumed relevance in the relationship, all at once suggests minimal regard for a recruiter’s time. Recruiters are keenly aware that the most adept job seekers are equally capable as they are of utilizing online resources tools for efficient introductions. Subsequently, in cases where a job seeker shows a lack of proficiency with regards to online etiquette, or avoids the more efficient means of introduction, they instead inadvertently showcase their vulnerabilities. The job seeker has only effectively presented weaknesses rather than strengths in the ever-important “first impression.”

It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who Knows You

The phrase “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is a phrase we learn early in life. We are most keenly aware of it when we submit our college applications and as we enter the workforce. Today, however, the emphasis of one’s effort in effective networking is commonly misplaced. Social and professional networking used to be defined largely by power calls to foster candidate generation. Today, the emphasis is broader and in tandem; the effective phone call references the online connection as an introduction. Meaningful and sustainable networking relies on an emphasis of “knowledge transfer”—what you learn—in your associations and likewise a “benefit by association.” The personal brand of job seekers are optimized best when they have developed an online presence that signifies particular areas of expertise within their respective skill discipline and within a certain industry. How a job seeker positions himself within this realm is critical to attracting employers via online search tools that can sort by industry, company, discipline, and organization. The successful job seeker is always cognizant of the refined and relevant mantra, “It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who Knows You.”

Dave Mendoza is an award winning blogger, global speaker, and sourcing consultant. A corporate partner to RecruitingBlogs.com, he is one of the top 20 networkers worldwide on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/davemendoza/www.sixdegreesfromdave.com).

■ PROMOTE YOURSELF

Many think answering newspaper ads and responding to postings on the Internet constitute a solid job search strategy. Nothing could be further from reality. In fact, you are likely to get depressed and frustrated within days if you adopt this as your major strategy. Guerrilla job hunters know that publicity—or self-promotion—is the only tried-and-true means of landing your dream job. Now is not the time to be shy. As we demonstrate in upcoming