Guerrilla Marking for Job Hunters 2.0 - Jay Conrad Levinson [41]
But when those same tools are applied for the sole purpose of gaining a competitive advantage to ensure your job search goals are attained, that’s “Guerrilla Googling.” What’s more, while potentially quite dangerous, it’s also a lot of fun.
Your Job Hunter’s Dashboard
Guerrilla Googling is about replicating the enemies’ process and systems to gather and monitor actionable intelligence so they can be engaged on the battleground of your choosing. All that is needed is a computer with Internet access and resolute determination.
A carefully chosen alias and password will give you access to your Job Hunter’s Dashboard, a command-and-control center, if you will. And because Google is providing the platform, conceivably you could conduct your job search in places as far flung as the Smokin’ Sadhu Cyber Cafe, Katmandu, or closer to home in the Kansas City Library.
Here are the first steps for getting your Dashboard up and running:
1. Create a Google account. Because we will be using this account for covert operations, choose an innocuous user name that cannot be traced back to you.
2. Register for the following services: iGoogle, Gmail, Google Reader, Google Docs, Notebook, Talk, and Google Sites. Other products and services will be added later.
3. If you’ll be using a personal computer, you should also download the Google Toolbar and Google Desktop.
4. While you’re at it, if you are not already using the Firefox browser, you should be. Firefox has a number of very useful extensions that will enhance your experience. Gmail Space, GMarks, Integrated Gmail, Google Date Keeper, and other add-ons will give you significantly improved results.
Next, sign into iGoogle where you’ll see that everything you’ll need to create a customizable homepage has been provided.
By configuring the various gadgets that are publicly available with some of our own creation, an innocuous iGoogle page can be transformed from something that’s cool to something that is a mission-critical technology—your Job Hunter’s Dashboard!
Armed with the same expertise as a top-notch recruiter, you can now wreak havoc by doing things like inserting yourself in the recruiting process before the recruiter even knows there is an opening coming down the pike.
Of course, we haven’t discussed how to use Google Sites or Google Base to make your online resume easier for recruiters to find or how to text a recruiter who rarely, if ever, gets a resume delivered to his or her mobile.
We haven’t discussed how to use Google for a soup-to-nuts direct marketing campaign or how to back up your most important files using your Gmail account. And we haven’t mentioned yet that, with the exception of $0.51 paperback, all of this can be done without spending a dime.
Because all this and more can be achieved using a single Google account, and a well-managed command-and-control center, I hope you’ll find some reason to explore these possibilities further.
Jump online and visit http://jobhunters.g-recruiting.com when you have a few minutes to spare. There you’ll find a number of easy-to-follow tutorials that will guide you through the setup and configuration of your dashboard. You’ll also find shortcuts and off-the-shelf gadgets that will save you time and effort as you get started.
All of the things described here can be achieved using Google products and services combined with a determination to get the job you really want.
Amitai Givertz is Principal, AMG Management Advisors. Fast becoming a central theorist and practitioner in twenty-first century online recruiting, Ami is widely recognized for his active participation in the ongoing debate on how social media, networking, and “2.0 values” can help advance the recruiting industry’s progress in a fast-evolving world. He is the editor of RecruitingBlogs.com, a contributing editor on Recruiting.com, and sits on the Advisory Board for Kennedy Information’s Recruiting Trends. Ami is also a member of the Human Capital Institute’s Expert Advisor