career search

Remember the last time you looked for a job? You faithfully scanned the Internet or maybe you picked up the Sunday paper each week, spread the "Want Ads" over the dining room table and read each advertisement until you found the perfect position, the one written just for you.

Then you wrote your cover letters, enclosed your resume with each one and mailed them with the expectation that shortly you would receive a phone call inviting you for an interview.

Of course, you really didn't get many responses. As a matter of fact, most of the companies you wrote to did not get back to you, not even to tell you they weren't interested.

So, what did you do wrong? Or worse, what was wrong with you, so wrong that very few organizations even took a minimum interest in you?

In reality, likely nothing was wrong with you. You used a weak job search tool.

For one thing, only a small percentage of positions actually are advertised in the paper. Another thing is that so many people respond to the "good" ads that the employers probably didn't even get around to reading your letters.

Did you waste your time using the newspaper? Maybe not completely. If you landed a good job we can't criticize your methods.

Yet the number of positive responses probably didn't give you much of a choice. The "perfect" job most likely was the only job offer you received. Could you have done it differently then, and can you do it differently now during your new job search? You sure can!

Why not a better job of "selling" yourself? Why not let more and potentially better employers know that you are out there prepared to become a contributor, an asset to their organization? Why not try a direct mail campaign?

The direct mail campaign is designed to send a targeted letter and resume to potential employers likely to be able to use your services, talents and demonstrated experiences. It is to generate interest by organizations resulting in being invited to interview with them.

Instead of waiting for ads to appear, that method permits your resume to be read by the decision-makers who have the power to hire you. That keeps you from having to compete with hundreds of other potential candidates.

Acquiring career positions that fit your expectations has no shortcut. Yet a direct mail campaign is guaranteed to raise the odds in your favor. It increases the potential for generating appropriate interviews.

You are marketing a very unique product: YOU! That product consists of your proven skills, experience and potential to successfully perform. Without those important factors, no reason can really exist for a company to want to talk to you.

Just as you would in any attempt to market a product, you must define your prospective "buyers" and then inform them that you are unique in the market and that you will help solve existing and future problems. You must give the manager a reason to meet with you.

A major value of such activity is the company management has the potential to create an appropriate position. It might not yet exist, but will be created when a need is shown.

The direct mail campaign can motivate management to recognize that need at the time you approach them. A well-written letter will show them how you can be of assistance.

A meeting can then result in the decision-maker discussing with you how you would meet the company's needs by filling the new position.

With those ideas in mind, here are several steps you will want to follow:

- Take an inventory of what you can offer. Identify your strengths and skills as they apply to a horizontal/lateral move within your own industry.

- Once you have accomplished the above, determine those organizations most likely to need your services. Establish a plan to help identify whom you would like to work for. Consider the type of position, the size and type of the company, the products or services, growth potential, geographic location and your level of interest.

- Use available resources to establish your mailing list. Everybody's interests are different. So, your resources will vary as well. While you might use the Internet and Thomas Register of American Manufacturers, someone else might rely heavily on the reference librarian at the local city or university library as well as the Directory of Corporate Affiliations.

- After accomplishing those initial steps, the next thing to do is to identify the need. Put yourself in the place of the employer and determine what problems the employer might have that relate to what you have to offer. Keep in mind the company is interested in solving its problems and not in helping you find a job.

- Identify problem areas. Indicate how you have been successful in the past solving similar problems for other organizations, and then set a tone to raise enthusiasm and interest on the part of the employer so he will be excited about discussing the issue further.

Thus, you are prepared to share your expertise, instead of simply asking if a company has any openings.

My suggestion is that you give the process a try. You will find the results, in most cases, surpass what you have accomplished in the past or would accomplish in the future.