I’ve written before that your job search is really a marketing campaign, designed to identify, qualify and contact prospects (companies you want to work for), meet decision makers (people who can hire you) and sell them (convince them to hire you).
Today I’m going to … write about that topic again. Because there’s an almost limitless number of marketing ideas you can “steal” and adapt to your job search.
Here are four …
1) Write sales letters, not cover letters:
Why imitate the same dull-as-dishwater cover letters most job seekers send out?
To write a better cover letter, emulate the best sales letters. After all, you’re trying to sell an employer on the idea of hiring you, right?
You can Google “writing sales letters” or visit your library to learn how, but here’s a quick list of the essential elements in every sales letter:
Personalized opening. Example: “Dear Mr. Jackson.” Never, ever write: “Dear Sir or Madam.”
Reader-focused. All good sales letters are written about “you,” the reader, and not, “I,” the author. If you change all instances of “I” to “you” in your cover letter, you’ll instantly make it more interesting and effective.
Prove your claims with specific facts, numbers and dollars. Self-explanatory.
Ask for the sale. Example: “Please call me today to learn how I can save you $42,000 or more as a customer service manager.” Or, say you’ll follow up your cover letter with a phone call — just make sure that you do!
2) Treat your voicemails as radio spots:
Here’s a great marketing idea I got from Internet radio host and producer, Martin Wales. It’s this — think of your voicemail messages as 30-second radio commercials. That means you should script and rehearse every voicemail you leave for employers.
While other job seekers leave rambling, unplanned, unprofessional messages, you’ll give employers one more reason to hire you. How simple is that?
Try to leave tantalizing messages that practically force hiring managers to call you back. Example: “Hi, this is Steve Jones. I just wanted to make sure you received the resume and cover letter I emailed you on Monday for your accounting position. I thought you might want to discuss the part where I saved $27,000 last year for a firm just like yours. If so, please give me a call at 702-555-1212. Thank you!”
3) Networking a little better can mean a lot:
According to the book, “1001 Ways to Market Your Services,” a study by Stanford University showed that a small increase in the size of your network can greatly increase your odds of reaching the right person.
How much? Just a 10% increase in the number of high-quality contacts can double your results, according to the study.
What does this mean for your job search? If you’ve been networking and not connecting with decision makers who can hire you, try to add just 10% more qualified people to your network. You can do this!
4) “Sell” to past “customers”:
Most businesses spend most of their marketing efforts attracting new buyers … while neglecting past customers who already know and trust them, and would likely buy again — if only they were asked.
Similarly, most job seekers get so caught up in looking for positions at new employers that they neglect the co-workers and managers who already know and trust them.
Are you committing this same boo-boo? If so, here’s how to fix it and produce more job leads.
Make a list of every co-worker and manager you have ever had, going back to high school. Now, cross off the ones you can’t stand. Then, call or email each of the remaining people to let them know about your job search. If somebody has moved on to a new company, rejoice! You can not only contact them at their new employer, you can also introduce yourself to their replacement at the old employer — turning one contact into two.
You should be able to pick and use at least one of these marketing ideas for your job search, starting today. Why not start now?
Image: Shutterstock
