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The Suck Less Job Search

The Suck Less JOB SEARCH BLOG

Go Bruins!

9/30/2016

3 Comments

 
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I am going to be at UCLA on 10/5 and 10/6 for a speaking engagement.  If you are in LA and would like to meet I am getting together some job seekers in Westwood for a little 30 Day Job Search Program.  I will teach you how to get the offers you want before November.  Just email Chris at info@sucklessjobsearch.com for more details.  I rented a conference room in Westwood and it can only hold ten people so jump on this free meet.

Cheers!

Adam

3 Comments

Job Boards suck!

9/25/2016

2 Comments

 
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If job boards are the way you get hired you wouldn't be here right now.




Look, you need a great job...

Applying for jobs online doesn't work.  The percentage of jobs filled through job boards has declined over the last ten years.  Google "percentage of jobs filled through job boards" and you will find a massive amount of data from the Wall Street Journal to US News and World Report to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  They all say the same thing, about 3-5% of open jobs are filled through job boards.  Why is this number so low?

Here's the catch. 

Really good companies, the companies you want to work for, hire people they know.  They don't risk trying to fill critical roles by blasting ads online.  You wouldn't do it, either.  You would want to hire people you know.

So, what's the real story here?

How do job seekers like you get hired?  They don't apply on job boards.  Instead, they identify what they do better than anyone else.  They figure out which companies want this thing that they do so well.  Then, they tell those specific executives all about how they can help them achieve their business mission.

Simple Math:  VALUE + PAIN POINT + MESSAGING = JOB OFFER.

Your unique value targeted to the companies that need it right now...BAM!  Job offer.

How do you do this?

Let's figure out who wants you, what we need to do to get you offers and how long it will take to get those job offers.  Schedule a chat and let's go for it!


2 Comments

Now, not like later, right now!

9/22/2016

3 Comments

 
I think I'll try that later.  That sounds good, maybe tomorrow.  I should do that sometime.

NO!


Take an action that moves your search forward right now...this moment. 

1.  Go to http://Linkedin.com

2.  Go to your account on Linkedin and open your Connections located under My Network

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Reach out to your Connections in a different way, a more powerful way.  You need to expand your network and you never know who can change your search, who can hire you or introduce you to someone that needs you.  Most of the time people will reach out to their connections to see if they know of a job.  The answer is going to typically be NO.  So, that sucks.  Or, folks will reach out to their connections to see if they know someone at a specific company.  Again, you may get a hearty, NO.  Or, they may know someone and then are tasked with the job to reach out, make the intro...it's a little work but it's still work.  They probably won't do that.  So, that sucks.

Instead, make it easier and more powerful.  Do this.

3.  Right now, reach out to ten people that you know well on Linkedin.  Send them a message (copy format below).  Use the subject "Amazing People".  That subject line creates curiosity...we all love AMAZING PEOPLE!!!  When you ask to be connected to amazing people you are really asking to be connected with CONNECTORS, people that are engaging and attract a lot of interesting people...people you want to meet.  The power of your network is based on the number of CONNECTORS you have.  You can never have too many Connectors.  People love connecting people.  It's a fun and simple win.  Now, instead of asking your connections if they know of someone at a company or if they know of a job you and getting shot down you now have a very easy play to get a simple and quick response to someone you need to meet and explode your network.
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4.  Voila!  You are capturing them in the moment.  They think about the Connectors they know.  They can simply shoot you an Inmail back.  You can even add a piece to your Inmail asking them just for the names of Connectors in their network  and you can take it from there.  However, it's always best to get those digits.  

I make an effort to add two Connectors to my network every month.  That's it.  What does it give me?  I get three new clients and seven C-Suite decision makers per Connector.  That's pretty sweet!  Try it.

PS  What other massive actions can you take today and everyday to get the job offers you want?  Stuck?  Schedule a chat.
3 Comments

5 offers in four days

9/20/2016

9 Comments

 
She worked in the travel business.
Wanted to transition back to the auto industry.
Moved to a new city without an offer.
Needed a 150k job.
5 offers in 4 days...No problem.
Press play (above) and hear Alicia's job search success story.
9 Comments

Paying it forward

9/20/2016

1 Comment

 
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I left the stage as the California Fashion Symposium was about to break from my keynote speech.  There were a thousand copies of my book, "You Can Get a Job in Fashion", on a long table.  I was rushed by a mob of moms, students and faculty.  They liked my presentation; they wanted more.  I was asked a few hundred times throughout the day when I would release a general job search book.  That was 2008, right before everything went to hell.

Fast forward to 2011, job seekers wanted more.  They wanted the best job of their career...many wanted a transition.  I started testing out programs, formulas to help them transition into a new career.  I started noticing some job seekers wanting an amplification; they wanted bigger jobs and titles.  And then there were the people that just couldn't seem to land a job.  After two years of testing a few things happened.  I boiled down my most successful strategies into a job seeker program (http://www.sucklessjobsearch.com/job-search-ending-services.html) to help people get the jobs they really wanted and then something else happened.

I had a consult with a man named Jim.  He was an affable and professional financial controller.  But, he was panicked after being out of work for ten months.  When we got to my fees you could hear him wince on the phone.  I had spent the last year pricing my program lean and mean.  I called competitors, understood what they were offering, added more value to my program and delivered pricing 40-80% less than their services.  Still, Jim couldn't swing it.  We talked about payment plans.  We talked about less expensive options.  He was trying to figure it out.

I felt Jim's pressure as I do all my clients and potential clients.  I told Jim to forget about the fee and let's just get going.  He didn't understand.  I wanted to start the program...offer him value and get him a job.  It was paying it forward.  After bonding and resonating with Jim on the phone for an hour he rejected my offer to help him for free.  This threw me.  He didn't trust it because nobody offers anything for free unless it has no value.  Sadly, overtime I tried to offer free help and I received the same recoil from job seekers.

In 2012 I had enough.  If you won't take my help take a tool from me to end your search.  I wrote The Suck Less Job Search knowing that I would give it away.  This is my way of paying it forward and offering the Jim's of the world a unique tool to get the jobs they really want right now.

I have given this resource away to 1700+ colleges and universities.  Today, I am 6 days away from letting a few million people know that they have a resource out there to end their search.  That feels good.  Support the cause: ​https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/46984-the-suck-less-job-search-book?locale=en

Thank you!

​Adam

1 Comment

Let's do this!

9/13/2016

11 Comments

 
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Join Rick and I tonight at 6pmPST to Craft an amazing Resume in an hour...maybe less.

I'll be giving away some great job seeker prizes and making another large offer at the end of the Resume Session...and I will be taking questions.


​

Rick's resume was a 3-pager with the first page full of summaries and detached wins.  Goal:  Create a 2 page resume full of wins and focus on Speed to Relevant Information....what great stuff he did where.  Secondary goal was to show his Unique Value repeated through the resume.
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I created the structure before the call.  I needed to get to his first job entry as quickly as possible.  You typically have the first half page to hook the reader.
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Rick and I are working through the first two job entries to make the case for the jobs he is going for.  I will post the finished resume, shortly.
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I used the first three job entries to make the case for the jobs Rick is targeting.  You will notice that all the bullets start with an action word.  The first two entries I took from pigs to stars.  I focused on Rick's brand of identifying opportunities in the market, "untapped" opportunities and seizing them.  I showed Rick as part analyst, part innovator and full-time driver of businesses in really tough industries.  Now, when a gatekeeper or hiring manager sees this resume and their pain point is leveraging their assets and identifying opportunities for growth Rick will be getting calls.  
11 Comments

Let's Get Weird

9/12/2016

33 Comments

 
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I like resumes.  You hate resumes.  Let's dance. 

They are viewed by many job seekers as dumb, antiquated and few people read them (true.).  But, they can be a powerful arrow in your quiver if you create a powerful brand document that trumpets your UNIQUE VALUE.

My offer to you, if you are brave, is to do it together.  I will write your resume for you and LIVE Blog it.  I will leave your contact info off your resume but the rest of the resume will be out there.  All this info is already on LinkedIn, anyway.

So, who is brave?   This is $500 worth of love from me to you, let alone all the extra job offers you will be getting from your awesome new resume. 


Leave a comment below and let me know why you want this and I will pick someone fun (hint hint).  I need you ready to do this with me at 6pmPST on Wednesday Sept 14th.  The whole deal should take an hour.  You will need to keep 6pmPST to 7pmPST free so we can crank through this.  Who knows, I might even throw in a cover letter.

Update #1:  I will pick the winner Monday morning (at 9am-ishEST).  The criteria...I gave you the hint. :) :) :)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X48G7Y0VWW4 

Update #2:  Please do not send me your resume.  I want to do this cold.

Update #3:  I am going to share a super simple resume template.

​Update #4:  I will take questions via comment at then end.


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33 Comments

Waiting works for Cats, not job seekers

9/7/2016

0 Comments

 
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I dare you to do it.  I dare you to Google the "percentage of jobs filled through job boards".   The podcast I produced that received the most feedback was my podcast daring people to "Google it".   People were upset.  They didn't want verification of what they knew in their guts to be the truth.  A very low percentage of jobs are filled through job boards (3-8% are the averages you can find on the net with a few outliers).  So, while you are waiting and wondering if the employer is going to call you take a few minutes and validate if your time is being used properly or if waiting is a strategy that should work.  

Now, instead of this exercise being depressing for some it may be a call to action.  Now, Google the "percentage of jobs filled through networking and referral".  Oh, that's much better (you'll find figures that surpass 80% of open jobs).  The majority of open jobs are filled through networking and referral.  You would hire this way, too.  You would want to know talent, feel comfortable with them, before you pull the trigger on a sensitive job offer.  So, what are you waiting for?  Expand that network!

Instead of reaching out to your network and asking them if they know of a job, ask them if know anyone interesting for you to meet.  My former client and pal, Josh Beser (JoshBeser.com), developed a neat program called the 5 Cups of Coffee Challenge.  He challenged people to take 5 people out for coffee, 5 strangers that you want to know.  The goal was to get to know them organically, develop a friendship.  The business and job offers will come, is his contention.  He's right.  I do this every month, I reach out to people I want to know through Linkedin.com.  I tell them that I love their company, reference a mutual interest and ask them out for a coffee (it feels like dating but better...the check is lighter than a Spago's dinner).  I have been turned down before.  I have reached out and received no response.  But, I have a success rate of 40%.  Four out of ten people I want to meet want to meet me.  I have exploded my network.  I have gotten job offers (even though I am not looking for one).  If I never sent out another email or social media campaign I would have enough clients to float my business, just from this play.  Why?  Through these connections, this expansion of network, these folks know me as the guy that gets people hired.  And I never ask them to promote me.  They like me, we click, and we promote the people we know and like.  Stop waiting and start dating.  Ask someone out for coffee and see those jobs start coming to you...no waiting.  Josh, you are a genius and thank you!



0 Comments

1,040,000 resumes & Linkedin Summaries

9/5/2016

1 Comment

 
Some late night math...I have seen roughly 1,040,000 resumes in my career (20 years, roughly 1000 resumes per week).  From my work in Corporate Staffing to my current gig, a lot of job seekers have told me about their unique value in the market through their resume or Linkedin profiles.  But, is the value unique or is the value general?  Roughly two percent of the resumes and Linkedin summaries I see offer a unique value that begs me to ask how they do it, that's only about 20,800 candidates.

If you were hiring a sales leader for your company and you needed someone to help you penetrate the e-commerce market who would you want to meet?  Would you want to meet a sales leader with a solid track record?  Or, would you want to meet the person that had a pedigree of exploding e-commerce sales?


Every employer has a business mission, a corporate pain point they want to solve.  Your job is to identify what that is and offer yourself as the unique solution they need.

Are you sure you are projecting your unique value?  


When I have consultations with job seekers they want to know two things:

1) What makes me unique
                         &
2) Can I help them get hired

For question 1...

I could say that I help people with their job search.  I could say that I have worked 20 years helping people with their job search.  I could say that I have had success helping people get jobs.  Nope!  No thanks!  Who cares?!!!

None of those values are compelling enough.  I get people hired!  That's the value I offer and that is the value I project, always.  When I tell job seekers that I get people hired it begs questions.  People want to know how I do this.  I take them through my pragmatic approach.  After I support my claim  I am no longer a guy that could possiblly help them.  I become the guy that can help them.

and for the second question...


Because my value is strong it allows me to have a take on what I can do.  Sometimes I can't help.  But, for the people that buy into my value, I get those people hired.

Exercise:  Value Validation

Below are summaries written by 5 sales leadership job seekers that applied for the same job.  Here's the value that they are promoting on Linkedin.

Summary My specialty is creating and executing Sales & Marketing Strategies that are designed to deliver a Product to the targeted consumer via superior Customer/Trade Selling Strategies and Relationships.

Summary A results oriented direct marketing executive with a strong track record of performance. A highly successful leader providing strategic and operational leadership in the evolving direct marketing industry, for the past 20 years.

Summary Over 10 + years of solution selling, new business development experience and has experience nurturing long lasting business relationships & partnerships.

Summary Over 20 years experience in new business development, new account aquistion and existing commericial accounts.

Summary I 'm most comfortable building relationships and selling into the Enterprise type of customer. I am a hands on leader with many years of successful Sales Management experience and I'm well respected in the industry.


Do you READ a value in these summaries that begs you to ask how they do it?   Let's look at the company they wanted to lead sales for...

And the company is looking for a specific value:

Aplegen looks forward to further international expansion - Gel Companyhttps://www.gelcompany.com/pressReleases/Aplegen%20looks%20forward%20to%20...Jun 28, 2016 - PRESS RELEASE. Aplegen looks forward to further International expansion. Aplegen gel documentation systems are now available in over.

To drill down further, the company is looking to 
explode overseas...serious international market penetration.  They want someone with the distribution network and country knowledge to expand their reach overseas.  Is this value shown in the above Linkedin.com profile summaries?

No, they are essentially saying that they are seasoned sales leaders but is that what the company wants?  Do they want a guy that can sell?  Or, do they want a sales leadership specialist that can open up sales overseas?

Think about the one thing you do the best.  Then, develop that value as your brand.  Identify the companies that are looking for you.  This exercise is the foundation of your search.  Know what you love to do, project it and identify which companies want it.

PS All 5 candidates are great but they didn't do the thing that they do in their job, sell (themselves).


​



1 Comment

Two Gifts

9/3/2016

2 Comments

 
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Gift 1: Let's expand your network and connect.  You are welcome to connect with me on https://Linkedin.com/in/CareerKungFu

Say hello and leverage my network of thousands of C-Suite Decision Makers and HR Pros.  

Gift     2:     Take the book.  Make your job search suck less!  No need to buy The Suck Less Job Search on Amazon.com.  Grab it, take it, use it, pass it on to a friend.  You can grab it on http://sucklessjobsearch.com

See, we already becoming fast friends.

2 Comments
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