Mild-Mannered Programmer Hits Boiling Point,
"Forces" Employer to Give Him a Job ...
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Copyright © 2002-2003 by Kevin Donlin
Let's call him "Eugene."
He's a mild-mannered software developer from Savage, MN.
After getting absolutely nowhere in his job search for more than three months -- applying to dozens of job postings
on scores of Web sites -- Eugene hit the boiling point.
He was mad as hell and he wasn't going to take it any more.
He did something so out of the ordinary that he shocked even himself. But -- Eureka! -- he found his ideal job,
at a higher salary than he expected ... in just a few weeks.
Eugene hit the jackpot with some old-fashioned persistence and a little creativity. You can, too.
Here's what he did ...
"I saw a job posted on the Internet that I really wanted," says Eugene. "But simply emailing my resume had not
produced any callbacks for three months. So I decided to try something different."
What did he do that was so different -- and effective?
He picked up the phone!
He called the contact person listed in the job posting, after getting her phone number from the company switchboard.
"I asked if I could hand-deliver my resume. She said 'No,' but I struck up a conversation and learned enough about the position to write a very targeted cover letter, which I emailed with my resume," says Eugene.
After that, Eugene made three follow-up calls, one week apart, to very politely ask if a decision had been made. Since he had already built a rapport with the hiring manager during his first call, she did not see this as an intrusion.
Between his second and third follow-up calls, Eugene employed a brilliant tactic that set him apart from every other candidate.
"During my second follow-up call, I offered to deliver a portfolio of additional material. I wanted to maximize my chances of getting that job!" he says. The hiring manager agreed.
So Eugene put together a collection of awards and descriptions of projects he had worked on. As he was dropping off this "brag book" with the receptionist, he met several employees in the lobby. "I asked about the four biggest problems they were facing on the job," says Eugene. "I took notes, then went home to think up solutions."
Finally, after four weeks, three follow-up phone calls and one hand-delivered portfolio, Eugene was called for an interview. He aced it, aced the interview that followed ... and got the job.
"After talking to employees and researching the company's products and customers from their Web site, I was able to talk intelligently and make helpful suggestions. The interviewers were impressed by that," says Eugene.
Does all this research and telephone follow-up sound like a lot of work to you? Not if you consider your job search to be a full-time job in itself. Eugene spent only a few hours total on this approach, but the pay-off was enormous.
"I start next week at a higher salary than before and with a great company. I'm really excited about this new position," says Eugene.
Here's hoping you will enjoy similar results by simply picking up the phone and persisting!
This article was written to assist readers in their job search. You
are invited to use it in your publication or Web site. The only requirement
is that you include the following resource box after each article:
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