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Unconventional ways of finding a Job

Singh

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Hi

I am currently looking for a new job, reason being I landed a role 6 months ago with the downside being a 2hr commute each way. I am now at a point where I have enough experience to move on.

I have tried Indeed and other common forms of finding work but its like finding a needle in a haystack just the odd oppurtunity that comes up. I find this way is time intensive with little results.

So I have been looking into other ways of finding work, these are the ones I have come up with:
- Messaging Hiring manages on LinkedIn for discussions (this way through conversation they have found me roles of which it would appear I am underqualified for but due to the companies needing somebody ASAP they will comprimise, I got one job offer through this method for a managerial role of which I was underqualified for, I am expecting a phone interview soon)
- Sending emails out to companies directly with a CV/Resume for them to keep on file
- Sprucing up my LinkedIn profile, this way I get people adding me reguarly interested in offering me roles.

What are some things other people have tried? What other methods would you recommend?
 
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Scot

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Recruiters are big in my industry, I typically find any recruiter I can with at least one connection and connect with them. If you're actively looking, it doesn't hurt to send them inmail asking them if they have any contracts in your area.
 

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I agree with sprucing up the LinkedIn profile... this is definitely the future... if you don't have a good LinkedIn profile (having one isn't enough now, it needs to be good!), you will get left behind eventually!

In terms of emailing people, if you want to be super proactive - this is what I've done in the past so I practice what I preach - I would call at the very least, and definitely get out there on foot and start knocking on doors and introducing yourself!

Think about how many people send emails... also, do anything to separate yourself from the pack... how can you help the company? A presentation of your business plan, a hand written note (shows dedication and drive), a video perhaps? Anything that takes you away from the norm and showing value to the employer!

Today, if I was really desperate for a recruiter's help, I'd go into their office with a box of krispee cremes and introduce myself, you'll soon enough get some recruiters helping you... think about it, 10 recruiters with 10 jobs on each, you'll definitely get an interview if you're any good!
 

Singh

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Thanks for you input guys, I am also going to try sending out a few letters with resumes via Post directly to the recruitment managers within companies of my chosen field (most names I can find through their websites or through their facebook pages) and see what kind of responses I get.

Since my post @Scot I've now added tons of targeted recruiters on LinkedIn and will be sending them personalised Inmails once they connect.

@H Dog I paid someone to get my LinkedIn as best it can be with a nice professional picture of me. Great Ideas with the recruiters can send along a resume with a nice gift, which office dosen't like donuts hey lol!
 
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Stand out. Mail your resume to whoever has hiring powers through FedEx overnight and demonstrate how you can empower the team and make the company money. You have to realize that each hire is a big risk, training costs alone on a new employee are up there. Do the best you can to prove the risk is worth it with you.
 

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apart from the aforementioned, check out groups on linkedin for jobs and have different CV and cover letters ready for various roles you may wish to apply for. maybe you can network by going to trade shows or industry related events. Nowadays there are a myriad of ways people get jobs i find. Its gotten really crazy actually (here in the US)
 
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Singh

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Singh

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Thanks, you are definately right about how many people a CV goes through. I noticed in the past when I got no response through an agency, i then went out and found the same role directly through the companies website, 9/10 times as long as I was qualified I got a response.

I will have a deeper look on the LinkedIn thread, I have been taking a similar approach to @Fox but targeting recruiters through keywords on the network search

thanks
 
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TheGrind

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Thanks, you are definately right about how many people a CV goes through. I noticed in the past when I got no response through an agency, i then went out and found the same role directly through the companies website, 9/10 times as long as I was qualified I got a response.

I will have a deeper look on the LinkedIn thread, I have been taking a similar approach to @Fox but targeting recruiters through keywords on the network search

thanks
LinkedIn is crazy powerful, I just started using it for my business and it's insane.

Whether you're looking for a job or to expand your business LinkedIn is such an advantage.
 

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I'm up to nearly 4000 connections on LinkedIn now. I actually stopped adding more since I'm not really using it at the moment but the point being it's easy to get your numbers up using that thread.

If the company you want to work for has less than 30 employees just show up and ask to speak to the boss or manager. I've used that over a dozen times and have gotten plenty of jobs within a few days.

Another tactic is to apply for a lower position and then try switch the job in the interview. I used that tactic to land a 200k+ a year engineering job a few years ago.
 
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Strictly manage your online presence. Make sure all of your social media posts are squeaky clean. Create a webpage with your name as the URL. Post your resume and some pics. Link to your LinkedIn account. Record some intro vids and post on your website and LinkedIN.

Make yourself visible and easy to find. Make what they find to be in alignment with what the employer wants to see.

Create intro videos and mail/email them to your target audience. Send links to your stuff in emails. In your videos, answer your target audience's questions before they ask them.

Get business cards made for networking. On the card create a QR code that will lead to your intro video or your website.

The advantage of using your own website is you can monitor traffic and see who is checking you out.

Find out the format of your target employer's email. Typically it is something like jsmith@bigcompany.com Then find out which managers really do the hiring, not HR. Email them directly AFTER you submitted a resume through HR. This will get you on the radar of the manager. Answer his questions in the video/email. Why should he hire you? What problem can you solve for him?

When you interview do your research in advance. Know everything you can about that business before the interview. Bring your research with you to the interview and share it.

Good luck.

http://jobs-4-me.com/get-a-job/
http://jobs-4-me.com/get-a-job-part-deux/
 
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LibertyForMe

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First, know exactly what it is you want to do. Most people don't even really know what they want. Once you know that, you can work backwards into what types of companies those positions might exist at.

Your strategy will change depending on the type of position and also the seniority level of the position. It is pretty easy to get in the door at most places for an entry level position - it is more about your personality than your experience. Once you start moving up you need to change your strategy.
 

Singh

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Thanks for your input guys, I am in the process of implementing your ideas. LinkedIn is proving to be a powerful tool in finding non advertised roles, I have been getting recruiters contacting me with roles I am underqualified for of which I would never would have the chance of getting an application through via conventional methods
 
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Thanks for your input guys, I am in the process of implementing your ideas. LinkedIn is proving to be a powerful tool in finding non advertised roles, I have been getting recruiters contacting me with roles I am underqualified for of which I would never would have the chance of getting an application through via conventional methods
Haha. Yeah, it literally took off all the IT roles from my profile a few years back because I kept getting spammed for roles by recruitment agents. (I've put them back now because it's obvious from my profile that I don't do IT now.)
 

Singh

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Just Discovered another tool on LinkedIn. Under the jobs section click on preferences, this then allows you to 'broadcast' your availaibility for work to recruiters for up to 90 days. Already had a small spike in profile views in just the last hour
 

johnp

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This really isn't an unconventional way, but I do have some unconventional tips such as using Slack to find jobs.

I got really good at this. In the last year I had landed myself jobs at two high profile startups (both sucked, more on that at another time) and two other positions for good companies. I have been doing a lot of job jumping, probably too much. But I'm still able to land jobs somehow.

Most people will tell you that job boards don't work. Here's my advice.

- There are many ways to find a job. I don't have any advice about networking. I suck at it. I use job boards and websites.

- Treat the job search like a marketer.

- Create a Google sheet. Track every single job that you apply to. Write down the name of each job, notes, dates, and status.

- Track conversion rates. For example, I know that with my style of applying to jobs 1 in every 4 applications will lead to a phone screen (statistically playing out in the long run). Then I know that 66% of all interviews turn into an offer for me. This is from about one year of stats. I can't say that it will always work out so well for me. There are many factors that influence this obviously.

- Write different resumes and split test everything from style to the copy on the resume. My highest preforming resumes listed skills first. That surprised me.

- If you have the time, add exact words from the job description to the body of resume (assuming that you truly do have the skills/experience). It takes less than 60 seconds.

- Adding a cover letter resulted in an 87% response rate from recruiters.

- A cover letter can be as simple as writing a 3 sentence paragraph followed by 7 bullet points about why you are fit for the job, then a closing statement. That worked like a charm for me and can easily be duplicated for other jobs.

- Job Boards - I personally avoided monster and simplyhired. LinkedIn was decent, but there seemed to be a ton of competition. I really had a ton of success with Indeed. With Indeed, I had most success with applying to Indeed jobs where you could apply directly through Indeed, rather than the listed jobs that take you outside of Indeed.

- I had terrible results when applying directly through a company application system that lives on their site. I have heard that these bulky systems are designed to filter our resumes by looking at keywords. So you really need to focus on using keywords if applying through systems like that.

- RSS feeds - This saved me a lot of time. Setup RSS feeds. I used Google then sent feeds into a Slack channel. This way I had Slack constantly sourcing new jobs for me. That's how I landed my most recent job actually. Slack found the job while I was making dinner. I applied. Then 1 day later I interviewed and was offered the job.

- Look at places where employers have to pay for the job posting. They obviously want a return.

- I found it good to source at night/afternoon, apply in morning.

- I found it also helps to have a portfolio to provide as a secondary source of information about you.
 
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Niptuck MD

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Niptuck MD

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This really isn't an unconventional way, but I do have some unconventional tips such as using Slack to find jobs.

I got really good at this. In the last year I had landed myself jobs at two high profile startups (both sucked, more on that at another time) and two other positions for good companies. I have been doing a lot of job jumping, probably too much. But I'm still able to land jobs somehow.

Most people will tell you that job boards don't work. Here's my advice.

- There are many ways to find a job. I don't have any advice about networking. I suck at it. I use job boards and websites.

- Treat the job search like a marketer.

- Create a Google sheet. Track every single job that you apply to. Write down the name of each job, notes, dates, and status.

- Track conversion rates. For example, I know that with my style of applying to jobs 1 in every 4 applications will lead to a phone screen (statistically playing out in the long run). Then I know that 66% of all interviews turn into an offer for me. This is from about one year of stats. I can't say that it will always work out so well for me. There are many factors that influence this obviously.

- Write different resumes and split test everything from style to the copy on the resume. My highest preforming resumes listed skills first. That surprised me.

- If you have the time, add exact words from the job description to the body of resume (assuming that you truly do have the skills/experience). It takes less than 60 seconds.

- Adding a cover letter resulted in an 87% response rate from recruiters.

- A cover letter can be as simple as writing a 3 sentence paragraph followed by 7 bullet points about why you are fit for the job, then a closing statement. That worked like a charm for me and can easily be duplicated for other jobs.

- Job Boards - I personally avoided monster and simplyhired. LinkedIn was decent, but there seemed to be a ton of competition. I really had a ton of success with Indeed. With Indeed, I had most success with applying to Indeed jobs where you could apply directly through Indeed, rather than the listed jobs that take you outside of Indeed.

- I had terrible results when applying directly through a company application system that lives on their site. I have heard that these bulky systems are designed to filter our resumes by looking at keywords. So you really need to focus on using keywords if applying through systems like that.

- RSS feeds - This saved me a lot of time. Setup RSS feeds. I used Google then sent feeds into a Slack channel. This way I had Slack constantly sourcing new jobs for me. That's how I landed my most recent job actually. Slack found the job while I was making dinner. I applied. Then 1 day later I interviewed and was offered the job.

- Look at places where employers have to pay for the job posting. They obviously want a return.

- I found it good to source at night/afternoon, apply in morning.

- I found it also helps to have a portfolio to provide as a secondary source of information about you.
yes sir i too hae helped several people and apart from networking, using the buzz words woven in ones resume for a position is instrumental as well as COVER LETTERS. People fail to use cover letters .
 

Singh

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I'm up to nearly 4000 connections on LinkedIn now. I actually stopped adding more since I'm not really using it at the moment but the point being it's easy to get your numbers up using that thread.

If the company you want to work for has less than 30 employees just show up and ask to speak to the boss or manager. I've used that over a dozen times and have gotten plenty of jobs within a few days.

Another tactic is to apply for a lower position and then try switch the job in the interview. I used that tactic to land a 200k+ a year engineering job a few years ago.


I am going to apply your technique of going for a lower position, found one nearby perfect match for my background. Question is how did you do the switch at the interview? Where you blunt or subtle about it?
 
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I am going to apply your technique of going for a lower position, found one nearby perfect match for my background. Question is how did you do the switch at the interview? Where you blunt or subtle about it?

No it was for a job that I was willing to do anything for so I would have done a lower position do a few months to get it. I actually traveled to Canada with that exact job and the company in mind. I told them that straight up too.
 

Singh

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No it was for a job that I was willing to do anything for so I would have done a lower position do a few months to get it. I actually traveled to Canada with that exact job and the company in mind. I told them that straight up too.
I got an interview offer for a local job, only downside its at graduate level however they are still keen to interview me. I am going to convince them to try and offer me a better role whilst I am there or if not I will play that game if they give me a job offer. I do not have much to lose this way.
 

Singh

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An Update on this:

As of recently, I got laid off and have about two weeks of work left since my notice period was given to me. I have found the regular job search/headhunter/resume search services have a really low rate in terms of response. Benefit being that I am leaving my company is that I can be more out in the open about my job search

following this thread the actions i took were as follows: maxed out my LinkedIn profile and CV/Resume with the aid of a professional writer, cold emailed potential companies I would like to work for, started to mail out letters with details of myself and the benefits I can bring to the companies directly to the department manager or CEO if its a small company of less then say 25 employees following Andy Blacks videos, contacted old friends and university teachers for assistance/ internal jobs, applied for lower position jobs and tried to impress at the interview in hope of a better job.

Being honest things I didnt do but will immediately after submitting this post: Set up RSS Feeds as @johnp mentioned

I feel as though I have done what I could but know there are better ways about this, if some members can perhaps share some ideas with me of what I could do I would be grateful. Likewise if there are any members who would like help with how I went about doing what i stated above then feel free to ask.

Thanks
 
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Runum

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An Update on this:

As of recently, I got laid off and have about two weeks of work left since my notice period was given to me. I have found the regular job search/headhunter/resume search services have a really low rate in terms of response. Benefit being that I am leaving my company is that I can be more out in the open about my job search

following this thread the actions i took were as follows: maxed out my LinkedIn profile and CV/Resume with the aid of a professional writer, cold emailed potential companies I would like to work for, started to mail out letters with details of myself and the benefits I can bring to the companies directly to the department manager or CEO if its a small company of less then say 25 employees following Andy Blacks videos, contacted old friends and university teachers for assistance/ internal jobs, applied for lower position jobs and tried to impress at the interview in hope of a better job.

Being honest things I didnt do but will immediately after submitting this post: Set up RSS Feeds as @johnp mentioned

I feel as though I have done what I could but know there are better ways about this, if some members can perhaps share some ideas with me of what I could do I would be grateful. Likewise if there are any members who would like help with how I went about doing what i stated above then feel free to ask.

Thanks
Get the domain in your name., example jonsmith.com or jon.smith.com. Hook it up with a free wordpress template and post your info up on it.

Record a series of youtube videos about your work and skills. Demonstrate your knowledge and abilities.

Cross link your website and LinkedIN profiles. Put your youtube videos on both platforms.

Put your links on your facebook profile if you want more exposure. Share as often as you can.

Get biz cards made with your website URL and contact info on it. Pass them out at all social events.

If you went to college they may have a human resources department that can help you out with leads as well.

Here are some links to ideas I wrote for my kid and her friends several years ago.
Get A Job
GET A JOB PART DEUX

Just some ideas. Good luck.

PS: People kind of tease me about my Hawaiian shirts, no worries. I usually wear them everyday. People don't forget that they talked to the guy in the colorful shirt. I recently got hired to teach at another school. The admin that hired me said she had to hire me because I was wearing an Hawaiian shirt. I had the credentials just like my 2 opponents did. I did something different to be remembered and that was the edge.
 
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Jon L

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Here's one that I'm surprised no one has mentioned yet:

Show up. Unannounced. In person. Resume in hand.

I haven't looked for work in quite a while, but I was out of work for a bit, and as soon as I switched to that method of looking, I had two job offers. I probably went to 10 or 15 different companies. A few didn't take walk-ins. Most took my resume. The two that offered me jobs both gave me an interview right there. At one, the HR lady called up the hiring manager and said, 'i have this candidate for you that looks good, do you have some time for an interview now?' The other, the owner was there and interviewed me on the spot.

The reason this works is that NO ONE does this anymore, so you stand out by default.
 

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Thanks @Runum , I think a website will be great idea, especially in the modern world where an online prescence in itself can mean so much. Hey I Think the hawaiian shirts are great will certainly say I will never ever forget your videos because of them!

@Jon L Wow thats definately a brave decision, I will try it recruitement agencies first to improve my technique then start moving onto companies directly. However as now strangely I have had two interviews already using the rubbish conventional approach which is Ironic. They are both short term contract roles so in the background will keep looking for other roles using your method once I approach the end of them if im successful in the next round of interviews.
 
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Runum

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MMMmm, not really wanting J.O.B. anymore.

This thread is posted in the slow lane because of the topic of a job. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to keep the lights on and food on the table. No need to be down about it, just do what it takes.
 
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