Following is an email I sent to my Brother-in-law who has a job, but it is with a certain car company that begins with a G and ends with a bailout. So, he’s looking. Three days later, I started turning it into a book. So, here’s the balance of my job search philosophy in one blog post:

Jerry,

I’m attaching a file that I’ve marked up with some recommendations on your resume. Two major ways to improve it are:

1. You need more specifics. How many years? Which projects? What were the outcomes? What goals did you hit? Where did you increase results and by how much?

2. Make consistent use of action verbs and use consistent tense. “Managed” is better than “Responsibilities include… .” Consider verbs like “Increased” “Succeeded in…” “Drove” “Designed” “Lead” “Launched”, etc.

I’ve done a lot of job searching in my day. Technically, I never stop. In this environment, you’ve got to get into unlisted jobs and avoid the stack of resumes that hiring managers are inevitably going to get for posted jobs. You want to have someone “walk” your resume in for you.

First steps in the Job search:

1. Create a list of everyone you know who has an email address. Mine your Yahoo! or Gmail account for people. They can be casual contacts.

2. Call the people you know who don’t have an email address and let them know you’re looking. Get their email address.

3. Compose an email that lets these folks know that you’re discretely looking for new career opportunities. Tell them that you’ll be looking for contacts inside companies that you’re targeting and ask them if you can engage their help with specific opportunities. Don’t attach your resume, but send if someone on your list requests it. What you want is a go-to list of people who may know someone at a company to which you’re applying. They will also be a source for unlisted opportunities. If someone refuses, or says “I don’t really know you” take them off of your list.

4. Whenever you’re applying for a position, send the company and a short description of the role to the people on your list asking if they know someone at the company. Keep it short.

5. Create a series of alerts at www.Indeed.com. You can enter search terms for companies or positions you want and get an email daily with open opportunities.

6. Find a local job club and go to the meetings. If they have resume reviewing groups or interview prep, take advantage of those.

For each position you apply for:

1. Search LinkedIn to see if you can find the name of the hiring manager. Also, look for people you know who are working at that company who know the hiring manager, or who might walk your resume in. You’ll be surprised.

2. Create a custom resume for each position, making your Objective match the duties of the role. Remove any job experience that isn’t directly related to the job. Change “WORK EXPERIENCE” to “SELECTED WORK EXPERIENCE” on your resume.

3. Create a cover letter by pasting the job description into a Word document. For each qualification listed, rewrite to “I have experience with…”. The goal is to use the words they used in writing the cover letter, and hitting their key care abouts. Keep the cover letter to less than one page.

4. Ask for an interview by phone or in-person at the top and bottom of the letter.

Remember that the ONLY role of the resume and cover letter is to get an interview. Don’t sell yourself into the position. Provide only the information needed to get the interview.

That’s the bulk of my wisdom. Allocate an hour a day, 5 days a week. It’s going to take that level of effort.

Best regards,

Brian Massey