Step #1: Forward your resume to everyone you know

Okay, here’s the deal. There is very high unemployment. There is tons of competition for every position you apply for online on www.monster.com, www.indeed.com, or www.Craigslist.com. There are, however, inevitably many positions available that you will never hear about! This is because many people don’t advertise positions. Maybe they are a small firm and don’t want to spend $$$ to advertise on Monster.com or Devex.com. Maybe the position doesn’t actually exist yet, but they have the budget if they find the “right person.” Or maybe they advertised it once on Craig’s List in Boston and you missed it. The reasons for missed opportunities are endless. The solution is to LET EVERYONE KNOW YOU ARE ON THE MARKET!

Here’s what you should consider doing:

a) Develop 1 or 2 resumes/CVs. Make one a “general” (in other words, unless you are only looking for one specific type of position, try to make all of your experience rather “generalist”). If you are looking for work in a particular arena, or have a lot of experience in one profession or area, you might also develop another resume that is “specialized.”

b) Put both resumes into a PDF (you don’t want anyone messing with your MS Word resume and making changes. Can simply go to “save as” in MS Word and save as a PDF.”

c) Write a very professional SHORT email. Something like this (obviously tailor it a bit!):

Dear friends,
I hope this email finds you well. I recently learned that my contract /position at XXX is abruptly ending/just finished graduate school, and therefore, I am in need of a job. As we all know, the job market right now is extremely limited and therefore I would like to ask for your assistance in helping to circulate my resume (attached) to any friends or colleagues that might offer some career advice or leads.
As you may know, over the last X years, I have held a variety of interesting positions in XXX. I am fluent/skilled/experienced in X and have strong research and communicative skills that I believe would help me succeed in any position. I am interested in exploring all career options and would be open to talking/meeting or listening to any career advice/suggestions/positions!
I have attached two resumes to this email: one that highlights my years of XXX experience, and one that is more general.
Thank you so much. I apologize for the impersonal nature of this email, but am trying to utilize all networking vehicles during these challenging times.
Best Regards,
Your name (email and phone number)

The idea is to keep the message professional and short. You want someone to feel comfortable simplifying hitting “forward” to everyone in their address book with an “FYI” or “I know this girl. Please email her directly if you have any suggestions.” Keep out any jokes or personal references, etc. You don’t want to have any explaining to do. The easier, the cleaner, the better.

Moral of the Story- Sing loud and clear to the world (and put it out to the universe) that you are looking for a new job and are available!

Step #2: Post your Resume Everywhere

When I worked at a small consulting firm we often looked to Craig’s List to find individual resumes to include in proposals/bids, as well as for actual positions. If we were looking for someone with a specific skill, we would first search Craigslist.com using the skill as a keyword. I tell you this because you SHOULD have your resume posted in numerous cities and on different job sites. It can’t hurt, but can only help. Even if you don’t hear anything for awhile, you never know when someone will come across your resume and send you an email.

Worried about privacy? You can make your resume anonymous, or use a secondary email address, in case you are worried about getting junk (yes, inevitably you might get some spam mail…but it’s probably worth it! My resume has been posted for 2 weeks, and I’ve only received 3 spam messages, for example). If you feel like any information is sensitive, just replace the specific employer name with “Government agency” or “Fortune 500 Company.” If someone is really looking for you, they will write you and ask questions, or ask for an updated resume. The important thing is to get out there! Another great site, especially for all of you Development/NGO/Save the world types, is develompentex.com. You can post your resume on the site and be entered into a huge database of consultants. Also a good site for finding jobs.


Moral of the story: Post yourself everywhere!

Step #3: Reach out to your former professors, professional contacts or former bosses and ask for 15 minutes of Career Advice

Everyone likes to give advice and the more successful you are, the more likely you think your advice is something special Also, most successful people know that at some point, back a few years ago, they were needing a helping hand and likely received advice/leads and are therefore ready to “give back” or “pay their dues.” Inevitably, even those with the largest egos like to hand out “advice.” Sometimes this advice should be taken with a grain of salt, sometimes it is invaluable and should be followed. Here’s the deal though: these people have contacts, careers, know people, and have good advice on how to get where they are today (they did it, right?).

The trick is to not just reach out and blatantly ask for a job or a lead, but instead to finesse them a bit and ask for “15 minutes of their time to provide a bit of career advice.” If you have a good conversation with them, either via phone, in person, or even over email, and they like you, it is quite possible they will say “You know what? Send me your resume, I remember Janet at X saying she was looking for someone” or “ I’ll pass your resume on to my board. Maybe they have some ideas.” Remember, the point is to reach as many people as possible and to let them know you are available, professional and capable. This is one more tactic.
Write an email something like this:

Dear Mr./Ms./Prof X,
It’s Jessica Blond, I took a course with you in grad school on X (or I found you via the X alumni group or I worked under you as an Intern in 2008) and I was wondering if you would mind giving me 15 minutes of your time for some basic career advice. I’ve just finished (grad school/3 years in x industry/etc) and am looking for some new direction and thought I would reach out to you since you have a successful career in X area. As someone who is successful in X, I thought you might have some insight or suggestions for someone in my position. Would you be available for a quick chat sometime next week?
You might mention one line about what you are looking for. I know you are a partner at X, and since I have an interest in Law School and am trying to identify the best next step (paralegal, law school, work) I thought you might have some insight.
Thank you very much.
Best Wishes,
Jessica Blond (email/phone)

Remember- you called the meeting so make sure you are prepared for the conversation and have a few questions ready. Do a bit of research, if you have looked at their bio, ask them about how they choose this profession, how did they manage to move from X position to Y? What do they think about opportunities in this field? Is it growing? Any overall career advice for someone starting out? Make sure the conversation goes well, that the person is enjoying remembering his/her past or feels they are adding value. It is your meeting, so thank them first for agreeing to take time out of their busy schedule to help someone entering the field. If at the end the conversation is clearly over, thank them again and if they don’t suggest it, maybe ask if they wouldn’t mind if you sent them your resume my email just in case they have any suggestions. This way, they have it and might either provide comments or might pass it on to someone later. Get your resume into their inbox, either way!

Moral of the story: Use your contacts and cater to asking for CAREER ADVICE, not “do you have any job contacts?”

Step #4: Ask all of your friends/acquaintances to send you any job opportunities they hear about

Here’s the deal-there is no such thing as perfect information (everyone who studied economics knows that). We simply don’t see all of the opportunities out there. I receive job opportunities daily from a list-serve from my graduate school alma mater, London School of Economics that consists of entries from former students within my department! These jobs are not posted anywhere else in one place, except on this list-serve!

I am positive there are hundreds of thousands of similar list-serves. Ask your friends! Everyone that went to university, graduate school or simply signed up years ago to hear about job opps from one source likely still receives these updates (I know that I do!) Let your friends know you are looking. Ask them just to hit “forward” whenever they see an opp. Don’t ask them to filter for jobs that meet some specific criteria- that’s your job, after all, you’re looking for the job. It is better to have MORE opportunities to review, than less. It is also possible that your friends have no idea, for example, that you happen to be proficient in basic Swedish (who would have known- she is in the field of Disaster Management, for example!) and therefore might be qualified for a position without anyone knowing you have that expertise!

Moral of the story: The more job opportunities leads you review, the better. Sometimes the perfect position is hidden under a misnomer or strange title.

Step #5: Identify and sign up for list-serves or other information sources

Similarly to Step #4- sign up for job list serves!

Are you interested in the Middle East? Then spend 3 hours and visit the websites of major universities in your area with strong Middle Eastern departments. Universities are great sources for job and internship opportunities and many have active list-serves that include jobs, grants and research opportunities. Also look at the websites of large associations or professional groups. Imagine if you are a company or organization and are looking to hire someone with a specific skillet. Where would you turn? I know that when I was looking to hire a computer savvy/computer programmer intern, I contacted the computer science departments at the four major universities in the area asking for students. You have to THINK like your future employer. In this economy, everyone is trying to save time and money. They are going to be creative, and so should you!

Moral of the Story: Remember, the more information you have, the better decisions you can make. If the job is too advanced for you, perhaps you know of someone else in the arena better suited for it….

Step #6: Apply for jobs!

As you follow all of these steps, it is important to keep applying for jobs you see advertised. If a job is advertised, it likely exists. Companies don’t spend $$$ in this economy to advertise, unless they are somewhat serious or conducting some market research as to who is out there. Either way, they won’t know you exist unless you apply!

Unfortunately, applying for jobs online has become both easier and more difficult, depending on the company. I was surprised to note how many companies will have a description posted on monster.com, for example, with a link that takes you to the company’s homepage and requires you to follow a particular format for uploading resume, adding references and contact info and sometimes even answering questions. Many require you to fill out past job experience using a particular format. Yes, it is time consuming, yes, it is required. Also, think about it as a numbers game. If people take the time to fill it out, then they are more likely going to only apply for something they are qualified for…which means, all those resumes from people that don’t have the qualifications are eliminated from the competition. I was also surprised by an application for a rather large consulting company that at the end had a “warning checklist” come up that asked you to literally “check” the box next to all the requirements: Do you have X years in this profession, etc. Ironically, it still let you submit if you didn’t have all the experience required, but I’m not sure if you would automatically be excluded. This is very tricky b/c experience is often subjective so why you might not have a Masters in Public Health, you might have 4 years of relevant experience. I hope they look at both- but I’m not sure!

The good side, besides the harder it is to apply, the less competition, is that you can also send emails with your resume attached to many more companies in a much shorter span of time than via mail. If you are at all qualified, you might as well apply. I know that when I was hiring at my firm, I would often advertise on www.craigslist.com and end up with tons of resumes and cover letters. Honestly, I always opened the resume first. If the resume was at all interesting, or the person seemed very smart (good schools, good prior jobs) but I couldn’t figure out why on earth they were applying for the position at hand, I would then open the cover letter and hope to find an explanation. Point is I often just looked at the CV! Sometimes I even called a person in because I found their CV interesting and wanted to give them a chance to explain why they were perfect for this job.

Point of the story- just apply. I know that HR managers hate to hear this, because it means they end up with endless resumes, but if you ARE Qualified, at least meet 75% of the requirements or such, then apply. It’s still worth a shot.

Moral of the Story: Numbers count. The more jobs you apply for that you are QUALIFIED for, the more likely you will get call backs and interviews and hopefully hired!

Step #7: Beat the System- A computer often is your first interview barrier

Inevitably, this is relatively new. The reason that all those big firms require that you enter prior work data into specified sections on their website isn’t because they want to waste your time (or I hope that is not the case) but because they are using advanced queries and data base algorithms to figure out which applications should be reviewed by a person. Full disclosure, I have NO firsthand experience on this matter, but I’ve heard enough stories and applied enough reason to be confident that this is often true. Think about it- all those resumes come in, how do you sort them? You sort by KEY WORDS. Which key words? The ones listed under “required skills and experience” in the job advertisement!

Here’s an example of what not to do. I’ll use industry lingo that I am familiar with to make my point. The position calls for a Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) Analyst. Now, Continuity of Operations Planning is synonymous with Business Continuity Planning (BCP) (one is an industry term used for the federal sector and one for the private sector). If I am applying for a job that specifically uses the term COOP, not BCP, throughout the job advertisement, then I should change my resume to reflect COOP as much as possible. Why? Because a computer, or “first round” reviewer is the one who will choose whether to invite me for an interviewer or look at my application a little closer. This first rounder reviewer, or recruiter probably recruits for hundreds of positions with different specialties within the company. He or she might have no idea that COOP and BCP are the same! Don’t expect her to do a little industry research, just make it easy. If she sees you have COOP experience throughout the resume, or if the computer finds those matched key words, you are going to score higher. It’s a fact.

Applying for jobs on www.usajobs.com or other government agencies? Then you know all about the KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities) section. I’m amazed that there exist firms that will write your KSA for you….but I suggested, based on friends’ success, following this equation: USE THE SAME TERMS AS THE KSA in your response! Repeat the KSA. Make the first line of your essay taking the question of the KSA and turning it into a sentence. Make the last sentence something like “this is why I have the XXX required in this KSA.” Yes, your essay must make sense, but apparently don’t worry about reusing the same words…REUSE THE SAME WORDS. It is a numbers game. Don’t use synonyms, use the key terms.

Moral of the Story: Use the system to your advantage!

Step #8: Attend lectures, meetings and social group events

This is huge. When you are out of work often your self esteem is a bit low so your tendency is to stay at home, not reach out to friends, not attend events and not let anyone know that you are looking for work. Based on the above, this isn’t going to help you much. If you really are serious about being open to all opportunities and putting yourself out on the market, you have to be social and get out of the house.

I am a big believer in attending professional and social events that are somewhat related to your field of interest as a way to network and ultimately find a job. For example, many people in Washington DC area are interested in the field of International Development/International Relations and NGOs. The “do gooders” of the world, as they say. Great, these are also really competitive fields and there are tons of young people out of school with good internships and a few years of work experience competing for these jobs. So how can you differentiate yourself? By KNOWING someone at the organization/NGO that you wish to work at!
I recommend that everyone at least visit www.meetup.com and search for meetings in your area around topics/themes that interest you. If you are in DC, for example, attend a free talk put on by an international development meetup. Go to the event, learn something, eat cheese/wine and mingle. Introduce yourself and hopefully let people know you are on the market for a position in that field. Be professional, friendly and forward:

“Hi, I’m Jessica!” “ Hi Jessica, I’m Veronica, did you enjoy the talk?” “ahh yes. Really interesting, you know I used to work for an NGO in Russia so this topic was really interesting.” “ Really? I work for an NGO that focuses on development efforts in Central Asia and the Caucuses.” “Oh interesting, which organization are you affiliated with?” and so the conversation begins…..

Or maybe you just happened to apply for a job at their organization, in which case the person might say, “hey send me your resume, I’ll make sure HR actually reads it!”
THIS WORKS! It has to work! I mean, if you go to these events, you are outgoing and meet people, you collect business cards, you send friendly emails such as: “Was great meeting you last night at the X event. Sounds like you have a great job and do worthwhile work…. “ Might even turn it into the email above about asking for 15 min to talk about career advice/opportunities or say, “ Per our conversation, just wanted to send you my resume in case you happen to come across any openings or have any suggestions for organizations that might be in need of someone with my skills and language background.”

Just get out of the house: Even if you don’t see any groups or talks or lectures or events surrounding a career track you are interested in, simply get out of the house and meet people interested in similar hobbies or interests. These are great resources too. Just because you are attending a “scrap book club meeting” and you really are aspiring to be the next Secretary of State, it might be that Ms. Scrap Booking Team Lead has a sister who is married to someone high up in USAID and she would be happy to pass on your resume to see if he has any thoughts. “ John's a great guy. I’m sure he would be happy to chat with you. “ Go figure- scrap booking can lead to a real job contact.


Moral of the Story: Get out and meet people and let them know you are looking for a job. This is how the world works. Like it or not, it is simply a fact.