When No One's Hiring

How to Get a Job When No One's Hiring
by Jia Lynn Yang
Monday, March 30, 2009
provided by

David Perry, a longtime headhunter, says you're wasting your time if you're looking for job postings online. And he should know: he's often the guy on the other side helping companies lure new talent. Perry, who's based in Ottawa, says that in the last 22 years he has accomplished 996 searches totaling $172 million in salary. And the bottom line in today's economy, he says, is you have to tap the "hidden job market."

Perry's also the co-author of "Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters" and he recently spoke with Fortune.

More from CNNMoney.com:

• Counting Cards at American Express

• Real People Stories: Living on Unemployment

• Washington Plans for Big Bank Failure

Just last month, Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis warned lawmakers at a high-profile Congressional hearing on the government's $700 billion rescue plan that he had no doubts 2009 would be an "awful year" for the credit card industry.

What's the "hidden job market"?

When companies say, 'We have a hiring freeze,' that doesn't mean they're not hiring. It just means they're not adding headcount. Every year there's 20-25% turn over. So in a 1,000-person company, 200 or 250 people are going to turn over, either through attrition, or someone moves. Those companies are still hiring but they don't want to tell you.

So how do you find these jobs?

What you have to do in a recession is map your skills to employers to where you know they have a problem you can solve. My advice to job hunters is pick 10 to 20 companies, no more, and pick companies you're interested in, and that you think you can add value to. That requires researching companies, and so that list may take you two weeks. If you're trying to crack the hidden job market and you know the job position you want reports to vice president, find that vice president on LinkedIn and look at his profile to see who else he's connected to and go ask them, 'What's this guy like to work for?' Do the research before you even pick up the phone.

More from Yahoo! Finance:

• Top-Paying Companies

• What If Steve Jobs Doesn't Come Back to Work?

• Six-Figure Jobs You Don't Need a College Degree For

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit the Career & Work Center

How can you get someone's attention?

We can go into billboards, sandwiches - that stuff only works once. It's only for one person who figures it out once, once in a city. If you're looking for fun stuff, we have this thing called the coffee cup caper, 30% of the time it will result in an interview. You send an employer a coffee cup with a little $5 swipe card with a little note that says, I'd like to get together and talk with you over coffee. I'll be calling soon. And you send it by U.S. post two day delivery, and that gets registered. So when they've signed for it, you wait about 20 minutes and then you call them. And then you go, Hi, I know you just got my package.' You're proving you're imaginative and creative.

What something people should avoid during a job interview?

This drives me insane: I've seen people mentally deciding in the interview whether they want the job. That's the last place to decide. You go into an interview, and you sell like your life depends on it. You've got to get the job first. I've seen it thousands of times. There's this point in the interview, where people go 'Hmm, do I really want this? You can see their body change. The employer picks it up and it's gone. If the employer is telling you, 'I love you,' and you're not saying 'I love you too,' it's over with.

How about following up afterwards?

If you really like the opportunity, don't go home and write thank you very much. Go back and write a letter that says, upon further reflection of what we were talking about, here's what I bring to the table, here's how I see myself fitting into the organization, including a 30-60-90 day plan.

How can someone attract a recruiter's attention?

You have to go to ZoomInfo and LinkedIn and create a profile. All corporate recruiters and probably 20% of the headhunters in America have ZoomInfo accounts. When we start a search, companies aren't going to advertise. The headhunter goes to ZoomInfo, types in requirements that we need, like skillset, degree, city, functional title, and up will come anywhere from a hundred to several thousand people who fit that criteria. Then we go to LinkedIn and run the same search. If you're in ZoomInfo with a picture, we're going to call you first. Just reverse engineer what recruiters are doing so you get found.

How can you really impress a potential employer?

It hasn't worked in years just to bring in your resume, except only in the most junior positions. I concentrate on directors to CEOs, and the last interview for us regardless is always a Power Point presentation of what you've learned, pain points, and how you intend to fix that. Everyone talks about being a great leader and great communicator, so prove it. Don't go into an interview and treat it like it's just another business meeting. Your career is your biggest asset now - because it's certainly not your house.

Copyrighted, Fortune. All rights reserved.

height=26 width=132 alt="Google Groups">

Subscribe to Party Centrals Destination All Over the World

Email:

Visit this group

long distance relation

Can any one tell me if long distance relationship work for you? and how did you keep it going? and how did it end up like? is it what you expected it to be? i just got to know it never work for me. well scared to go tru it. like what if his/her is not what you think he/she is. and how do you know when is the right time to move in together.and would you willing to move to where your other long distance half is. or would you ask them to move to where you at? can some one answer this one for me ppllllleeeaasseee.........

fear of gettin old

hello blogger world i am maria and i have been here for a little while now and i just wanna share something to all about how i feel on getting old topic. i am very scared of being old and thats the truth but not sad about it.we all have to get old someday so thats not something i can reverse. its just even do i am gettin old i dont feel like i have change i still look the same form the outside but physically i feel it more lol i am going to be 22 yrs. old i know some of you might say your still a baby and some of you might agree with me i been working since i was 14 yrs. old and i'm starting to feel all the body ache that working for this long years have done to my body.le me know what you think

broken hearted

When a heart becomes broken or someone feels left out, I know from experience that it hurts. There is nothing that can be done or said to make the pain subside any sooner than it was meant to. but you move on and look at him straight in the eye and say THANK YOU for opening up my eye to the truth that all this time i have waisted on you i could be spending with some one deserving of my love,time,and company.and even tough i waisted all this time its never too late give your self a brake and some one else a chance.

ten commandments of getting along with people

Ten Commandments for Getting Along With People
Keep skid chains on your tongue; always say less than you think. Cultivate a low, persuasive voice. How you say it often counts more than what you say.
Make promises sparingly, and keep them faithfully, no matter what the cost.
Never let an opportunity pass to say a kind and encouraging word to or about somebody. Praise good work, regardless of who did it. If criticism is needed, criticize helpfully, never spitefully.
Be interested in others, their pursuits, their work, their homes and families. Make merry with those who rejoice; mourn with those who weep. Let everyone you meet, however humble, feel that you regard them as a person of importance.
Be cheerful. Don't burden or depress those around you by dwelling on your minor aches and pains and small disappointments. Remember, everyone is carrying some kind of a load.
Keep an open mind. Discuss, but don't argue. It is a mark of a superior mind to be able to disagree without being disagreeable.
Let your virtues, if you have any, speak for themselves. Refuse to talk of another's vices. Discourage gossip. It is a waste of valuable time and can be extremely destructive.
Be careful of another's feelings. Wit and humor at the other person's expense are rarely worth it and may hurt when least expected.
Pay no attention to ill-natured remarks about you. Remember, the person who carried the message may not be the most accurate reporter in the world. Simply live so that nobody will believe them. Disordered nerves and bad digestion are a common result of back- biting.
Don't be too anxious about the credit due you. Do your best and be patient. Forget about yourself and let others "remember." Success is much sweeter that way.

growing up

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.