Dan Schawbel, Mr. Personal Branding, has a blog post today about searching for a job by going directly to the companies you want to work for rather than using a job board. This makes perfect sense. Not only will it make you stand out from all the others who are just mass-mailing their resume, it also helps you end up with a job you actually enjoy. Dan’s basic advice is to select a few companies that you want to work for, and then use social media to build a relationship with individuals there who can recommend you for a job. This sounds like a successful plan, but he left out a key ingredient. When you do start building those relationships, you want to have details about the inner workings of your target companies. This is your opportunity to show off your ability to brainstorm and bring something new to the situation. If you can provide some suggestions that will prompt your contact to forward your suggestions within the company, you will have a much better chance of getting offered a job.
What I recommend is creating a set of Google Alerts with the name of the company and keywords that you have some in-depth knowledge of. If you are a marketing person, watch for a new product launch by the company, and make some suggestions to your contact about how to improve their pitch. If you are in sales, suggest ideas for generating leads. If you base these suggestions on timely events within the company, you will show a level of engagement that far surpasses most job applicants.
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