- Although there are numerous exceptions, as a career progresses there is a distinct overall trend in job changes to lower-quality (i.e., less well-established and higher-risk) companies. An aggressive and imaginative campaign can greatly improve your chance of getting a good job with a high-quality company.
- Take every job interview you're offered, even though some may be for jobs you don't think you'd like. You never know what useful information you'll gather. Sometimes jobs are changed to make them more attractive. Finally, getting an offer may allow you to spring loose another job you're really interested in.
- Be flexible - don't commit yourself entirely to "one technique" until you are satisfied that it is working. Try several techniques and test them.
- Work on your telephone technique. This is something that you may have to develop skill in. Beginning insurance sales people are urged to practice it a lot. Some effort on this score can improve your technique considerably. While you may have used the phone a lot on your job in the past, you probably haven't done a lot of selling of yourself on it.
- If you are called for an interview involving large travel expenses, get a clear understanding ahead of time on who will pay for the trip.
- Try taking executive recruiters and employment agency people to lunch. They have to eat, and getting to know you as a person may stimulate them to make a special effort for you.
- Visit employment center offices near you - you spend up a large market in this way, and often can get additional ideas.
- Hiring activities are seasonal so gear your efforts accordingly. A mass mailing two weeks before Christmas probably will be pretty in effective. Hiring drags in the summer also because vacations slow down the process of seeing the necessary people.
- Have a secretary place phone calls for interview, if possible. If you get turned down by an executive secretary, you may want to try to make a direct contact at off hours when it is much more likely that an executive will answer his or her own phone.
- In a blind-mailing experiment, try using a blank envelope marked "Personal and Confidential." Perhaps try a special delivery letter or a telegram with a letter to follow.
- Periodically review whether or not you are getting interviews with people who could really hire you. If not, review your approach.
- Don't limit your search to your area - even if you do not want to move. Good offers elsewhere can perhaps be used to spring an offer loose in your area, or make you realize other areas may be just as good for you professionally and as good for your family as your current one.
- Follow up every few weeks with the best contact. They are constantly seeing potential employees and other job hunters - make sure they keep you in mind. They'll tell you if you are a nuisance. A note indicating progress on a matter you discussed is a good way of keeping in touch.
- Keep a notebook with you at all times. Add to your list every name you come across. Keep doing it until you accept your new job.
The approaches to the visible and hidden job markets cited in this, if carried out effectively and aggressively, should result in a fair number of job interviews. To make the most of them, you should do a good job on the next step, Preparing for Interviews.
