How job seekers can get their foot in the door

What’s happened to the hiring world, Enthoven surmises, is recruiters just assume there is no one good to be found among the avalanche of resumes they receive with every job posting.

I know, this sounds unfair, but I suppose we’re dealing with human nature here. No one really believes you can find a needle in the haystack, and who has time to search for a needle anyway.

So what we get is a so-called “trust” economy, says Weyerhauser.

“We give an advantage to those candidates who are being referred by people we already know and respect,” he explains.  “For instance, a candidate who is referred by a well-regarded current employee, is much more likely to be invited to an interview than a candidate we know nothing about who blindly sent in a resume.”

The hard part is getting an employee to recommend you. One way to do this is throw a party.

I’m not kidding. Weyerhauser figures you probably know someone right now who knows someone at a company you might be right for.

Invite 30 people and have them invite some people, and before you know it you’ll have a sea of connections. Ask your guests, do they know anybody? Provide them with some food and libations of course, so it doesn’t totally you seem like you’re trolling only for a job, and have fun for goodness sake. Nothing’s worse than a cranky job seeker. You need positive vibes to kick your networking into overdrive.

Now, just asking a friend if they know someone at a particular company or industry may not always be enough. Check out your friends LinkedIn or Facebook connections, for example, and see for yourself it there might be a networking fit. Typically, Weyerhauser notes, people don’t realize how their connections might work for your job search. Take the initiative here.

Another strategy is to make yourself well known in an industry by writing an article for trade publications or authoring a blog.

Weyerhauser offered a great example of guy who wrote a well-read marketing blog, and when he called a company he was interested in working for the manager that answered the phone knew exactly who he was because he was an avid reader of his blog. He ended up getting a plum job at the firm, he adds.

Calling a company, or stopping by to introduce yourself is always a great idea. Don’t make yourself a pest, but try to connect with the hiring manager so your resume doesn’t get lost on the desk of someone in human resources.

At the very least, go to LinkedIn, or one of the other networking sites out there, and try to find managers or employees, or even former staffers, at a particular company you’re interested in and send them an email.

And let’s not totally disregard resumes and cover letters.

Abhay Padgaonkar, a management consultant, says sending out 200 resumes at once is what he calls the “spray and pray” approach. So, he advises, job seekers focus, focus, focus their resumes.

“It's one thing to think that you are right for the job, it's entirely another to be able to understand the requirements of the job and have your resume and qualifications demonstrate unequivocally that you are, in fact, right for the job,” he adds.

Look at each job individually, he says, look at what’s required and read between the lines.

For example, have you done negotiations before? If so, explain what you did and how successful you were in your resume and in the cover letter.

And, Padgaonkar stresses that you have to sing your own praises. “Many times we are blind to our own accomplishments so get someone to help you point those out,” he says.

“Hiring managers spend less than minute looking at a resume, if you don’t stand out, you end up in circular file,” he concludes.

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