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There are 5 common strategies for finding a job that lead nowhere and 5 that work much better. Do you know which is which?

Richard Bolles sure does because he is the author of What Color is Your Parachute? which has sold 10 million copies. He has just written a brand new book called The Job Hunters Guide: How to Find Hope and Rewarding Work, Even When ‘There Are No Jobs”.

This is what he has to say.

Let’s start with the 5 least likely according to research by Bolles:

1. Mailing out resumes or posting resumes on line.
   The odds of success: 7%. The problem is that employers receive huge numbers of unsolicited resumes and they file them without a second look.
2. Responding to ads in professional or trade journals
   The odds of success: 7%. Employers usually only post low wage jobs and because they are national, they often require relocation.
3. Responding to Ads on Internet Job Sites
   The odds of success: 10%. Employers tend to use the Internet as a last resort because they know they will invite a flood of responses. The exception is IT jobs because they know IT applicants prefer this approach.
4. Responding to ads in local newspapers: Between 5 and 24% depending on your salary requirements. Most employers consider this an outdated way to find applicants but it works better for minimum wage jobs.
5. Working with a private employment agency or search firm Between 5% and 28%. When the economy is weak, employers don’t see the need to hire search firms. This approach works best for clerical positions.

Discouraged?

Let’s turn to the 5 ways that Bolles says work best.

Networking for leads: 33%
Employers love to hire based on the recommendations of employees or other trusted sources. This approach requires expanding your network aggressively and staying active in the community. Keep asking people in your network for leads to other people.

Knocking on doors unannounced at employers of interest: 47%
The approach here is to target an organization of interest, appear and ask for 5 minutes of the boss’s time. This is particularly effective with small business owners who tend to admire the guts of someone who appears this way. This approach will not work for large companies where an appointment is a must. But a mid-afternoon visit to a small business in appropriate attire can be successful at smaller firms.

Calling companies or nonprofits of interest that are listed in the yellow pages: 69%
The approach is to ask for the small business owner and say that you are looking for a job in that industry, give a very brief summary of what you have to offer and ask for a personal meeting. This has the benefit of uncovering jobs that have not yet been advertised. Large companies will use phone systems and receptionists to block this sort of call.

Partnering with other job applicants: 70%
This sort of ad hoc job club can be very effective because there are more eyes on suitable openings for someone in the group. This also has the advantage of creating a group that can provide accountability. It works best when group members are interested in different fields so they can avoid competition.

Taking inventory of yourself, then targeting the employers where you want to be working: 86%
This approach requires a deep introspective look into what you want to do, networking your way into a meeting at the organization, and being very clear about your past accomplishments and how they explain what you have to offer. This is what Bolles called informational interviewing in his very first edition of Parachute. The disadvantage is that this approach takes time (usually between 2 to 6 months), but it is the surest way to locate a high paying professional assignment.

A recent example
An example of the last job-hunt strategy, taking inventory of yourself, comes to mind. I have disguised the name mentioned to protect confidentiality.

Gloria is a very talented promoter and communications expert who came to see me after trying all of the least successful job-hunting techniques over the last six months. She had sent out a zillion resumes, responded to jobs on the Internet, applied for jobs that were advertised in a series of trade journals and newspapers. Nothing worked.

As you can imagine Gloria was more than a little desperate under her veneer of self-confidence. She was a single mother of a 6-year-old girl and her savings were in danger of disappearing in three months. Most difficult of all, she had concluded that she had misjudged her value in the marketplace and that she should start considering any job as long as it contributed to the mortgage. She had decided that she was the problem, rather than that her approach to finding a satisfactory professional assignment might be ineffective.

After a series of assessments Gloria began to catalogue a list of very impressive accomplishments that she had trivialized or forgotten. By the time we were finished she had a bio that was outstanding and even more important, she had restored her sense of professional confidence. Gloria then set out to talk to a number of organizations, including Federal agencies about her interest in increasing the number of pro bono doctors available in South Africa, the birthplace of her father. Gloria is not yet placed but she is relieved to be engaged in a process that puts her in front of people who share her interest. In short order, I am confident that Gloria will call to report that she is engaged in negotiating a position that meets her needs.