Never Apply for a Job Again!: Break the Rules, Cut the Line, Beat the Rest by Darrell Gurney, Ivan Misner Page B
Authors: Darrell Gurney, Ivan Misner
Tags: General, Social Science, Business & Economics, Careers, Job Hunting, Human Resources & Personnel Management
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pushy for more information…and so the overt-search world turns.
CareerGuy Tip: Overt search generally lacks full information. A stealth approach is all about information.
Compare this to a stealth approach. When you meet people based on your enthusiastic interests, completely structured around your research projects and the things you want to know, you can ask anything!
“So, what stinks about this industry?” “When are the days you would just rather pull the covers over your head?” “What trends are threatening this field?” All of those and more fit perfectly into a research project. Plus, operating this wayallows you to garner much more information than you ever would through the traditional, “Please hire me!” job interview model. Again, you can never have too much information—so that’s what you want to focus on obtaining.
When going out into the world of people who don’t currently know you from Adam, for an effective stealth approach, you want to seek information and guidance from folks at least two levels higher than your own corporate or skill level. Someone at your own level would not be the best first contact for research, if you can avoid it. Higher “altitude” impacts attitude, aptitude, and amplitude.
CareerGuy Tip: Good research contacts are two levels above your own position.
So, if you are an accounts payable manager, you’ll want to approach controllers; if you are a sales manager, you’ll want to approach VPs or CEOs; if you are a new graduate with a marketing degree, you’ll want to approach marketing managers or chief marketing officers.
There are several reasons why you want your contacts to have altitude:
1. A higher-level person generally has a wider level of expertise, knowledge, and/or savvy.
2. A higher-level person has a wider view of trends both throughout the industry as well as within their particular organization, whereas a lower-level person will be more involved in the minutia of the moment.
3. A higher-level person will have a broader awareness of upcoming projects and directions that the department or company as a whole will be pursuing, whereas the lower-level staff will be more focused on what needs to be done today.
4. A higher-level person is more apt to be senior enough (in age or experience) to understand and appreciate the value of professional relationships and the role of mentoring, whereas a lower-rung worker may not be as politically astute.
5. It’s a lot easier to get passed down than up if your contact wants you to meet others he thinks can further help you within his own organization.
For these reasons, you’ll target the higher-level professionals in your fields of interest for your research interviews. Again, not necessarily the president or CEO; just two levels higher than the level at which you would see yourself operating.
As we discussed in the final questions development portion of Principle #3, when you have an authentic and engaging interest in something, it’s never a problem to put together 20 or more questions about that subject. So, that’s what you do. Write down exactly what it is you want to know about that area, field, technology, cause, and so on, to design your research projects. This will be easy, and will give you the basis for information-gathering that will provide the necessary knowledge you need, as well as the contacts to support a stealth transition.
Principle #5: A Friend in Need Doth Repulsion Breed
I hear you saying, “Okay, I can go out and ask a lot of questions, but how is that going to get me a job?” To answer that, let’s revisit the gist of Principle #2, An Ounce of Research is Worth a Pound of Job Search: JUST FORGET NEEDING A JOB!
As a matter of fact, when you really get into this mindset and play this well, if someone actually begins to talk to you about an actual job opportunity within your research area, you’ll respond calmly, without any nervous twitch or gleeful overexcitement at all:
CareerGuy Tip: Overt search generally lacks full information. A stealth approach is all about information.
Compare this to a stealth approach. When you meet people based on your enthusiastic interests, completely structured around your research projects and the things you want to know, you can ask anything!
“So, what stinks about this industry?” “When are the days you would just rather pull the covers over your head?” “What trends are threatening this field?” All of those and more fit perfectly into a research project. Plus, operating this wayallows you to garner much more information than you ever would through the traditional, “Please hire me!” job interview model. Again, you can never have too much information—so that’s what you want to focus on obtaining.
When going out into the world of people who don’t currently know you from Adam, for an effective stealth approach, you want to seek information and guidance from folks at least two levels higher than your own corporate or skill level. Someone at your own level would not be the best first contact for research, if you can avoid it. Higher “altitude” impacts attitude, aptitude, and amplitude.
CareerGuy Tip: Good research contacts are two levels above your own position.
So, if you are an accounts payable manager, you’ll want to approach controllers; if you are a sales manager, you’ll want to approach VPs or CEOs; if you are a new graduate with a marketing degree, you’ll want to approach marketing managers or chief marketing officers.
There are several reasons why you want your contacts to have altitude:
1. A higher-level person generally has a wider level of expertise, knowledge, and/or savvy.
2. A higher-level person has a wider view of trends both throughout the industry as well as within their particular organization, whereas a lower-level person will be more involved in the minutia of the moment.
3. A higher-level person will have a broader awareness of upcoming projects and directions that the department or company as a whole will be pursuing, whereas the lower-level staff will be more focused on what needs to be done today.
4. A higher-level person is more apt to be senior enough (in age or experience) to understand and appreciate the value of professional relationships and the role of mentoring, whereas a lower-rung worker may not be as politically astute.
5. It’s a lot easier to get passed down than up if your contact wants you to meet others he thinks can further help you within his own organization.
For these reasons, you’ll target the higher-level professionals in your fields of interest for your research interviews. Again, not necessarily the president or CEO; just two levels higher than the level at which you would see yourself operating.
As we discussed in the final questions development portion of Principle #3, when you have an authentic and engaging interest in something, it’s never a problem to put together 20 or more questions about that subject. So, that’s what you do. Write down exactly what it is you want to know about that area, field, technology, cause, and so on, to design your research projects. This will be easy, and will give you the basis for information-gathering that will provide the necessary knowledge you need, as well as the contacts to support a stealth transition.
Principle #5: A Friend in Need Doth Repulsion Breed
I hear you saying, “Okay, I can go out and ask a lot of questions, but how is that going to get me a job?” To answer that, let’s revisit the gist of Principle #2, An Ounce of Research is Worth a Pound of Job Search: JUST FORGET NEEDING A JOB!
As a matter of fact, when you really get into this mindset and play this well, if someone actually begins to talk to you about an actual job opportunity within your research area, you’ll respond calmly, without any nervous twitch or gleeful overexcitement at all:
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