So far Google has been little help in identifying employees… I tend to only find CEO, CFO, etc. Not people to bother with my requests.

LinkedIn has been much better. I have actually made some contacts that got my resume in front of hiring managers. But that’s been on advertised jobs. I’ve noticed that when I “fish” for anything unadvertised the sense I get is that anyone I speak with feels put out.

I’ve been laid off several times due to my stupid persistence in chasing the last bit of product work out of the US (sigh). Up until the 2002 loss event, it had been relatively easy getting at interviews, job offers, and even unadvertised jobs. That changed abruptly at that time. Suddenly companies and third party recruiters were erecting major barriers to employment. I was out of work 9 months despite extreme stubbornness, massive networking and over 200 applications.

After close to 80 applications now since losing my last position a month and half ago, I am seeing that it’s even worse now. Even commissioned recruiters are not returning calls or emails.

The good news is that I was just alerted to an unadvertised job by a good friend and former colleague who I know will help me out. But I’m still skeptical (please don’t take that personally) about contacting companies out of the blue… so far my experience there has been almost completely negative.

Great question. Fortunately, there is an answer. First you want to restructure your search to follow up with a decision maker – preferably not HR – though in some cases its either required or appropriate. Finding decision maker names is relatively easy if you know where to look. Try Google and also I really like zoominfo.com.

When you follow up the trick is to ask for the person and avoid elaborating on the nature of your call. If you are interested, I show you how to do this – step by step and provide phone scripts as well in both my eBooks titled: Secrets of the Unadvertised Job Market Revealed and Phone Networking Secrets Revealed. You can find them on my site under the products and services section. I hope that helps you!
-meb

The problem I’ve encountered is that front desks are NOT allowing cold-calling. If I can’t provide a name, I don’t get through. One desk attendant told me he will be fired for putting any sort of solicitors through!

So if you know of a way to surmount this common hurdle, I’d love to hear it!

I like job boards for getting job descriptions to write resumes, locating hot job markets, learning about companies and helping clients broaden their career options.

You make a great point about the percentage of jobs actually obtained through electronic job boards. The ROI is very small compared to networking and other strategies.

My personal experience with clients has been positive, when framing the request tactfully. Accept the offer in principle but ask for time to consider the compensation package.

I believe its true that one just never knows – there are many factors involved in the timing of a job search.

Interestingly though – whenever I run up against a situation where someone has been looking for more than 6 months (and they are not a senior exec.), there is inevitably one or two fundamental flaws in their search that once solved – they quickly go on to achieve their goals.

Job search can take a week or a year. There is definitely luck involved in the process. You have to stick to your plan to find the job for you.