Be Like Everybody Else (A Bad Job Hunting Habit)

In the first lesson we learned that first bad habit is to not know exactly the job you want.

Now let’s learn the second bad habit.

Make sure your resume looks just like everybody else in the crowd.

Make sure you do not stand out from the crowd.

Pop quiz: Which of the following people would you hire?

Q1:

1. Business Consultant, or an
2. Efficiency Expert who saved $2.3 million in 2008?

Q2:

1. an Administrative Assistant, or an
2. Office Manager who reduced training time 16% and makes managers look good?

Q3:

1. an IT manager, or a
2. Disaster Recovery Expert who saved $4.1 million by setting up a recovery plan?

It’s no contest. The person who makes a specific, measurable promises to a potential employer is the one who gets called for an interview.

If you call yourself something like a Business Consultant or Administrative Assistant, you’re failing to set yourself apart from the thousands of other people saying exactly the same thing.

Make it specific. And yes, you can have 1, 2, or 20 different resumes. In fact you may want to have a different resume for every job you apply for.

I did say that getting a job would require work didn’t I?

Before you have one more networking conversation or write a cover letter until you do two things to differentiate yourself:

1. Tell people what you really do.
   Instead of saying you’re a Sales Manager, Customer Service Rep, or Accountant, use more-vivid descriptions, like Profit Producer, Guest Happiness Agent, or Numbers Cruncher.
2. Prove What You Really Do.
   If you describe yourself creatively, you’d better back it up with specific proof, like this: “Guest Happiness Agent who delivered 98% customer satisfaction, ranking #2 among 34 personnel in 2008.”

This two step approach is the start to creating a vivid, memorable description of what you can do.

Use this image in your email signature file, your LinkedIn profile, yur facebook profile, your blog, your networking conversations — anywhere, anytime you talk to anyone.

Don’t be shy, ever.

—
This job hunting post was adapted from content provided to by my good friends Kevin Donlin and David Perry, co-creators of the Guerrilla Job Search System.

Kevin and David have been interviewed by CNN, New York Times, Fortune magazine, and the Christian Science Monitor about their method to finding a job.

Get a free audio from Kevin and David on how to get your job search into high gear

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