Here is a story a fellow from Ireland who was so resourceful, that he was able to find a a jon in only 7 days.
And he he had no permanent address!!!
A young fellow named Patrick from Ireland wanted to work in Saskatchewan, where he wanted to work as a heavy equipment mechanic.
What magic did Patrick do? He got on a plane in Ireland and flew to Saskatoon.
When he arrived, he created a list of 15 area businesses that had a need for a mechanics like him.
Patrick is a mechanic, he created a straight forward portfolio that outlined his work history with pictures of heavy equipment he had worked on in Ireland. Things like the types of buses and transport vehicles. The brands would not be the same in Canada as Ireland, but a picture of a big bus and a big truck gives the visual impact and then the brands become meaningless.
With his portfolio in hand, Pat headed out to the companies and knocked on the doors and asking to speak with owners or the managers.
The employers of course gave him five minutes and then when presented with Patrick’s story were suitably impressed.
Imagine what it says about Patrick? He flies all the way from Ireland to spend two weeks in Saskatchewan looking for work.
What kind of worker do you think Patrick will be? The kind that sits around waiting to be told what to do? The kind that will take no initiative and will be on break all day?
You should can guess the conclusion to the story of Patrick.
Within a week of knocking on his list of doors, Pat was offered a full-time position as a heavy equipment mechanic with a large trucking company.
Here are the four things you need to understand and take away from the Story Of Patrick …
Patrick began his search with clarity
Patrick started with a specific job that he wanted and a list of 15 employers. He knew what he wanted to do and whom he wanted to do it for. Do you? (Phase 1 of the Guerrilla Job Hunt System)
The better you know what you want (“I want a job” – does not cut it) and the better you know who you want to work for (“Anybody” is for people who don’t really want to get a good job) the faster you will find a job.
The lazier you are at the start of the job hunt, the longer the wait to get a job will take.
Take The Shortest Route To Getting A Job
Patrick went after the job directly. He didn’t surf the Net for jobs or e-mail his resume out to HR. Patrick knocked on doors and met directly with the people who make the decisions. And the people who make the decsions hired him. What a concept. This is how the real world works.
Here is another way to view it.
You will never ever be hired by anybody company without meeting someone who works there. You can hope and pray and wait for that first meeting. Or you can make the meeting happen. You can find the way to meet someone on your own terms.
Maybe you think it was embarrassing and dumb. Patrick is working and doing what he loves. What are you doing today?
Use extreme motivation to get an extreme result
The goal is the important thing, the plan and the method is secondary.
Patrick flew to Saskatoon with the singular goal of finding a job within two weeks.
If he didn’t succeed he would fly home with nothing. I am certain his friends are like your friends and they said to him “Are you crazy, do it the way everybody else does it. ect. ect” Imagine what would have been the responses to Patrick if when he got home?
If Patrick had listened to his friends, he would have taken comfortable and easier choices. You know the ones - emailing resumes, checking job boards, attending networking events, etc.
Patrick chose massive action instead. Patrick got a job withing a week.
Patrick is an aggressive Guerrilla Job Hunter.
What kind of Job Hunter are you?
Could you carry around a picture of your family with a sticky note on it that says, “Feed them”?
Or hand your best friend a $50 bill and say, “If I don’t have a job interview by Friday, mail this to Keith Olbermann/Rush Limbaugh (pick one)”?
Make a claim backed up with tangible evidence that people can remember.
Patrick is a mechanic on huge machines weighing several tons. He can’t really bring them along. He can describe them but employers may not be familiar with them. Patrick brought pictures of the equipment he worked n. It tangibly illustrated his on-the-job achievements and prove that he could do the work he sought.
You can do the same.
Use your imagination (or some of the ideas in the Guerrilla Job Search System).
Use graphs, charts, and pictures? Bring letters of recommendation from clients and managers.
(The Guerrilla Job Search Resume does it up front)
Can you bring a video? Use a FLIP camera to shoot testimonial videos from happy customers or supervisors. Upload them to your YouTube channel or LinkedIn profile.
(Check out mine at http://YouTube.com/ZaleTabakman)
The more tangible proof equals a shorter search for your next job. This is basic marketing 101.
I hope you are not thinking “I am not from Ireland. I am not a mechanic. I am a highly paid [whatever]. This would never work for me. I can’t knock on doors.” In Canada we have a term for that. Its called Crap. I would call you a little whiny little girl. My mature adult daughters would point and laugh at you. (Well, probably not because they are too polite.)
If you are authorized to work wherever you’re looking for work, you enjoy a huge advantage over Patrick, who needed a visa to get hired in Canada.
You have Patrick’s story to inspire you and the Guerrilla Job Search system to guide you.
Patrick had none of that. Just his Irish charm, his skills, and his determination.
And to that he added a clear goal for employment, extreme motivation, and a direct approach.
All these things came from in his head. You have a head. You can have the same things.
What is in your head?
I want you to take an action that will move you to get the job you want and you deserve.
This is my Monday Morning Job Hunting help. I have taken material provided to me by 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 CD from Kevin and David on how to get your job search into high gear
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