I wanted to share with you this very interesting article I saw. Job search is like a marketing effort: you are selling yourself, you have marketing content (your resume, your LinkedIn Profile, your cover letter...), you need to advertize at the best place, send direct marketing content (email, mail, phone call) to the accurate target...
And sometimes it can be quite deceiving. Because when you check at all the different job positions you may be interested in, you will never be experienced enough, or have worked in the field you would have liked, or have the proper degree required... But as we all know life is more complex than just filling the requirements of a job descriptions. On top of that, most companies are seeking for higher profiles than what they need.
Saying that, I read the article I told you about. I love the approach the guy have. Indeed, more than your career path, what really matters as a recruiter is to have a go getter that will be able to get the job done.
"Step 3: Do one pre-interview project per company
Now that you know what the company expects you to do day to day, you can actually do it ahead of time and prove to them that you can solve their problems.
When I was applying for a business development role for Kiip, I pitched a few companies on forming partnerships with them, and introduced them to the biz dev team. I ended up getting an offer.
When I was applying for product development related positions, I ran quick usability tests on companies’ products, documented my process, created some design suggestions and sent it to the head of each design team. Here’s an example of what I did for Airbnb.
This sort of thing got me interviews at major tech companies like Quora, and it even led to Shutterstock creating a position specifically for me.
My friend Francine Lee did something similar (but MUCH more in depth) for Dropbox, and then got a job there."
What I like about the idea is:
- You show how motivated you are
- You show you have a clear understanding of the job you will need to do
- You show you can deliver results fast
I believe you should really focus on that idea.
This is actually an advice I give to people asking me some help on how to get a job in the retail business. I tell them to go in store and do an extensive report of what they have seen:
- Take pictures of interesting merchandize idea
- How the category has been set up
- How is the pricing? Compare with specific prices you would have check previously in other stores
- Check the competition of the store and how the store has adapted to it
- Has there been any stock out? Has there been anything that an expert would have seen (such as a missing leading product)?
