Were you on my free call this morning? I can’t believe how much info I was able to deliver in just an hour!

If you want to listen to the audio recording of the call titled:

Job Search Secrets For 5-and-6 Figure Professionals:
Your Toughest Job Search Questions Answered, Part II

Just click on this link:

http://careerartisan.audioacrobat.com/download/0b552813-5469-4237-7c76-280c163e4541.mp3

Here is what I covered:

How to use social networking to snag your next job opportunity.

How to meet the “key” individuals when networking.

How to network if you are a high level executive or an introverted person.

How do you craft a resume that actually gets read.

A special offer that can save you time and money in your job search.

Plus I made two more very special (time-sensitive) offers!

offer number one:

25% off my job search success system for the next 5 days – either package!

Check out the Job Search Success System here: job-searchsystem.com

(just use coupon code: SPRING)

offer number two:

Everyone that invests in a resume package with me thru the month of JUNE will be gifted the Job Search Success System (the full version with coaching) absolutely fr’ee.

Feel free to spread the word!

Inspiring your success,

Mary Elizabeth

PS Questions? Call us! 830-331-9398.

Two weeks ago I hosted a free teleseminar that turned out to be the most popular teleseminar I have ever held! The subject of this call was answering your toughest job search questions. Due to limited time I was only able to cover 4 questions – and I have received many requests to answer more.

So . . . back by popular demand I am excited to invite you join me for a second call titled:

Job Search Secrets For 5-and-6 Figure Professionals Part II Your Toughest Job Search Questions Answered!

In this FR’EE call I will be giving you solutions to the following problems:

How to use social networking to snag your next job opportunity.

How to meet the “key” individuals when networking.

How to network if you are a high level executive or an introverted person.

How do you craft a resume that actually gets read.

A special offer that can save you time and money in your job search.

There is no sign up page for this call – simply call the number and dial the access code below on the designated date and time:

Date: Saturday, June 5th, 2010
Time: 10am CST (11am Eastern/8am Pacific/9am Mountain) Call In Number: 1 (218) 936-7999 Access Code: 2924192

*if you do not have a flat rate plan, long distance charges will apply.

Hope to “see” you on the call!

Oh, and feel free to spread the word!

Inspiring your success,

Mary Elizabeth

I recently hosted a special free call titled:

Job Search Secrets For 5-and-6 Figure Professionals:
How To Overcome The 4-Biggest Hurdles Facing Job Seekers Today

Just click on this link to access this one hour info-packed call for job seekers:

http://careerartisan.audioacrobat.com/download/74d7d9a0-57c9-1643-e1a0-4d11f75990c6.mp3

Here is what I covered:

How to complete for key positions if you are over 50

How to rev up a job search if you have been unemployed for over 12-months

How to set up and manage an effective and stress free job search if you are currently working full time

How to tap the hidden job market

Plus I made two very special (time-sensitive) offers!

offer number one:

25% off my job search success system for the next 5 days – either package!

Check out the Job Search Success System here: job-searchsystem.com

offer number two:

Everyone that invests in a resume package with me thru the month of MAY will be gifted the Job Search Success System.

Feel free to spread the word!

Inspiring your success,

Mary Elizabeth

PS Questions? Call us! 830-331-9398.

It’s simple..anyone can do it…and it’s brilliant.

Go direct to tap the hidden job market and increase your odds. I say it all the time. Why? Becuase it works!

See what one creative director dreamed up to get the immediate attention of 5 companies he was interested in working for.

He got 4 interviews – and two offers. With companies he wanted to work for. That had no advertised open positions. In a bad economy. In a struggling industry.

And he probably got a salary increase too.

Yup. Thats what I am talking about.

check it out here

It happens tomorrow – Saturday morning!

I am hosting a very special free teleseminar titled:

Job Search Secrets For 5-and-6 Figure Professionals:
How To Overcome The 4-Biggest Hurdles Facing Job Seekers Today

All you have to do is show up! Here is the call-in information:

Date: Saturday, May 15th

Time: 10am CDT (11am Eastern/8am Pacific/9am Mountain)

Call in number: 1-218-936-7999

Access Code: 607346#

*If you don’t have a flat rate plan, long distance charges will apply.

On this call I will be sharing with you:

How to complete for key positions if you are over 50

How to rev up a job search if you have been unemployed for over 12-months

How to set up and manage an effective and stress free job search if you are currently working full time

How to tap the hidden job market

I will be making two very special announcements on this call that I can’t wait to share with you.

See you on the call and feel free to spread the word!

Inspiring your success,

Mary Elizabeth

PS Questions? Call us! 830-331-9398.
PPS This call will be recorded but I hope you try to join me for the LIVE call!

Mary Elizabeth Bradford ~ The Career Artisan
Internationally Certified Advanced Resume Writer
Internationally Certified Master Career Director
Master Career Professional Lifetime Achievement Award

I recently queried my entire list of ezine readers to ask them to pick my next free teleseminar topic.

Even I was surprised at the hundreds of responses I received! I am busy creating my next complimentary teleseminar course using many of the ideas and challenges my ezine readers requested. More on this topic soon!

In the meantime – I would like to respond to the overwhelming outcry to learn more about the hidden job market. This can be a confusing area because the majority of job seekers (and even some career professionals) have an understanding that tapping the hidden job market is a code word for networking. Not true though, at least in my book. As I have said before, tapping the hidden job market is all about going direct – to the key decision marker – before the job is advertised. Because the majority of jobs are filled before they have to be advertised.

In order to do this you must know the simple strategies to target your search and go direct. That’s what I outline – step-by-step in my eBook: Secrets of the Unadvertised Job Market Revealed.

I have been in the career services industry for over 15-years. 7 of those years as an executive recruiter and the rest as a job search coach and resume writer. The BEST way I know – and the way my clients are successful in landing positions is by understanding and applying strategies to tap the hidden job market.

The more obstacles you have to overcome, the more competitive the job market, the more YOU need this information. And forgive me for being blunt, but watching the months go by wondering if you should believe me or not is an expensive alternative.

So, for all of you who implored me to share more information about this topic – I will! But do yourself a favor right now and grab your copy of this eBook! It’s normally $79 but for the next 5-days ONLY – I will gift you a huge 50% OFF. And if I haven’t helped you, I will grant you a 100%, no questions asked money back guarantee.

COUPON CODE: MAY SPECIAL

I don’t know many other companies or career professionals that would give you a similar risk-free opportunity to turn your entire job search around – starting right now.

And by the way, when you purchase this eBook, you will also get a second ebook for free titled: Phone Networking Secrets Revealed. You are going to be amazed how easy it is to follow up after sending resumes and sidestep gatekeepers using these time-tested phone scripts.

Just type in the coupon code: MAY SPECIAL to get these e-guidebooks for
$39.50.

I am committed to your success and to the empowerment of job seekers everywhere – especially here in the USA. But you have to take the next step.
-M.E.B.

Aggressive adoption of energy efficiency programs in Texas would lower utility bills by $13.7 billion and create 96,300 new jobs by 2020.

Interesting – and hopeful for those looking to align themselves with green jobs.

You can check out the article here.

In part one of this post, we looked at the facts and fallacies of the hidden job market including why you should consider tapping into it, why you should consider sending your resume to a company that has not advertised positions matching your skills and the level of experience you should be at in order to benefit from the hidden market.

Now I bet you are wondering precisely how to tap into the unadvertised market. There are three strategies to quickly get you started focusing on and finding great jobs that will never see a major job board.

Tip #1: Create a plan

If you are going to launch a proactive job search (i.e. knowing precisely what you are looking for, then reaching out to get it) vs. a reactive job search (i.e. passively scanning posted jobs, waiting to find the one that fits you) then it’s crucial you know the following things:

Your target markets

(e.g. Construction, commercial healthcare development, pharmaceutical, medical device, etc…)

Your titles & positions

(e.g. sales executive, VP of sales and marketing, business development director)

Your geographic parameters

(e.g. can’t leave Minneapolis, all of US, California only)

Your timeline

(e.g. need a job NOW, in the next 30 days, would like to make a change in the next 6 months)

Tip #2: Choose three main job search strategies for tapping into your market

Now that you have your plan, you should be crystal clear on what you want! Here are just a few unadvertised techniques you can utilize:

Growing/changing or moving companies: These are companies that are expanding, merging, acquiring other companies, are rolling out new products or services or are moving. These companies that are actively changing and/or growing offer you, the job seeker, an opportunity to offer your skills and strengths in order to help them.

Executive recruiters: Identify executive recruiters that are familiar with your industry and/or level of position. They often have contracts to fill positions of which the majority will never be advertised. Recruiters probably won’t be helpful to you if:

You are radically changing industries, a recruiter may not be the best source for you as they will be looking for “a match.”

Recruiters may be helpful if:

You plan on staying in your current industry, you have had less than 3 jobs in 10 years and you look fantastic on paper.

Direct company contact: The secret here is in the numbers. Contacting a company directly (fully knowing they probably have multiple open positions that are not advertised) is a great way to take leadership and control over your job search. Are you interested in looking at the higher education market in your state or the top organic food manufacturers in the US? Or maybe the fastest growing healthcare oriented businesses in your city? All of these “lists” are accessible to you and allow you to easily tap right into your market of focus!

Tip #3: Manage your job search like a professional project

Once you have your plan and have determined the best place to gather your resources and your general strategy, you must make a simple plan to move forward. Depending on your timeframe, pick the hours and the days each week that you plan to invest in your next career move. Block out those times and stick to them! Honor your commitment to your job search just like you would honor your commitment to your present employer to show up on time each day.
During your job search activity, keep things really simple and focus on the actions you are taking, not the results!

This way you can celebrate your initial “successes,” which in the beginning are the completion of each of your daily and weekly goals. The results will unfold elegantly and abundantly and you will enjoy feeling that satisfaction of success whether you are investing in marketing yourself or basking in the warm glow of landing your third or fourth interview!

Be careful not to devalue the importance of this tip. This strategy is one of the main points to averting thoughts of despair and feelings of overwhelm.

I love the hidden job market. I have built my career showing professionals how easy it is to shorten their job search, get more quality interviews and bigger offers using a very simple yet powerful system to tap into it.

A statement I often hear is “isn’t tapping into the hidden job market just networking?” In short, no. It’s about going direct – and cutting out both “internal” and “external” middle men. Internal within the company (i.e. HR) and external outside of the company (i.e. recruiters).

Let’s begin by dispelling a few other myths about the hidden job market:

True or false: With all the jobs listed on the internet today, I don’t need to concern myself with any “hidden” job market.

False. That is, if you care about getting more than a measly 1-to-3% response rate from the resumes you send out using major job boards.

In other words, did you send out 50 resumes using job boards and you still haven’t heard anything back? Well, by these standards your only problem is you haven’t begun to send out enough resumes, yet…yikes!

The good news about these stats is that there are a whole bunch of job seekers out there that just started to feel a whole lot better about themselves. The bad news is that this proves job boards are a really depressing, hard and painful way for the majority of us to land great jobs.

True or false: I should only answer jobs that are advertised because I will look stupid if I send my resume to a company when I have no idea if they need someone like me.
False. Way back when I had my own executive recruiting firm I remember client companies telling me, “We don’t have any immediate needs right now, but if you find a superstar, please don’t forget about us – we want to see their resume!”

Not only do companies always make time for people who are “superstars” (and a lot of this has to do with the way you market yourself to them), but most companies go through at least five steps to fill a position before they will post the position to a major job board.

Think about it. If you have a key position that just opened up in your company, is the first thing you do pick up the phone and call Monster? No, of course not!

You get on the phone to a few trusted colleagues. You look through your resume file to see if anyone fits the bill. You look to see if anyone already on board is qualified to be promoted to it or alert your staff to refer someone they might know. You launch an intimate grass roots campaign to try to fill this position waaaay before the general public is notified. And if after a few weeks, the position is still not filled, perhaps you contact a related association to post the job on their members-only job board or you contract a recruiter.

True or false: I have heard the interview process is shorter and the salary package can be significantly higher with unadvertised opportunities. True! Why? Because when you pursue unadvertised jobs you are almost always talking with the company key decision-makers right from the start. You have more creativity to sell your skills and build the value of who you can be to the company. And finally, because these interviews usually lack the formality of a full blown human resource driven candidate search, your competition is significantly lower AND the salary terms are less likely to be chiseled in stone. I have seen this play out in my clients’ favor time after time!

True or false: I am not “high enough up” the ladder to seek out unadvertised opportunities. The hidden job market only applies to executives.
False. ANYONE (and I mean even if you are right out of college) can enjoy the benefits of the hidden job market. These jobs are available on all levels and in virtually all industries.

The trick is to hone your focus so you actually achieve the results you want (more on that later!)

So why should you care about the unadvertised market? Because for you, it means more job opportunities, more market leverage, less competition, shorter interview processes and bigger offers. Golly, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to keep pumping out resumes via the internet when you can have all of this control over your next career move!

So, want to start to turn your job search around? Here are some steps you can take right now:

1. Get focused on your target markets
2. Research companies in your target markets – get key decision makers names
3. Make sure your resume is designed to penetrate your target markets
4. Send your resume directly to the key decision makers

…the secret is going direct!

Most of my clients secure offers and jobs pretty fast…but some job searches take longer. One of my executive clients had a variety of interviews and it took him a year to change industries and secure a pay increase. But he did it… to the tune of a $50,000 salary increase and the opportunity to partner with an exceptional company in a wonderful position. He just started his new position and he is walking on air!

I asked him to reflect on this last year and offer me some gems of advice to pass on. Here is what he told me:

1. He surrounded himself with supportive and positive people

2. He reached out for advice and didn’t try to do everything himself

3. He didn’t succumb to negative self talk when his job search seemed to be going too slow…

4. He stuck to the strategies I had taught him and didn’t shift to something new just because things weren’t happening as fast as he would have liked

5. He took time to be with his family and he took “extra” time off to balance out his job search and the extra stress that naturally creates

6. He let me coach him through his interviews and offer negotiations and used the strategies I suggested

7. He didn’t spend a lot of time listening to depressing statistics on the news about how tough it was to get a job. He just stuck with the program and did all he could to stay positive

8. He went direct and used strategies to tap the hidden job market

…I couldn’t have added anything to this list!