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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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When you are setting up a turnkey job search campaign and trying to tap into the hidden job market, you may happen upon some hurdles that can stop you in your tracks, shake your confidence and cause you to doubt yourself or tempt you to settle for much less than you deserve. In my previous feature article I covered how fear, negative thoughts, perfectionistic and isolating behaviors can create sticking points for you. Here are the final four pitfalls and how you can avoid them:

Pitfall #5: Not being open to try new job search methods

In this job market you are going to have very little success if all you do is answer a handful of posted jobs.

My clients who are having success right now are the ones that are using direct mail programs, learning how to research and use strategies to tap into the hidden job market (actually quite easy) and learning about social networking.

Pitfall #6: Putting all your eggs in one basket

I worked with a client once who secured three interviews a week after I sent this client her final resume copy.

She was so excited, and I was excited for her. But when I asked her how her job search strategies were going she said she was just waiting for her immediate interviews to pan out before she did anything else. Though I encouraged her not to do this, her mind was made up.

Six weeks later all three potential job opportunities fell through and my client was left with an empty basket and the daunting task of starting all over again from scratch.

Moral of the story: keep your pipeline full and your job search activities consistent until your first day at your new company.

Pitfall #7: No Strategy

In order to be successful in your job search, you have to have a foundation of basic goals and a clear understanding of your driving motivators.

If you don’t, you aren’t going to know what to focus on or where to best invest your time and energy.

I have worked with job seekers who when they first came to me shared that they had been in “I’ll know it when I see it” job search mode for over a year with nothing to show for it.

So, know what industries you are targeting and why, what your salary goals are, your timeframe and your basic game plan before trying to move forward. You’ll be so glad you did!

Pitfall #8: Work/life imbalance

You can’t job search 8-hrs a day. Well, you can but if you do you will probably be feeling drained and burnt out in no time at all.

During a job search you will most likely be experiencing more stress than normal. It’s important that you take better care of yourself and take more time off then perhaps you are accustomed.

This isn’t a luxury! It’s actually a vital part of your successful job search.

Eat right, get plenty of rest and do plenty of those things you love to do. This way you will have plenty of energy for creativity and strategy. You will be rested, clear-headed and enthusiastic in your job interviews which will make a positive impression.

If you see yourself in any one of pitfalls, take heart and use these simple techniques to break through the hurdles so you can stay focused and confident as you move toward the career opportunity you really want.

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Mary Elizabeth Bradford, nationally recognized tactical job search coach and certified resume writer is offering an unprecedented opportunity to job seekers. Now you can receive coaching to learn to tap into the hidden or unadvertised job market for $35 for a 6-week program. Learn more here:

http://www.maryelizabethbradford.com/mastermind.php

Dave Perry, Co Author of Guerrilla Marketing For Job Hunters 2.0 says in recessionary times – 95% of jobs are stealth or hidden jobs. If you are in a job search you MUST learn how to find hidden and unadvertised opportunities.

There is NOTHING in the market for job seekers that comes close to giving this much value at this price point. It doesn’t matter where you are at in your career, executive level or just starting out… this is critical information that will help you land the job you want and even exceed your salary expectations.

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When you are setting up a turnkey job search campaign and trying to tap into the hidden job market, you may happen upon some hurdles that can stop you in your tracks, shake your confidence and cause you to doubt yourself or tempt you to settle for much less than you know you deserve. Here are 8 common pitfalls and how you can avoid them:

Pitfall #1: Thought Paralysis
Find yourself talking your way out of multiple potential opportunities? You may have job search thought paralysis!

This can lead to hours of heavy contemplation and internal dialogue concerning each move your make in your job search.

Soon hours turn into days and days turn into weeks!

Don’t fall for negative internal dialogue! No one can know what company is hiring internally and you can’t read the minds of potential employers.

Countless times my clients have told me that their incredible job opportunity came from the most surprising place or out of the most unique circumstances.

The solution: if in doubt – send your resume anyway.

Pitfall #2: Fear
Bill Briggs was the first man to ski Wyoming’s Grand Tetons. His friends told him it was impossible and he was crazy. On top of that Bill had a surgically-fused hip. He knew he would have to reckon with cliffs thousands of feet high, falling rock and potential avalanches.

Regardless he took the challenge. Bill stated simply: “If there is no risk there is no adventure. Adventure is a part of life.”

Your career – and certainly the wild ride of changing jobs is indeed an adventure and one that makes demands on your virtues, including bravery.

It is worth giving your job search 100% simply because you are worth the job you want.

How do you get through the fear? By facing it head on. Break the inertia caused by fear with action. Make a list. Do at least one thing right now. Do two more things tomorrow. Three simple steps will get you traction and lead you quickly and positively to more action.

Pitfall #3: Perfection Paralysis
Feel like everything must be perfect before you can move forward? This is a common pitfall that can stop your job search before it even begins.

Your goal needs to be progress not perfection. Although this might not be your motto in other areas of your life, when it comes to your job search, the key is implementation.

One client said to me once regarding making follow up phone calls: “I just can’t get it right.”

Of course we all need a solid and effective phone script, but the secret isn’t in getting it right as much as it is just getting it done.

The best way to move forward is to make a list regarding whatever project you are working on. Make a detailed list of each step you need to take. Now make a note of what tasks you can do, what tasks you don’t know how to do and what tasks you know how to do but don’t want to do. Now you can figure out what you can start on right now, what you need to farm out to someone else and what you need to hire someone to help you with.

Pitfall #4: Doing Everything Yourself
Not knowing how to do something often acts like quicksand and can stop your whole job search in its tracks.

Conducting a job search involves a lot of little parts and pieces and one of the reasons why it is so tempting to fall back on job boards is because it has a system. You do A, B, and C and then your done. And you feel like you have at least done something.

To avoid this you must make what you know you should be doing manageable. You must create a system so that your job search is turnkey.

There is also the mundane tasks that are associated with a job search. Have you ever figured out how much you make by the hour? If you make around 100k per year at an 8-hour a day / 5-day work week you would be making about $48 per hour. So, if you spending hours and hours trying to rewrite your resume yourself, printing out resumes and licking envelopes you need to ask yourself: are these tasks worth $48 an hour?

Sub this energy draining work out! Hire a resume writer. Go to InstiPrints, hire a virtual assistant or your own teenager and get them to help you with the administration for a third of the cost of you doing it yourself.

This way you can concentrate on the big payoff activities that are worth your salary.

This will ensure that these important tasks get done and you stay motivated!

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I have heard this question repeatedly in the last 60 days. Certainly there is a valid reason for my clients asking it – after all, there are mass layoffs going on every day and the news is gloomy at best. Hope for the future is what most are hanging their hat on and that message is loud and clear: every body…FREEZE!

Are there any benefits to holding your breath to see “what happens next?” I don’t know. I think people who are high achievers usually bulk at this mentality and I think it sends the general wrong message.

Here are several things I do know:

• Companies are still growing.
• Companies still have problems that YOU can solve.
• Millions of jobs are still being advertised every day…..you just don’t hear about them on the news.
• If your competition isn’t up to bat it’s a good time for you to be.
• Millions of people have landed wonderful job opportunities in “bad” job markets before.
• Learning the strategies to penetrate jobs that are not advertised lead to more interviews and bigger offers.
• A resume that sends the right marketing message will get you interviews – especially in times when companies really have urgent needs.
• History is heavy laden with scores of successful people rose out of adverse conditions and situations to achieve great things.
• Some of the best opportunities are developed in the worst of times.

I could go on, fortunately.

Now not all of us are optimists. I happen to be one, as you might already know from reading my posts. I like to concentrate on the positive.

There are those out there though who would call themselves “critical thinkers” wanting to poke holes in my approach. Or maybe you have been fired or laid off – and these points only serve to fuel your anger and frustration.

Well, the facts are that the above statements ARE facts, that looking through the lens of critical analysis is dangerously limiting to your job search success and that anger and frustration over a layoff or letting go is normal in ANY job market and needs to be overcome regardless.

We all must take responsibility for how we process and what we do with the information we allow into our hearts and minds.

So why not look for your next best position right now? Why not decide today that the media is not going to control the way you think and feel. Why not turn off the TV and simply stay focused on the markets that are growing and the plan and strategy that is going to work best for you right now? There really isn’t ever a perfectly “right time” to do anything. I picked the worst time to start up my business – financially, family wise, etc… but my window of opportunity was there so I took it. Risk and all and I never looked back.

A friend of mine who coaches C-Level executives through career transitions recently shared with me that most of his clients were holding off until the New Year to take action. That is, except for one. And that one client, he said, was experiencing amazing results and landing multiple interviews.

The choice is yours.

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Sign Up For MORE Free Career Search Tips NOW at http://www.maryelizabethbradford.com!

Most executives are excellent at what they do, but struggle to market their skills when it comes to finding and capitalizing on better career opportunities.

You CAN be quickly respected as a powerful source of wisdom and authority in your areas of expertise to (people in) companies that don’t yet know who you are. You can do this by communicating to them in a way that positions you as an expert in areas that match the challenges of that company. 

So where do you start?

Step One: Know where to find fr*ee sources

Fr*ee sources of information on companies that are moving and growing that is! Industries that are growing and companies that are moving and growing, being acquired, going public or launching a new product or service offering are most often primed for new company hires.

Sources of this information include your local weekly business journals (fr*ee online), local chamber of commerce’s and economic development associations and trade journals. Find two sources that work for you and commit to reviewing them. In committing just an hour each week to doing this, you should be able to easily find two to five interesting articles that intrigue you.

Step Two: Write a letter

Write a cover letter to each company stating why their particular situation impresses or interests you. Tell them authentically why. If they are positioning themselves to “go global” and your background includes helping companies successfully do this, then tell them so and remember to give them an example of how much revenue this generated.

Share that you will follow up with them to see if they would be interested in an initial conversation. Use gracious, diplomatic language to get your point across. Include in your letter a copy of the article you are referencing. You can also include your resume if you discern it’s appropriate or not. What important is that you take action to make that initial contact. If you enthusiasm is authentic they will catch that immediately and you will have maximized your potential to generate interest!

Are you wondering who to send your letter to? The person or persons quoted in the article are best. Don’t worry if they are top executives in the industry. Many professions believe it’s not possible to connect with the top executives of a company but in most cases this is simply not true. In fact, you can use this erroneous belief to your advantage as your approach stands to be unique to your competition! If a decision maker isn’t quoted in the article simply imagine what position you would hold in the comply and go two levels higher. Company executives are often sited on corporate websites or sites such as Yahoo finance or zoom info.  

Tip Three: be consistent

When you commit to take action using this powerful strategy to easily find growth opportunities, you are making a wise investment in yourself and your career. Make it a bold goal of yours to find and send out a certain number of letters each week. If you only sent out and followed up on two letters each week (which should take you only a few hours) you stand to generate MORE interest than if you answered 40 online job ads! That’s right! So make a commitment to yourself to be consistent each week – to quickly and easily move forward towards your goals.

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