Unconventional Job Hunting Strategies

He found his job simply by being connected online. I got my job using a Facebook ad, pointed at the employers at the top of my list, he says. ’Three weeks later and [having spent] less than $200 in total, I had multiple offers. This is the sort of creative approach that employers are looking for.

The idea of using this type of strategy came to him after reading a blog post about another job seeker named Grant Turck who had used Facebook ads to find employment. Greenleigh thought it could be an effective way to find a job and, after a meeting with Turck to go over his strategy, he went forward and started a targeted Facebook ad for the kind of job he was looking for. In addition to the ad, Greenleigh also put a ÔÇÿHire Me’ page on his blog with a link to his advertisement on Facebook.

The experience, to Greenleigh, was inspiring. ’Even before the first click, I felt a renewed optimism. I was doing something different, something only a handful of people had tried ever.

Get online

Sites like meetup.com are also a great tool to get yourself noticed by potential employers. Meetup.com alerts you to social and networking events happening in your area that are geared towards your field of interest. With a few clicks of your mouse, you could be receiving email notifications of networking events that you can attend, which could potentially lead to connecting with an employer and finding a job.

Don’t underestimate the power of utilizing the many online tools are your disposal. Greenleigh discovered how beneficial online resources were to his job hunt, and he says, What I found was a social side door, a way around the barriers that pose constant threats to our forward progress.

Find your way

Barriers to finding your dream job don’t stop with the thousands of other people who are also in search of their dream jobs. In fact, sometimes, before you even encounter the competition, you have to battle it out with yourself first.

’College students often drown in the job search because they lack direction. If they pick a destination and start swimming there as hard as they can, they’ll land an offer, says Alan Carniol, creator of InterviewSuccessFormula.com. Perry says ’a successful job search starts with the candidate sitting down and asking themselves questions, starting with what do I wanna do?’ and more importantly who do I want to work for?’ Carniol says that once students do that, they should also consider changing their attitude towards the job hunt.

’In practical terms, college seniors need to stop saying I need a job, any job. Someone please help me.’ Instead, they need to say I really want to try working in xyz industry, doing abc job. I should reach out to alumni from my school who work at those places and ask all of my family and friends who they might know there as well.’

He also understands that this is sometimes easier said than done, so he suggests thinking about the things that interest you most, and trying to figure out how that may fit into a career in an industry you want to work in. ’Remember, you aren’t married to your first job and can always switch later, he says.

Passion makes a perfect resum?®

Roy Cohen, a career counsellor, executive coach, and author of?The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide, agrees with Carniol. ’Convey your passion for what you want and make sure you can show why you want it. Enthusiasm that is directionless serves no purpose and is a waste of time.

How do you convey that you’re passionate about a career?