Published: Monday, 17 May 2010 | By: Phil Stott
Executive Careers-CNBC.com
The news for job seekers has been something of a mixed bag recently: while the economy added almost half a million jobs in the last two months, the encouraging signs have tempted more people back into an active job search, driving the official unemployment rate to 9.9 percent.
Translated into plain English: companies are hiring again, but job seekers are facing more competition than ever before.
Faced with that reality, people are using unusual tactics to get noticed.
Vault’s career experts rated four approaches for effectiveness.
Online Advertising
The Tactic: Advertising executive Alec Brownstein bought ads on Google for six of the top names on Madison Avenue. When those people did their customary search of their own name for press hits, the first thing they saw at the top of the page was Brownstein’s ad: a direct pitch for work with a link back to his own web site, which features a bio and examples of his work. Here’s the video Brownstein made explaining his tactics
Vault’s Verdict:
This tactic is nothing short of genius. Brownstein obeyed the number one rule of job search: identify your targets and get noticed by them. As his video states, he created ads for just five executives, resulting in four interviews and two job offers. And all for around six dollars, which is less than most people pay for postage on a traditional resume mailing campaign. To top it all off, Brownstein proved his effectiveness in the world of advertising by selling himself, likely leaving the executive to wonder what he could do with a brand. Once again, nothing short of genius.
More Tactics:
- Sandwich Boards
- Posters in the New York Subway
- Social media