By Kevin Donlin
Have you been hit hard by the slow economy?
If you're 30 or younger, you've probably never experienced a
recession as a member of the work force. And when compared to the go-go
economy of the late 1990s, the current rash of job cuts and hiring
freezes must seem especially frightening.
So I tracked down and interviewed James Adams, a 70-year-old former
Minneapolis resident who's seen it all.
He's has held -- count 'em -- 107 jobs in his life. In fact, Adams
became so skilled at getting jobs that the U.S. government hired him to
teach his job search secrets to others!
Without further ado, here are three job hunting tactics for hard
times, from the school of hard knocks.
1) Don't take every help-want ad at face value
Some employment ads are written to prevent all but the most gung-ho
job seekers from applying.
Reason? To prevent a flood of resumes that would take days to read,
some employers purposely place ads that ask for unrealistic
qualifications.
"I recall a help-wanted ad for a shipping clerk that read like a
laundry list. They wanted someone with a college degree (master's
preferred), able to lift 300 lbs., type 50+ words a minute -- it went on
and on," says Adams.
So, how did Adams overcome this obstacle?
"I took the direct approach. I went down to the company and said,
'Here I am!' I told them that God himself couldn't meet all their
qualifications, but if they wanted a top-notch shipping clerk, I was
their man."
He got the job.
2) You may be more qualified than you think
Adams once advised an applicant to talk about her hobby as a private
pilot when interviewing for a position at a utility.
Why?
The job required a manager to oversee a plant delivering electricity
to consumers across California. Making the wrong decision -- or no
decision -- would put thousands of people in the dark.
As a private pilot, this woman had safely landed a crippled aircraft
not once, but twice. Had she not made the right decisions fast, while
focusing on a solution, she wouldn't have survived.
By proving her decision-making ability, which transferred easily from
piloting to power plant management, she aced out dozens of other
applicants -- and got the job.
3) Rejection letters can be a good thing
Your response to a letter of rejection may, incredibly, get you the
job.
Because, when a hiring panel interviews several applicants but still
can't decide on one candidate, they may send out rejection letters to
test the mettle of those job seekers.
"I was consulted by a woman who interviewed very well for a position,
but still got a letter of rejection. Most people would have torn up the
letter and gone on to other things," says Adams.
Instead, Adams told her to write a gracious reply, thanking the
company for their time and reaffirming her strong desire to work for
them.
Did it work?
"The top contender for the position had to relocate on short notice.
The hiring panel remembered the letter they got from the really eager
and pleasant woman who replied to their rejection letter. She got the
job," says Adams.
So, take it from a job search pro who's been there and done that. You
can do great things in your career if you exercise persistence,
politeness and a little street smarts.
-- Kevin Donlin is the author of "Resume and Cover Letter Secrets
Revealed," a do-it-yourself manual that will help you find a job
