Online applications not working for you? LIS job postings not delivering results? To paraphrase Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitz, these days job-hunting is the continuation of war by other means.
In that case, it may be time to bring out the big guns, as in Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0: How to Stand Out from the Crowd and Tap into the Hidden Job Market Using Social Media and 999 Other Tactics Today (Jay Conrad Levinson and David E. Perry, Wiley, 2011).
The third edition of this popular job-hunting guide continues to offer its familiar combination of strategies, tips, resources, war stories, and take-no-prisoners tactics for winning the job-hunt war. While occasionally a bit over the top for some more reserved job hunters, the book intends to make the process less daunting, less painful, and a lot more effective for the time spent. Although most of the ideas are much more applicable for nontraditional than for traditional LIS jobs, and introverts might not connect with some of the authors’ brasher recommendations, the sheer range of ideas and actions presented makes the book worth checking out.
The book is divided into four major sections, each with a thematic focus. Part 1, Your Guerilla Mind-Set, focuses on creative ways to approach personal branding, key elements of a successful attitude, and tools and tactics for “cracking the hidden job market.” Part 2, Weapons that Make You a Guerrilla, coaches you through your research plan, provides a resume writing and cover letter boot camp, and lays out the why-to’s and how-to’s of networking.
The chapters of Part III, Tactics That Make You a Guerilla, walk you through LinkedIn and other social media tools and tactics, then describe how to get in front of the people you want to meet with. Part IV, Your Guerrilla Job Campaign, explains how to use the “force multiplier effect,” defined by the authors as “the military discipline of using multiple tactics at the same time to create synergy – and overwhelm the target.” In addition, this section addresses how to ace the interview and then smartly negotiate the job offer.
The flow of the book lends itself to a methodical job-hunt campaign, but you can also “drop in” and sample specific topics as needed, for example, if you’ve got a job interview coming up that may involve negotiating an offering package. Also, the core narrative is enhanced with drills, scripts and worksheets, cases studies and “war stories,” and guerrilla tactics tips and tricks.
You won’t use everything here, but you’re sure to pick up a lot of really great ideas and action items. And needless to say, in this hiring environment, every new idea helps.