Your resume isn’t enough: 7 things you can do to get more interviews.

Luke Dier
Luke Dier
Sep 6, 2018 · 7 min read

I’m not psychic, but I bet I can guess how most of your job searches has gone so far;

  • You dusted off your old resume, the one that got you the job you’re ready to leave
  • After updating your resume, you ask a friend or colleague to take a look at it
  • You come home from work, open a bottle of wine or crack a beer and start applying for jobs online
  • On a good day, you might go to a networking event. Collect lots of business cards. But, generally, no real career prospects materialize.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

If this sounds like you, it’s ok. Most people use this method to search for a job. Even most of my high earning clients use this workflow. Why wouldn’t you? It got you this far in your career.

Tactics that have worked in the past don’t make them the most effective or efficient way to find a job. There is a better way. A technique where jobs come to you.

The skills that got you here won’t get you to there

Any job search is a marketing campaign, and you are the product. Whether you realize it or not, your professional presence is a marketing tool. Think your resume, LinkedIn profile, and in some industries Twitter.

Genuinely high performers learn to set themselves about by establishing their personal brand. Making an impact is what sets you apart from everyone else. Consider the memorable ads for Budweiser, Apple, or the Melbourne Metro System. Smart marketing campaigns hone in on specific targets with specific messages. You should do the same thing with your career search.

Push or Pull?

Just like in advertising, there are two ways to get your message out to the world, “push” and “pull.” To “push” means you send out your information directly. Sending emails, LinkedIn messages, or applications on a job board are all examples. Alternately, to “pull” means that you work to attract the interest of companies to what you have to offer them.

We all know how to “push” market ourselves, so let’s take a deeper look at what a job search looks like using the “pull” method. From a high level, pull marketing means finding ways to meet your target market where they are. Once found, begin enticing them to check out your social media profile. The next step is attracting them to the point that they request a copy of your resume, pick up the phone and call you.

This new way of presenting yourself can sound daunting. However, all it takes is developing a new habit. Cultivating interest and providing natural pathways for others to learn more about you.

People need to know who you are. Examples of how to project your presence are:

• Authoring keyword-rich status updates on LinkedIn two to three times weekly.

• Sending your comments on an industry blog post to a recruiter in your target sector.

• Building referral relationships with recruiters. Once you’re connected, promote other candidates for roles they are currently working on.

• Commenting on a relevant discussion in a LinkedIn group.

• Launching a blog or writing guest posts on industry-specific blogs.

While push marketing is more direct, it is also overdone to the point of saturation. Put another way, handing in a resume is immediate, but you’ve got to have to stand in a very long line.

Pull marketing is less direct and underutilized; you’re advertising yourself. Moreover, like in advertising, it is going to take about 8–10 views of your message before you stick. So, don’t get discouraged if your initial efforts don’t produce immediate results. Push is an all-star way to stir interest in yourself as a candidate for hire in your chosen sector of the economy.

Pull Marketing for the Entry Level job.

The list I outlined above likely sounds like it’s not a fit for where you are at in your career. And you’re right. By doing the things I mentioned, you will unquestionably stand out from your peers. However, it’s not what you need to be doing to be most effective in your search.

When you’re looking to move up on the ladder from the lower rungs, examples of pull marketing are:

• When someone at the senior at a company you’re interested in posts on LinkedIn, send them a message. Ask about the work they do. Build rapport.

Need help with how to send that initial message?
Here is a post covering how to make cold introductions.

• Save yourself the pain of going to networking events. Volunteer to help the team throwing the event by checking in attendees. Now you have the entire list of anyone that was at the event and likely their contact information.

• Blog on Medium about issues important to your sector. Message senior leaders in your area of focus for their critique.

• Connect with people at your career level in companies that interest you. Collect intelligence from them on company culture and unpublished opportunities.

Pull marketing for the senior level to executive roles.

As you can imagine, a senior level professional will need to put more effort into pull marketing. Done right, you’ll have companies, recruiters, and boards seeking you out.

Here are some ideas for how creating and marketing your brand:

1. Seed social media with mentions of you and your brand.

By spreading your brand through appropriate social media, you build brand “outposts” that can drive recruiters and companies to your brand “HQ.” Examples of your “HQ” could be a personal website with your online resume, your LinkedIn profile, or whatever you’re using as your brand hub.

2. Cast a wider net.

As a leader in your field, there are often many areas you can interact that may not be on the forefront of your mind. They are no less impactful in creating your brand. Consider asking and answering questions on Quora. Write relevant posts to your industry on Medium. Share that post across your social networks. You get the idea. Find alternate places to plant your flag and begin spreading your message.

3. Increase your Google search rank.

Recruiters often search Google to source or research candidates. This actually happens more often than most job seekers realize. So, capturing a Top 10 ranking for your own name is crucial.

The other self-marketing I’ve discussed all comes together in your Google ranking. To increase your ranking, grow the number of links connected to you and optimize your name. There are a couple of benefits besides showing up first on Google. Optimizing helps to push down negative links. You can also end confusion between you and someone else via optimization.

Your LinkedIn profile can sometimes help place you in the Top 10. But, gaining more high-scoring footholds will improve your brand’s visibility.

4. Bypasses Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
Most recruiters and companies use some type of ATS to screen applicants. Understand that the odds are not in your favor. Fifty percent of resumes submitted to job boards or company sites are screened out. However, you can work around an ATS by using Pull marketing strategies.

Capture the attention of recruiters and hiring executives in value-added ways.

  • Find a job posting similar to your skills. Then, find the person assigned to that role and ask if you can refer an associate you believe would be a good fit.
  • Seek out the recruiters at your next networking event. When following up, ask about the roles they are having the hardest time filling.
  • Connect proactively with the heads of departments that interest you. Establish rapport with the contacts you make. By being selective with these connections, you can be assured that you will receive advance notice when a new role is about to open.

These are just a few examples of how to move your search forward. Doing them will differentiate you from the hundreds of other candidates pushing themselves. You’re effectively skipping the line.

6. Jumpstart request for an interview and discuss open roles at a higher level.

If you submit a resume for a job, it is like proposing marriage before you’ve even had a date. You’re not likely to have reliable information about the company and its culture.

Pull marketing, you are in a stronger position with recruiters and hiring executives. It will allow you to seek informational interviews and informal sit-downs. Remember, do not focus your self-marketing efforts on a specific title or role.

Creating interest in your brand broadens the conversations that you can have. Pull marketing also allows you to build connections with recruiters and hiring executives. This way, you can open up discussions on a broader scope of positions. Positions that would best leverage your gifts, experience, and capabilities.

7. Work smarter not harder in a booming economy.

When the job market is booming like it is now, competition for candidates can be at a fever pitch. In this scenario, pull marketing helps distinguish you in a crowded marketplace. Most other people in the hunt like you won’t have a personal brand. They will likely be sitting at home with a beverage, and their laptop open. Hoping someone replies to their application.

By applying pull marketing, you become a strong voice in the wilderness. You’ll become a thought leader, and you will become the candidate to beat.

Pull marketing may be unfamiliar to you, but it’s easy to learn. Key activities can even be automated. Doing so will help you achieve a broader reach when you have limited time to look for a new role. Keep your eyes open. We will have another post coming very soon on how to go about automating your search efficiently.

If you have questions, The Von Dier Career Cartography team is here to help with career search advice at no cost.

Written by

Luke Dier

Father to a new puppy, founder of Von Dier Career Cartography, National Guardsman, and proud veteran advocate.

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