Job Tips, Job News, Job Search – Blog by Browse Local Jobs

The days of door to door job applications are dead. To get in front of the right hiring managers, you have to take slightly more strategic approaches. These strategies include all of the same tactics found in traditional marketing efforts, plus a few from the world of internet marketing. When properly applied, these basic strategies will place you squarely in front of hiring managers that may lead to your next position.

Finding your next employer can be challenging, especially if your job hunt is limited to blind posts on job boards or cold calls to network connections. However, basic market analysis will go a long way to improve your odds. Some of the best sources for market information during a job hunt are lists maintained by organizations like Dun and Bradstreet or D&B. These types of lists provide accurate information pertaining to the fiscal performance and market of various companies.

Searching these data sources for companies in your local market or industry will identify a number of potential employers. If you take the information a bit further, you can rank employers by gross product, number of employees, or even office locations. This approach will allow you to prioritize employers by potential and target the most likely companies first. This prioritized list can serve as a plan of attack, guiding your job search efforts.

Some people consider this sufficient planning. In most markets they would be correct. However, in the current economic climate, jobs are scarce and employers are picky. It is wise to establish every possible market advantage before approaching any potential employer. Once a priority list has been created, it is easy to find additional contacts within the company using linkedIn or other social networking tools.

Often times these additional contacts will provide insight into the needs of the company. They could also serve as references later in the process. If you are really lucky, they may even arrange a personal interview with the hiring manager. Identifying one-well connected individual on the inside of a target company can do more for your job search than twenty job applications.

If you are unable to connect inside the company, another powerful source of information is the job boards themselves. Reviewing current or past positions within a company can help you gauge the company’s style and needs. It can also help you mold your resume to fit these needs, increasing your appeal to the hiring manager.

Finding a job is much like anything else, putting in the initial planning and research will be handsomely rewarded in the long run. In this case, understanding the needs of the target company, tweaking your resume to fit those needs, and building on existing connections are three of the most effective types of preparation you can commit to. If done well, you will be ready to present your background to the potential hiring manager and have a high degree of success in moving to the next level.

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