If you want a new job, you have to convince someone to hire you first. And, as I've written before, the best way I know to convince an employer is to start working before you're hired. In other words, come to the interview ready to do the job, right then and there. Example: if you're a sales rep, bring sales leads. If you're a programmer, create and bring a program on your laptop. A designer? Design an appropriate por...

A legendary marketing genius once said that, if he had to write a killer sales letter, he would imagine he had a gun pointed at his head and that he would be shot if his advertising didn't deliver.This motivated him to create some of the world's most-profitable ads.Example: one of his sales letters was mailed more than 300 million times in the 1970s and produced up to $300,000 a day in sales. Not bad.So I got to thinking, i...

Here, from my email in-box, are two success stories from people who found great new jobs this past week. Read each story and ask yourself, "How could I apply this to my job hunt?"1) Job-search goal cards workHere's a story sent in by Fred, from Chanhassen, Minn. He got hired, in part, by using my "job-search goal card" technique in his search.Fred writes:"On Tuesday, May 24th, I attended the Star Tribune job fair at the Min...

You've heard the real estate cliché: the three factors that determine a property's value are location, location, location. Well, here's an instant cliché about creating value on the job: to succeed, you need to work, work, work. But there's more to success than 80-hour workweeks. You have to do the right things in the right amount to get ahead, according to employment expert Ramon Greenwood. He's a former Senior Vi...

Are you looking for a job -- really looking? Or are you simply waiting for employment to fall into your lap? If you're like about 75% of the job seekers I've met over the past nine years, you're probably doing too much waiting and not enough searching. Stop. Now. Instead, here are two ways to be more proactive -- and much more effective -- in your job search. 1. Stop waiting for job leads to appear. Start m...

What do you want to be when you grow up? If you're like many people, that's a question you may struggle to answer, no matter what your age. To help you follow your passion and find work you'll love, I spoke with Jane Herman, a business success coach and author of the book, "Take Control Of Your Life" (available at www.personalandbusinesssuccess.com). "It's amazing how many people are reinventing their lives. A ca...

There's a simple way to make hiring managers take notice of you -- even in a crowded job market. It takes less than 2 minutes to do. And it costs just 37 cents (as of this writing). What is it? Writing and mailing a thank-you letter to employers after every interview. Simple? Yes. But ... as with dieting (eat right, exercise more) or drugs (just say no), simple is not the same as easy. Sending thank-you notes mu...

Want to get hired faster than up to 97% of other job seekers?Well, you can. By doing two simple things almost nobody else is doing: 1) write down a job search goal and 2) read it out loud 10 times a day.Do this and you'll find a job faster as a result. I promise.Here's how...Depending on which self-help book you read or success guru you listen to, only about 3% to 10% of the population has written goals, with deadlines. To...

Feeling down in the dumps about your job search? You might be, if you believe most of the "bad" economic news you read about or see on TV. And I think that mainstream economists are largely to blame. You see, I have this theory: economists are like weathermen. Nobody pays attention to the weatherman (or lady) when skies are sunny and the forecast is fair. We're more interested in the sports scores or who's suing Mi...

ere's a continuation of my article a few months back on how the successful job search is really just a personal marketing campaign.To recap, the same marketing techniques that have sell billions of dollars worth of products and services on TV, in print and via direct mail can also help you find a job.All you have to do is look at the advertisements you see with an eye toward borrowing their best ideas for your job search.He...