In my lecture series on Job Search, I often hear, “I’ve sent so many resumes, but I’m not getting called for interviews.”

First, we do need to take a serious look at our Job Search ‘sales materials’, which include:

• a Resume that creates a ‘desire’ about what you offer as a unique candidate;
• a LinkedIn profile that is more like a 3-dimensional sales brochure ‘all about you’ that drives the reader to one singular conclusion: “It’s going to be the best business decision that I’ll make today –if I choose to hire this individual!”;
• a Cover Letter that positions and presents our best, most sellable achievements that would be of specific interest to the hiring manager;
• a ‘Pre-Cover Letter‘ email that is compelling enough to catch their attention –motivating them to open our Cover Letter and Resume.

But, we need to do even more in this tough job market to get their attention. After all, there are 1,000s of resumes competing for their attention. Making it worse, many times your resume may be reviewed by someone other than the hiring manger –someone without the background to understand or see your value.

Change This Equation Of Diminishing Returns, By Changing The Rules

These are rules that we did not agree to in the first place, and ‘playing by these rules’, ones that are set up to stop your value from being communicated, does not work to your advantage, nor to the advantage of the company for which you want to work, as they may miss the very best new-hire (you!).

You can use Social Media Marketing techniques to ‘soft market’ yourself and raise your profile in the minds of the deciders at your desired company.

Here are the steps:

1. Create a great, compelling LinkedIn profile that positions and sells you. That’s one that will drive the reader to one singular conclusion: “It’s going to be the best business decision that I’ll make today –if I choose to hire this individual!”

2. Visit your ‘settings’ on LinkedIn and be sure your profile is set to maximum openness. This is not Facebook. This is your own advertising space for your career.

Would you go out and buy a billboard advisement and then cover it up with a cloth so that no one could see it? It’s the same for your LinkedIn profile: it’s specifically for you to take the credit that you deserve, the credit you’ve earned, and share it with other professionals.

Pay close attention to one setting in particular: Profile Views.

This is the area to specify what others will see about you when you visit their profile. Choose the option that will show your picture and your headline. And be sure that your headline is compelling and includes a way to contact you. I recommend that you use a great positioning title in your headline –so that the reader who does not know you has a clear idea of why you may be potentially valuable to them.

As an example, if you were a Public Relations individual that specialized in helping organizations that were non-profit, your headline could say this:

Jack Smith – PR | Communications Professional for Non-Profits

Or if you had worked for a museum at one point (or wanted to ), it might look like this:

Jack Smith – PR | Communications Professional for Non-Profits | Museums

But, do you want them to contact you… say, for an interview!? Why not make it easier for them to reach you –and include your email address?

Here’s my headline, as an example of positioning your value in the mind of the reader:

John Crant – Author, Career Coach & Speaker | SelfRecruiter.com | FEATURED SPEAKER: The New York Public Library | john@selfrecruiter.com

3. Visit 10 – 15 profiles of those that work at your desired target company, and be sure to include the potential boss; boss’ boss; the boss’ boss’ boss; peers; subordinates to your potential role; and a few others in the mix.

As each of those individuals signs into their LinkedIn account, they are delivered to their homepage (not their profile). On the right side each person’s homepage is a teaser.

“X number of people have viewed your profile in the last 3 days.” We are all narcissists, no judgements, I’m too busy with the mirror myself!

It’s human nature, and we can use it to our advantage. We cannot resist clicking on that teaser to see just who’s been looking at us. Your headline should be included in that listing, when the potential hiring manager that you are interested in interviewing with, clicks on their teaser to see who has been looking at them.

If your headline is compelling, they will likely click on your name –and then they’ll be on your 3-dimensional sales brochure that’s all about you.

4. Reach out and connect with the boss; boss’ boss; the boss’ boss’ boss. Yes, connect with other industry professionals, individuals of value just like yourself –even though you may not have met them yet. Be sure to let them know that you are an individual of value, and that you would value including them in your network.

5. Now, email them directly (not through the ‘system’), and let them know why you are so excited about their company (it always has to be about them), and why you are excited by the value that you can bring to their team with your background.

And, while we’re at it, why don’t we ask to meet with them to share more?

6. Now that you understand how not to be submissive in our outreach, it might also be the optimum time to hit ‘submit‘ on their Job Posting.

Let’s go get those jobs that are right for us, the ones where we can deliver exceptional value for a potential employer.