Customer Reviews

Don't Send a Resume: And Other Contrarian Rules to Help Land a Great Job

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Mr. Fox challenges the conventional wisdom in useful ways in this provocative set of 44 mini essays on getting a terrific job. He argues that you should think of getting a job as "marketing and selling of yourself." He provides the primary metaphor to marketing, and gives you an outline of what to do. He encourages you to get even more ideas by reading books about marketing, having made the translation to this environment and issue. The material is clear and easy-to-execute, and following this advice will probably increase your chances of getting the best job you are qualified to do.

Mr. Fox isn't against resumes, he just wants to change the way they are used. Rather than lead with a general purpose resume, he wants you to customize a resume for each opportunity after having met someone in the company. "You are a product." "You are not a robot, but you will be purchsed as if you were a robotic assembly machine." As such, he wants you to fit the specifications precisely, in a way that you cannot do until you have more information.

His basic blueprint for getting a job entails these steps:

(1) target organizations for their fit with your talents and interests, and their geographical proximity to where you want to live

(2) research those organizations

(3) send a custom impact letter to the highest level person who can hire you to get an interview (you can use ads to give you an idea of what they are looking for)

(4) plan the interview

(5) estimate the economic value of what you can do for the organization

(6) bring helpful ideas to the interview

(7) conduct an analysis of what the organization needs during the interview

(8) write and send that individualized resume

(9) Follow-up with a thank you letter within a day with some new idea in it

(10) Plan any subsequent interviews to reflect what you've learned.

He encourages you to stand out, even if that means being a litle outrageous. He tells stories about getting a creative job in an advertising agency by sending a fish as a message and a wind-up toy to get into business school.

He also suggests looking for jobs where others don't look -- with venture capitalists, small companies, in China and Cuba, accountants and lawyers who handle family companies, bankruptcy trustees and lawyers, and commercial loan officers.

I thought the advice was generally pretty good. The boldness advice should be tempered to match the type of organization and work you want to do. You don't want to seem out of character for what that person likes. Also, the economic benefits of your working with the company should be conservatively stated in the context of how that companies values such benefits. That point wasn't made clear.

After you finish reading this book, I also suggest that you think about whether you should start-up a new organization with a team of people who have complementary skills. That's another place where most people don't look.

Add the most value you can to the lives of others . . . and to yourself!

Jeffrey J. Fox is accurate, full of wisdom and absolutely correct when he advises not to send resumes and other unauthorized material in searching for employment. Some people send them unsolicited and "willy-nilly" everywhere and anywhere, and then wonder why they do not receive a response. Save money on the fancy paper, printing and binding costs and spend your time reading this book. Some companies literally receive hundreds of resumes each week, and a good majority eventually work their way into file #13, better known as the trash can.

From years of management experience and having written extensive training material on the topic, I can tell you that no employer is going to be impressed by a resume that tells the reader why YOU need a job, and to be very blunt and honest, most employers do not care why. An employer wants to know what you can do for the company, not what the company can do for you. What exceptional knowledge, experience, training, marketing skills, sales ability, customer service skills, client base, ideas, productivity, etc. can you bring to the company that is more impressive than the other thousand and one applications sitting on the desk? The employer wants to know how the company is going to benefit if they hire you over everyone else, and what specific strategic plan you have in mind that will help the company grow to its full potential and increase productivity, motivation and profits. Are you a team player and can you also work well independently? Can you take direction and constructive criticism? As for a job interview, it is an opportunity to listen, learn and sell - to convince the employer why you are the best person for the job. You also want to pay close attention to your manners and social skills. It is a known fact that when it comes to hiring management personnel, many decisions are made in a social setting, i.e., over dinner, on a golf course, etc. If etiquette is not one of your foremost subjects, it is time to hone up on social graces and conversational skills.

Employers already know you need the job or you would not be applying; they know you need to put food on the table, a place to live and that you have debts to pay - we all do! An employer well trained in business management will hire those they feel can best do the job, and that does not necessarily mean those most in need. Employers are not in business to be social assistance providers, they are in business to make a profit or their company will not survive.

For those who constantly find themselves sending resumes with little or not response, I strongly suggest you read this book. It is true, factual, accurate and right on the mark! Believe me, this author is a top-notch pro! After reading, "Don't Send a Resume", you may change your entire approach on how you search and apply for employment and conduct yourself during interviews. This book is a great opportunity to learn from past mistakes, and it could open new doors to your future.

Since I was moving into an entirely different field, I was concerned that my lack of direct experience would cause my resume to get overlooked. After reading this book I realized it didn't matter--I wasn't going to send them a typical resume. Instead I made up my mind to follow the steps of the book and land a job in this field.

I sent out 3 resu-letters and immediately got a phone call for an interview with one company. Several days later I had the interview, which I prepared for using Fox's interview "sales" techniques. The interviewer seemed very impressed with both my anwers and my prepared questions. At the end of the interview I was offered the job.

Of course not everyone is going to have such immediate results, and I feel fortunate to have had such good results so quickly, but the ideas expressed in this book are direct, powerful, and clear. By the time I had finished reading the book I felt confident that I was going to land a job in my new field soon--I just didn't realize how soon.

For a book that tells you not to send a resume, the author spends an awful lot of time telling the reader how to write resumes (or "resu-letters") and what to do with them next. Don't be fooled by the clever title. Jeffrey J. Fox hasn't banned resumes, he simply wants you to understand how to write versions that will work for you. He explains what to do - and not do - to land a terrific job. In bite-sized chapters that get right to the point (in a book so small you could fit it into a leprechaun's briefcase), he guides you through job-hunting research, planning and marketing the product of you. Some of what he offers is innovative; some is standard, common-business sense. Even if you only dig out a few gems, we [...] note that this is a fine place to begin your job search - and a very fine place for job search beginners.

Fox's book demonstrates breadth, but lacks depth. It is perfect for people who have been bouncing around the job market for a few years; it is dangerous for those just starting out. This book's lack of depth leaves entry-level workers very "raw" for hiring managers.

I began using Fox's guidelines in this book religiously 6 months ago. I still had no call-backs after about one month into my job search. After three months, I was a tired (he recommends waking up at 5:30 AM) and defeated Social Scientist with a Masters degree and background in advanced Statistical methods. Only after I retired this book to a shelf and picked up a more conventional approach did the job interviews start pouring in.

Don't waste your money if you're fresh out of school. Use caution otherwise.

I recommend HOW TO INTERVIEW LIKE A TOP MBA by Shel Leanne.

It's fairly interesting, yet there's nothing that's really slap-your-mama impressive. Most of it is just stuff the majority of us knew anyway. I pour through hundreds of resumes every few months, and I am the final decision maker when hiring a new employee.

It's not well suited for the southern states. The author repeatedly gives examples of the job applicant stating in his resume, "If I haven't heard from you in a day or so I'll call you." The best way to get your resume thrown in the trash, and maybe even a bloody nose, is to do "follow up calls" after sending a resume. If the company wants you, they'll call you. Your calling the company isn't going to push them into giving you an interview. Do NOT call the company.

Another thing that worries me is what the author considers as lying. In one passage the author says something like, "Do not tell lies on your resume. If you spent the summer as an intern stuffing envelopes you CAN say, 'I was an integral player in the implementation of a major million dollar advertising campaign.'"

Folks, I'm sorry to crash the little parade, but the above example is LYING. If you were a worthless envelope stuffer then don't try to play it up like you were someone special. You'll get much better results by saying you were asked to do a few things to help out, you enjoyed it, and that you would love to have a more important role next time.

This is one of those incredibly simple books to read that is jam-packed with the real useful stuff, no waste, no fluff, no filler. Chapter after chapter spells out concepts, the reasons why (supporting material), practical resources, and specific examples. If job seekers can just get a grasp that they really are a box of corn flakes (read the book and you'll know what that's all about), they will find themselves writing better cover letters and better resumes, and interviewing with more confidence.

We buy things because of what stands out about them, not because of how they are just like all the other choices. Potential employers must be presented with our most favorable differences. Jeff shows his readers how to stand out, get noticed, and get hired. Bravo!

This is the book about job hunting that I would have written myself, had not Fox beaten me to it. I highly recommend this book and have written about similar tactics in my Career Opportunities columns over the last 4 years.

The world of work has changed drastically over the last decade and this calls for new tactics in getting your first job or your next job.

According to Fox, it all comes down to selling yourself to your future employer. It matters little what you want out of job or a career. What matters most is how you fulfill the needs of the hiring company. Of course, you should be trying to fulfill your work need, but the person interviewing cares little or nothing about your needs and only about their own. A hard fact to face, perhaps, but an extremely important one.

Fox goes on to give hard examples of how to use letters, not a resume to gain an interview, how to prepare for that interview and how to do everything possible to get the job you want.

While I am sure that some human resource people and corporate management will take issue with some of Fox's advice, as they have with my columns about resumes. This is because Fox's tactics seem to make their job more difficult. HR staff can no longer winnow large amounts of resumes down to a select few quickly and easily. What they don't realize is that if all candidates used these tactics, hiring would be easier and the company would be hiring better people.

Highly Recommended

This book helped me land a great job in the customer service and sales industry. I wrote an impact letter almost word-for-word like the example in this book, emailed it to the human resources director at my new job, and I was literally hired the next day! In addition to describing how to write impact and boomerang letters, this book will give you a plethora of valuable tactics and insider information for getting hired (one tactic the author mentions is sending an impact letter or "resu-letter" directly to the company's C.E.O.). This book was written by a Harvard-educated M.B.A., and I felt like I had an M.B.A. my own after reading it. You'll learn such jargon as "top line" and how to sell yourself to employers (who are essentially buying your services). In short, this author has a good feel for job hunting lingo and his sales pitch works. Take one job hunter's word for it... this book is worth its weight in gold!

It is very refreshing to read such unconventional advice on job hunting. The author's ideas are very good and I totally agree with him. Overall a great book of the kind that we need more today. 4 stars instead of 5 because:

1. Its reader is typically looking for a job in a business-related field, and the hirer's goal is invariably to make more money, so is the job seeker's emphasis in selling himself. While the 'spirit' of the book is great and theoretically applies to all fields or professions, people who are seeking jobs in, say, university teaching, will find many things not applicable to them. (In one place it's said that cv's seeking for university teaching job often devote page after page about papers published but only 2 lines on teaching. Unfortunately this is indeed what the academics stress when hiring: publication is valued more than teaching.)

2. About how to make yourself stand out: again this should be a mental guideline--I wish it can all work that way, but in the real world, first of all, how busy will the CEO'S be if every reader of this book bypass the conventional resume sending process and instead starts job application by sending an impact letter DIRECTLY to the CEO or president?? How many secretaries will actually pass the letters to the CEO? It takes a smart secretary! Second, even if the CEO gets the letter, the result will largely depend on the shrewdness of the CEO. Regrettably, too many CEO's out there are themselves too conventional to recognize a creative job candidate.

To end the review, it's a great book!