I recently posted a job opening for a Senior Marketing Manager at my company, a fast-growing Silicon Valley firm in the information services space.

After reviewing hundreds of resumes and speaking with dozens of candidates, I’m surprised at how many “seasoned” marketing professionals just don’t get it.  For those of you keeping score at home, here is a clue:

THE PRODUCT IS YOU.

That means, you need to package, position, target, and message in the the same way you would market a product.

So, now for some DO’s and DON’Ts from the point of view of a hiring manager.  You may want to print this out.

1. Your approach.  Of all the cover letters I received, only one stood out.  It was a PDF called “Am I the right employee for you?” and it was  a datasheet about the candidate. It got her the interview.
2. Your resume. Do not — I repeat DO NOT — use an MS Word (or other generic) template.  You are a marketing person.  Do something creative!  Prove to me that you are different!  Please!
   By the way, here is the resume from the same candidate above.
3. Your qualifications.  Don’t list Microsoft Office as a skill you possess.  Definitely don’t list Outlook.  For god’s sake — don’t list web browsers (do I really need to say this?). If you want to get my attention, tell me you know how to do advanced mail merges, pivot tables, or 3D graphs.
4. Your follow-through. Do your homework before the interview.  Have 3 well-thought-out questions to ask me.  Again, I can’t believe I have to say this — send thank you notes (or emails) as soon as you get home.

None of these tips guarantees you a job.  But, each one of them will increase your chances of going further through the interview process.  I have a feeling I will be adding to this list as I continue to seek (and be disappointed by) marketing candidates.

Techniques That Cost Less Than $100 Total

Having spent exactly three weeks looking for my next opportunity, I’d like to share some tips & tricks on how to get your next job.   It’s not magic; you just have to understand how to take the Web 2.0 pieces and assemble them into a job hunting machine.

The secret is this: approach your job search like a marketing campaign.

Guess what you’re marketing: yourself.

By the way, since I am a marketing dweeb professional I can get away with antics like sending Nerf™ pistols to people.

Here’s what I did:

1. Purchased my domain name www.nickezzo.com from GoDaddy. (cost = $4.99 a month for hosting, plus $10 to register the name)
2. Created my résumé site using WordPress, with a basic theme that I customized. (cost = free)
3. Added VisiStat website tracking, so I get immediate feedback (email and SMS) when someone hits the site. (cost = $29.95 a month, cheaper if you pay quarterly or annually).
4. Sent emails to key people with a special AdCaM code to track who clicks. (cost = $14.95 a month for VisiStat AdCaM)
5. Mailed decision makers fun items like a Nerf™ pistol to show how I “target prospects”  (I know it’s lame, but it resulted in a callback and an interview).  I included a cover letter and a USB drive with my work, also using AdCaM links on the USB drive. (cost = $7.99 for the Nerf pistol, $5.00 for shipping)
6. I use Salesforce.com to track Contacts, Accounts, and Opportunities (cost = free for 30-day trial, all features turned on, including Salesforce.com mobile).
7. Using LinkedIn, I download bios of the people who will be interviewing me.  I also connect to them after the interview, in order to remain in contact.  (cost = free)

Total cost so far?  $72.92.  My point is — with an investment of less than $100, I have landed 3 phone interviews and 4 face-to-face interviews (including 3 with one company).  And get this: it’s all tax-deductible as job search costs.

The real test will be to see if anyone hires me.  Stay tuned…