It wasn’t that long ago that a cover letter, resume and fax number was all that was required to apply for a job. Using that approach in 2014 will likely restrict your ability to get your next job.
In Job Reconnaissance: Using Hacking Skills to Win the Job Hunt Game, author Josh More notes that since people will only look for a job every few years or perhaps once in a decade; even though they have excellent technical and people skills, that may not be enough to land them their next job.
The book assumes the reader has followed all of the stock guidance (effective resume, good LinkedIn profile, prepping for the questions you will be asked in an interview, etc.) and is looking to separate themselves from the masses in order to get their next position.
More writes that that book is about the best way to get a job: where you choose the company. He notes that this is a slower, but more active process. But if you succeed, you will be happier as you have found a job that fits you and your time will be spent doing things you really enjoy.
The book makes a critical point in that with most of today’s resumes being submitted and processed online, your fancy resume is no longer as important as it once was. The main differentiator is the effective use of keywords. The book notes that most jobs are assigned a series of keywords and any resume that doesn’t match a certain percentage of these keywords is filtered out.
Much of the book is around using hacking skills to find a job. The book using hacking as a metaphor for a more aggressive approach to finding a job, rather than simply relying on the stale and hackneyed approach that most people use. More cautions several times that hacking does not mean lying. Anyone who is dishonest in their job search will likely be discovered later on, and it won’t have a pleasant ending.
Using this hacking approach, the book is somewhat unconventional. But it is specifically that unconventionality that is now required to get a job in today’s competitive marketplace.
For those looking to find their next job, the right job; Job Reconnaissance: Using Hacking Skills to Win the Job Hunt Game is a great resource to help you get there.
978-0124166011