Is This The New Way to Job Hunt?

I ran across an article the other day about a woman in Indiana who, out of frustration, is doing something radically different to get noticed. Having experience, a degree, and responding to job postings hasn’t worked, so she is planning to stand on a street corner with a sign!

I’m guessing there is more to the story than the article provides, but a couple of things grabbed my attention.

She is quoted saying she does most of her job hunting on Sundays when the new jobs are posted. This is the traditional process. The wait for postings, apply, repeat approach. Job seekers should do some of this, but those efforts need to be balanced against non-traditional methods like networking to tap into positions that aren’t posted. Responding to postings on job boards should be 10-20% of the time you spend. Go ahead and do that on Sunday if you like – but the rest of the week is wide open for making new connections.
She is frustrated about not finding work despite a degree and experience. It seems strange, but that’s the way things are now. A degree and experience just aren’t enough. They are “order qualifiers”, meaning they let you play the game, but they aren’t “order winners” that get you the job. Instead you need to be able to clearly state what you have done and the results you achieved. All of your efforts need to highlight results and accomplishments. “I created a marketing campaign for a major client that generated over $5MM in revenue” is a far cry from “I have ten years of experience.”
The sign idea is pretty creative, but it’s a long shot. A lot of things have to line up just right for it to work. Are there other ways to be creative that might be more effective? I am curious if the type of work she has done in the past is better served on a contract or freelance basis versus a traditional job. What about marketing herself on a project basis to get some quick wins?

I am treading lightly here, because I don’t know the whole story and my intention is to help others in the same situation (not to put one specific person down)….so if it isn’t clear – I know it’s tough out there!

Would you stand on a corner with a sign to get your next job? Do you think she will be successful?

http://www.lifeofasteward.com Loren Pinilis

If you want to be a marketing professional, it seems like perhaps holding a sign on a street corner isn’t a ringing endorsement of your own self-marketing. But who knows – it may work.
I think that finding a job happens because you’ve got a network – and a network is something you build BEFORE you need it.
- http://www.mondayisgood.com/ Tom Dixon
  
  Isn’t it funny how we don’t worry about having a strong network while employed, and don’t realize how important it is until we are in crisis? The best time to build you network was 5 years ago – the second best time is NOW!
http://www.mattmcwilliams.com/ Matt McWilliams

Wow. She lives within 10 miles of me. That is our local news.

I feel for her. But even the sign, like you say, tells me a lot. She is suggesting that “college degree and experience” are worth anything. Nope.

I have more than 10 years managing my budget, but I am not CFO material.

She needs to put her marketing skills that she expects to get hired for to work!

She needs to learn networking. I write a lot about networking because, in my opinion, it is the #1 factor in career advancement, financial success, and contentment in one’s career. Give me a college dropout with a warm network over an MBA anyday.

I’ve never once gotten a job with someone what wasn’t a referral and I have rarely hired someone who wasn’t. (Actually it’s only happened once and that was an IT guy)

I am that college dropout by the way
- http://www.mondayisgood.com/ Tom Dixon
  
  I wondered if it was local to you when I saw it…agreed, your network is more powerful than you degree in many cases.
http://www.danerickson.net/ Dan Erickson

I think many of us who blog are doing just what she’s doing. Fortunately, I have a job. But I use my blog like a sign on the corner to promote my writing, which I hope someday, which I hope someday to do full-time.
- http://www.mondayisgood.com/ Tom Dixon
  
  Really great perspective, Dan – I hadn’t thought of that. You are exactly right – there is a lot of standing on the street corner and saying “READ ME” going on here!
http://danblackonleadership.com/ Dan Black

I think she has a creative way to get the word out about finding a job. I think time better spend is to focus on connecting and networking with people in her industry. Blindly sending off resumes rarely works in day’s job market. Great video clip and thoughts.
- http://www.mondayisgood.com/ Tom Dixon
  
  Blindly sending off resumes is the quickest way to get really frustrated!