Responding To Ads

Recently, many people have asked about my recommendations in Job Finding Formula that job seekers concentrate on non-traditional, "outside-the-box" methods to find a job and whether that means they should stop responding to advertisements. While I have addressed this in other posts, I want to emphasize once again that you should not give up on any job search efforts.

You should pursue every lead possible and keep in mind that a job search is a full time job. Spend that time wisely. My own experience in finding jobs and helping others find jobs along with the government and university studies quoted in my book, show that most jobs are not found through ads or other traditional means. Therefore, you should portion your time so that you spend more time and effort using methods that have a higher percentage chance of producing positive results. During this time of high unemployment, there is more competition than during good economic times for advertised jobs. Properly using the Job Finding Formula will help you find jobs before they are advertised, often using the formula will actually cause a job to be created!

When you do respond to advertisements, you should make sure that your cover letter shows that you understand the requirements of the job and that it presents your qualifications to meet those requirements. The best way to do this is to make a short one-sentence introduction, then set up two columns. Title the left column "Your Stated Requirements" and the right column "My Qualifications". Then list word for word the requirements in the ad in the left column and your qualifications to meet each requirement in the right column. Then close the letter.

Of course, if you cannot come up with qualifications to meet the stated requirements, then you should not respond to that ad. However, remember that many skills are transferable.

Michael Britner
Job Finding Master