Weapons for job hunting

Published on

Friday, July 22, 2011

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The lengthy sub-title of this work is "How to Stand Out from the Crowd and Tap Into The Hidden Job Market Using Social Media and 999 Other Tactics Today" - which is another way of saying that this is a kind of "Job-hunting for Dummies" offering. But the Dummies series has its uses, and so does this book.

Thanks to ever-morphing communication technologies, relentless globalisation, and skittish market conditions, the job-hunting game has become more like a war of attrition. And in such wars, guerrilla warfare achieves tactical and strategic goals. Hence, low-intensity-conflict adaptability is crucial, or so maintain authors Jay Conrad Levinson and David E. Perry.

Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0 is a very American book, and some of its more "pushy" tactics for pursuing a job would give you a bad reputation in Hong Kong, thus hindering rather than helping your quest for employment. Therefore, the reader should be selective and use common sense. It is also, as the title suggests, a playfully militaristic work, with chapter titles such as "Hand-to-Hand Combat", "Résumé Writing and Cover Letter Boot Camp", and "10 Commando Tactics".

Nevertheless, Guerrilla Marketing is generally relevant to Asia-Pacific job markets, especially given the popularity of LinkedIn, Facebook, and other vectors of social networking. Indeed, effective social networking forms a major thrust of this guide.

Thanks to the ever-changing business world, the book's two predecessors are now slightly out of date. And in this paradigm, datedness is the kiss of death. The next edition will likely be out fairly soon, but for now, this version provides enough ammunition for the lost guerrilla trying to relocate his office base camp. Still, it's a jungle out there, and only the toughest survive, as the authors remind us - by quoting Charles Darwin in one of their more dumbed-down moments.

Here, you'll discover all the usual - and some novel - techniques to reach hiring managers at your dream employers. There are case studies from successful "guerrilla job-hunters" that showcase what works in today's hyper-competitive job market.

One wonders though, are these