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By Marta L. Driesslein, CECC

Forget everything you've heard about finding a job, what to do in an executive search, and how to network your way into new employment. You need a better, more efficient marketing strategy. Stop looking for a job. Differentiate yourself. Get noticed.

Strategic career marketing demonstrates benefit and value to an employer; it's the best way to gain the highest visibility in the shortest amount of time. Steer yourself away from what your competition is doing or you'll get lost in the pool of job searchers that may be more qualified than you.

Companies must market themselves effectively to survive. A successful company positions each product, targeted toward the right market, and brands its image to main the competitive edge. Likewise, to gain a meaningful career where you can make a difference, instead of just filling a job opening, you must properly position, package, price and promote yourself.

You won't find the best job or sustainable career path through traditional networking, scouring executive job search listings, online job boards, or chatting up a few friends.

What happened to the prevailing idea that networking is the best career tool to find a new job? "Networking is still one of the better methods to find employment or conducting a career change, but today it's used differently," says Randy Stevens, CEO of R. L. Stevens & Associates Inc., a national career marketing firm based in Waltham, Massachusetts. According to Stevens, traditional contact development has evolved.

"The concept of Greasing the Wheel replaced the tired model of traditional networking. Instead, gain visibility through solving business problems and you'll have a unique way to circumvent most human resource gatekeepers," he says. "The aim in the new networking is to gain two things...insider market intelligence and referrals - not what job openings are known by the contact. That early, behind-the-scenes knowledge gives you the inside edge to spot emerging opportunity and upcoming hiring patterns," he adds.

Stevens believes you don't need a job opening or a list of contacts to find a great career. That's good news especially for those changing industries or job role functionality. Greasing the Wheel used as a personal public relations strategy gives you, in effect, free advertising. The job search masses rarely use this marketing strategy because it involves taking considerable time to research industry news sources and sniff out the possibilities and key players, with a keen detective-like approach.

How do you get a better job faster? Create a need for your talents. Traditional networking causes most job candidates to feel uncomfortable in their pleading. They wilt at the prospect of asking a company's management for time and recommendations (referrals) of whom to speak to, for fear of rejection.

The quickest way to get noticed by key company leaders and access to unpublicized opportunity with the least amount of stumbling is to gain an audience with decision-makers through your early recognition of an emerging business upswing, also known as a spot opportunity.

• Network for referrals, not for merely building a list of contacts.
• Target employers who have problems you can solve.
• Increase your exposure to unpublicized job leads and customarily inaccessible decision-makers by exploiting spot opportunities.

The use of a spot opportunity to get noticed gives leverage to a job seeker because the pursuit of it indicates a sincere and specific interest in the particular organization. Firms prefer hiring employees who really want to work for them, and who have taken the research time to identify how they can help the company meet its business objectives.

Research gives you competitive advantage; referrals get you back-door access to persons-of-influence even in another industry; and early knowledge of business changes that affect performance growth markets you as a solutions-provider.

Marta Driesslein is Director of Marketing for R.L. Stevens & Associates Inc. (www.executivejoboffers.com), a 26-year old career marketing and outplacement firm that specializes in increasing market exposure for its clients so they find better jobs, faster. Email inquiries and comments to: betterjobsfaster@rlstevens.com. RLS Blog at: http://rlstevens.blogspot.com.

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