Is your job search taking longer than you expected? Longer than you can afford? There’s a couple of reasons why this might be.

First, how’s your resume? Is it clear? Consistent?
Correct? You’d be surprised how often good people are held back by poorly constructed resumes and cover letters. These are the first things a potential employer will see from you, if they don’t impress you’ll never get the chance to. Of course we’re happy to look over your resume and let you how it stacks up, no charge since we’re friends.

Your resume and cover letter exist for one purpose: to get you in the door. Like lingerie or a good cocktail dress they’re bait, designed to reveal enough to catch our interest but not give everything away. We should want to know more, not be able to reach a conclusion. Make us buy you a drink before we get to know you better.

Have you chosen your target? You should have a list of 10 to 20 companies you want to work for. Learn everything you can about them. Find out about their people, what they have in common, what they are missing, what problems they are facing even what kind of coffee they drink. Anything can give you an edge over your competition. Use that edge and stalk your prey relentlessly.

Do the unexpected. I know that’s like saying “don’t think of a pink elephant,” but if you’ve done the above and it isn’t working you need to change something. I’d love to lay out a program for you to do the unexpected. If you look around you’ll find a ton of people doing just that, but I care enough about you to realize that it won’t work. As soon as I give you a plan it ceases to be unexpected because anyone can see it right here. I’m not here to sell you an idea that can backfire more easily than it can work, and a trick can only be unexpected once.

So here’s what you do. Find six or seven of those plans, read them and let them slosh around in your brain for a bit. Then come up with 4 plans of your own. Now, follow the fourth one. You should have something that will even surprise you. Remember to take the company culture and your desired position into account. You want to impress, not give the impression that you’re a nut-job. There’s a reason that most applicants don’t serenade the VP of accounting. You’ll know what you can get away with because you know everything about the company. You’ve stalked them, baited them now you need only close the trap.
Adapted from original article written by Meg Guiseppi/executivecareerbrand.com (http://executivecareerbrand.com/resume-lingerie-and-10-other-guerrilla-j...)