In my last
article I interviewed Dave
Armour, who’s been unemployed and searching for a job for over two years.

This week I talk to someone at the other end of the spectrum. Joan (not her
real name) was laid off from her job in early summer, but, within six weeks, not
only found her dream job but received offers from four companies. Here’s
her story.

• Tell us a little about your background and work experience

I graduated from college with a BA in Economics. I worked as a research
analyst for a few years then went back and got my MBA. All in all, I have eleven
years of product management experience in the high-tech industry.

• What was your approach to the job search?

As soon as I suspected I was being laid off, I started calling friends and
business associates to put my feelers out. I made dozens of calls within the
first week.

Three of the people I talked to were former bosses. I always maintain a
good relationship with my ex-managers - it paid off; one of whom happened to
be hiring and he made me an offer.

I signed up for Monster, but the job
site failed to yield any significant results.

I also subscribed to KITlist which led
to some good job leads.

I spent an enormous amount of time researching companies. I even explored
other industries for openings. For example, I had an information interview with
a VP of Marketing from a different industry. After talking to the VP I realized
the job wasn’t for me.

• Did you use recruiters?

Yes, I worked with quite a number of recruiters. I maintain my own list
of active recruiters, one of whom helped me land my last job. Most were contingency
recruiters.

• How many resumes did you sent out? How many interviews? Job offers?

Overall I talked to wight or nine recruiters, sent out over thirty resumes, and interviewed
with fourteen companies.

Once I received the first offer, the other companies quickly responded by
extending their own offers. Altogether, I received four offers:

• one through a former boss
• another through a retained recruiter
• one through a connection via another former boss
• the last one through a contingency recruiter (whom I previously worked
  with)

The time from when I started my search to offer acceptance was about six
weeks.

• How did you keep yourself focused and motivated?

I made looking for a job top priority. I kept to a regular schedule (it
was easy to sleep in). I approached the search as a full time job: 8-9 hours
a day, including lots of research.

I was tired of people constantly asking me, "are you working yet?"
so I [had the incentive] to find something ASAP.

• What role did networking play in your search?

Networking was vital to landing a job. I notified not only my friends,
but friends of friends, that I was looking for a job and asked for their assistance.

• What worked? What didn’t?

Monster didn’t work for me. Networking did.

Treat it as a full time job. Give it your full effort. Work hard at it.

• Lessons learned?

I have 3 suggestions:

1. Network - I used my network to connect with and find out more about
   potential employers.
2. Follow up - always follow up with your leads.
3. Preparation - be prepared for interviews; know the company’s financials,
   products, and management team. Talk to people who know the company and ask
   for their opinion.

Also, if you simply send in your resume through a company’s Web site, most
likely you’ll never hear back from them. If you are interested in a position,
it is important to find someone who works at the company to submit the resume
for you.

• What’s next?

I started my new job two weeks ago.