Your real competition isn't some job hunter off the street. It's the candidate who was coached by The Headhunter. Use The Headhunter's insider perspective to your advantage; don't let it sneak up and bite you!

From The Archive

27. Don't walk blind on the job hunt.
From the lowliest support personnel to the most highly paid executives, the smartest people in America venture out on the job hunt with their eyes closed. They smile that idiotic "I’m your man" smile at people they don’t know from Adam.

These people are all conducting a "blind job search". That’s where you broadcast information about yourself to people you don’t know who don’t know you and who have no reason to care. Then you wonder why these employers aren’t impressed. You wonder why they haven’t called you back.

It’s because you’re walking blind.

• Know who you’re calling, or don’t call him.
• If you don’t know the person you want to call, first call someone who does and get introduced.
• If you wouldn’t recognize a man on the street, don’t walk into an interview with him.
• Send a resume only when the employer already has at least two other solid reasons to be interested in you.
• Never pursue jobs you’ve "heard about"; pursue only jobs where the manager has heard about you. If he hasn’t heard about you yet, see that he does.

Open your eyes before you venture out. Good employers are watching and in general, they don’t think you know where you’re going. Don’t walk blind on the job hunt.