Nine job search tips to help you land the marketing position of your dreams.

August 03, 2012

Do more than personalize your emails!

By Maureen McCabe

Are you looking for a marketing position? Are you a recent graduate, intern, unemployed or underemployed? Are you tired of having limited success? Learn what you need to do differently – to succeed and get the ideal marketing job you crave.

If you’re wondering why the tips start at number two, you didn’t read my other blog, which had ONLY one tip with multiple examples, How to Search like an Olympian: what Marketers need to know to land their “Golden” position.

Tip 2: Research – use my name, please

If you didn’t know before, you now do – you MUST avoid phrases such as To Whom It May Concern or, worst yet, Dear Sir or Madam.

Learn about our company, Marketing Services Overview, What We Do and Maureen McCabe, Marketing Consultant. No job seeker has ever used my first name, which is unbelievable. This also applies to those calling for a job, including mothers, which has happened thrice.

Tip 3: Don’t use the generic email address

How can you increase your chances of reading your email and getting a reply? Do NOT send your email to the generic address posted on the Contact Us page, such as info@

Be a detective; find my personal email versus the not-so-generic one used on my website, [email protected]. I’m a creative marketer, so I don’t have an email address like everyone else – I want to be memorable!

As noted above, do your homework. But more importantly, you could have clicked to read my LinkedIn profile and learn much more.

Tip 4: Set up a LinkedIn profile and join groups

When you want to connect with someone on LinkedIn, don’t press CONNECT until you have a draft email ready. Best practices include always sending a note immediately after clicking Connect. Are they lazy or don’t know? By reading this blog, you have become a savvy “marketing” job seeker and won’t make this mistake, ever.

I typically don’t respond because if you won’t take one minute to write a short note as to why you want to connect with me – why would I want to communicate with you?

Maybe we’re in the same group. Perhaps you’re interested in being a marketing consultant, digital marketing, or small business owner/entrepreneur, or we share a hobby. Please let me know, and I expect you’ll be more successful in making good online connections.

Tip 5: Employers don’t hire on impulse

Focus on prospective employers:

• needs,
• dreams and aspirations,
• immediate benefit.

Do you need help crafting your email? Needs-based writing skills: it’s not all about you.

As a marketer, you should consider yourself a product. What do you think are my business needs? Although you don’t know, your “perception” demonstrates that you are trying, and a reasonable effort counts in my book.

Tip 6: Personalize – use my name and company name

An email with the person’s name used a couple of times is effective. Use it in the middle of a sentence, as it looks even more personalized. Why? It’s more natural than the first word in the last paragraph, where most people typically use it.

It would be best if you made your email personal. Think of the above example about sending a LinkedIn invitation. It’s your choice to customize or not to personalize your communications – but choose wisely – it will make a difference in your response rate.

If you want to land a job, you’ll notice I used the words – personal, personalize, customize – but you will use this tip. Personalization is key!

Tip 7: Attachment – your resume

People fear getting a virus, so many will not open attachments from strangers. Perhaps their email system puts it into a junk or spam folder, or the server auto-detects a Trojan Horse and is blocked.

Always send your resume as a PDF or RTF; do not use document formats such as .doc or .docx, Google doc, Sheet or Slide. If you have a letter and resume, save them in one file.

Do not name the file resume.pdf or resume.rtf. Use your name and the job title/area you want:

Maureen McCabe, Marketing Consultant, Resume.pdf
Joe Canadian, Digital Marketer, Resume.pdf

Tip 8: Help their SEO – comment on their blog and social media posts

If you want to write a guest blog, the rule is not to ask for the opportunity immediately. Instead, the accepted wisdom is to comment on a few of their blogs with a thoughtful two or three-sentence post. This gains the visibility of the blogger, and it helps with their SEO. (This is a topic for another blog.)

For effective job searching, apply the same concept. Follow the person you’re trying to reach on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn; if they’re in a LinkedIn group, follow it. Comment meaningfully to gain visibility; you’ll be more successful when you reach out to them with your request for an “informational meeting.”

Tip 9: Quality, not quantity, of your contacts

There are various theories about the way to job search. Send as many emails (non-personalized) to get your name out there, which you know isn’t my approach. Or develop a systematic process to find a position. Are you wondering how do you do it? Tip 10 will give you the final parting words of wisdom.

Tip 10: Your marketing or job strategy

A successful marketing campaign has a strategy and implementation plan, which may need to be tweaked. Why is job searching any different? Develop an approach to target selected companies, research and follow them online, and request a 20-minute informational meeting.

This type of meeting helps you learn about an industry, ask for career directions, and more. You’ll be surprised how open people will be to provide their insight. Don’t ask for a job, don’t send your resume, and above all, don’t use the phrase “interest interview.”

Why? Because the word interview implies that you want a job interview. Yes, you do, but you have to learn and apply the ways of job searching in the 21st century!

It’s been another exciting day watching the Olympics. But don’t watch too much TV – stay focused on your goal. You don’t want to search just like an Olympian but land an exceptional marketing position – your gold medal. Good luck!

P.S. I hope you picked up an idea or two (or maybe three). If you’d like to post a comment about this blog, you’ll have understood Tip Eight!

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