How to Make Your Job Search 20x Easier

Want to make your job search 20x easier? Then stop saying, “My accomplishment this week was applying for 20 jobs.” Here’s another one: “Dave, I don’t know what’s wrong, I’ve sent out 50 résumés and haven’t heard a thing back.” Friends, if you “want to hear something back,” you’ll need to send out about 1,950 more résumés before you do!

Ad response and direct mail produce only 4-8% of job search results!

About 23 years ago I documented the story of a client who tried the direct mail approach to no avail. This happened when I worked for a large career management firm on the north side of Atlanta. The client happened to live in Peachtree City, so we were both 50 miles from home.

Jeff had read Rites of Passage at $100,000 Plus. The author, John Lucht, basically says to wallpaper the country with résumés. Jeff believed this lie and demanded that we send his résumé and cover letter to over 2,000 companies. He said he didn’t need any of our other services because he’d read Lucht’s book. The cost to us was high – we calculated $1.25 per letter with the stamp, envelope, paper, toner and administrative time – but we agreed to do it if he wouldn’t burden our other resources.

We sent 2,000 letters and he got six responses. Six. S-i-x.

Only one resulted in a face-to-face interview; it was in Houston. He didn’t make it to the second round. When you think about it, we paid $2,500 for one interview.

You might have better luck than Jeff did, but even if you did four times better, that would still be 500 résumés. If you’ve only sent out 50 so far, you’ve got 10 times more work to do!

Make it easy on yourself. Pick up the phone and start networking.

Networking is 20 times more effective than ad response or direct mail. If you are spending more than four or five hours per week on this almost useless activity, Satan has won a victory over you.

The cosmic battle for our hearts begins in our minds. It begins with temptation, negative thoughts or harmful words. Satan’s strategy is to get us so distracted, so insecure and so hurt that our job search takes months or years longer than it should. This impacts our self-esteem, our finances and our relationships – especially our marriages. Ultimately it affects our relationship with God.

Watch out for these three ways the devil gets a foothold:

1. Temptations.

Temptation can be so subtle that we don’t even realize that we are giving in to our human nature or our sinful self. One definition of temptation is anything that keeps us from doing the good we know we ought to be doing. James 4:17 says, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” It happens to me sometimes. I go on the Internet to get a company description off of a website, for instance. How long do you think that would take? I’d say three minutes or less. Guess how long I meander on the website? I’d say 30 minutes or more. As an entrepreneur, I’m a permanent job seeker. The price I paid for the meandering was one sales call; one call could be worth thousands of dollars to me, just as it could be to you.

Distractions are one of Satan’s favorite weapons. You could make your own list; here are a few things you’ve reported to me: the internet in general, Facebook specifically, TV, errands, chores and projects. And your phones! When you are wasting time, you are flirting with the devil himself.

2. Negative thoughts.

Negative thoughts invade our minds. Fear. Worry. Self doubt. We are afraid of rejection, we’re worried we won’t find a job before our money runs out; we’re filled with thoughts that we are too old, or overqualified, or in the wrong industry. Negative thoughts enter our minds and they roll off our tongues. Negative thoughts lead to negative words, tone and body language in interviews. We don’t get the job. Satan wins this battle.

One time I was speaking to a client who’d had a disappointing interview. At the end of the interview, the interviewer said he noticed my client had a negative attitude toward his last two employers. I told him that’s great news because now he knows exactly what he has to work on in order to succeed in the next interview. He sent a very appreciative thank you note to the interviewer the next day.

3. Discouraging words.

Discouraging words can send us even farther down the spiral. “We chose another candidate,” are some of the most difficult words for us to hear. However, if you look at it in a positive light, you won’t have to waste your time on that lead; you can focus on other opportunities. You can look at rejection as one step closer to your goal, or you can look at it as another reason to feel defeated and depressed. The choice is yours.

Harmful words can come from those who love us most. They don’t intend to hurt us, but they do; and the consequences can be eternal. For example, when Peter told Jesus he shouldn’t go to Jerusalem for Holy Week, Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan” (Matthew 16:21-23).

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Solution: Don’t lose heart. Don’t lose hope. Don’t give the devil a foothold. Recognize the enemy. Submit yourselves to the Lord. Here are three behaviors you can use to make your job search faster and easier:

1. Recognize the enemy.

If you are a Christian, the best the devil may be able to do is make your life miserable – to steal the abundant life God has planned for you. Recognize these things for what they really are. They are Satan’s deceptions. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10 NKJV

2. Submit yourselves to God.

If you are not a Christian, God is saying to you that there is a better way. Listen! He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He wants you to live an abundant, joyful life. If you are a Christian, walk by faith and not by sight. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” – James 4:7-8

3. Fight back.

You want to change your luck? Fight back. Prayerfully resist temptation, negative thoughts and harmful words. Memorize and repeat 1 Corinthians 10:13 – “And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” Recognize the enemy. Submit yourselves to God. You want to change your luck? Quit surfing the net. Get focused on high pay-off activities. Do something different. Reach out to as many people as you can and ask for help. You will improve your results by a factor of 20.

When people start coming to JobSeekers their “luck” often changes. We have a three-part, 45-second introduction where everyone tells what they are seeking, a little bit about their background, and one accomplishment for the past week. We get an informal survey of what’s working and what’s not every week. A newcomer learns that the people with the most activity and the most interviews are the ones who are doing the most networking. A wise job seeker is not only a hearer of this advice, but a doer as well.

This week we will learn and practice skills that will make you a more effective networker and job candidate. You will be on your way to making your search 40 times easier (and maybe four times faster).

See you this week at JobSeekers, where we not only hear God’s word, but act upon it as well!

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