Treat Job-hunting as a Sales Process to Land Your Next Job

“I have been on countless interviews, passed all the tests, … nothing.” WSJ, June 26, 2013

Some people actually believe applying to as many job postings as possible and hoping to get interviewed is how you land a job. It’s not. This is how you waste your time. Job-hunting is a selling process, and you need to use the right selling process the right way, whether you’re looking for another job or want to make a career move.

To get a sense of the selling analogy, what would you think of a salesperson who called 1,000 people and then complained that no one wanted to buy what was offered? The public job market of mixing and matching job-seekers with open jobs is pretty much the same process, yielding pretty much the same results. It doesn't need to be if you treat job-hunting as a selling process, with each job posting representing a warm lead.

To continue with this analogy, first consider that there are two basic selling processes, transactional and solution-based. In transactional selling the sales rep has limited options, basically offering a standard product from a catalog and negotiating a price. In solution selling the product or service is more complicated, customized to meet a customer’s specific needs, with the price negotiated based on multiple criteria. Applying directly to a job posting is comparable to transactional selling in its worst form. Finding a job through networking is similar to solution selling.

The big objective for a transactional sales person is to quickly close as much business as possible, giving discounts for volume, coupled with a little flexibility to negotiate on price. A classic example is buying a car. Transactional recruiters are not much different. They are required to fill as many jobs as possible with people who fit the specs listed in the job description. Like sales reps, they have very little authority to change these specs or go outside the price or compensation range. This is why applying for a job online is both impersonal and frustrating. Bottom line, if you don’t fit the specs you won’t get matched, and if you are matched, but don’t meet the compensation range, you’ll be excluded. Companies use this process to fill jobs with the best person who applies as rapidly as possible.

Solution selling is far different and much more complicated. It involves a series of conversations with the customer, understanding their needs and crafting a custom solution. You’ve been through this type process if you’ve ever remodeled your kitchen, or were involved in buying something that required the vendor to tailor their products or services to fit your needs. This process is longer, it has more steps, and more back and forth discussions before agreement is reached. This is what goes on in the hidden job market. It is designed for passive candidates who are open to change positions for a better career opportunity. The criteria for accepting an offer is much more complex, involving discussions around the scope of the job, the upside potential and the total compensation package. For the company the process is designed to attract career-oriented people to fill critical roles.

With just this sales background here are some ideas on how to convert a transactional job-hunting process into something similar to solution-based job-hunting:

1. Be careful before hitting the “Apply Now” button: This is only ok if you’re looking for just another job like the one you have and you’re a perfect fit on the skills, experience, industry and compensation requirements. If so, you just might get a phone call and an interview.
2. Use the back door to apply: If you see a job posting of interest, but you’re not a close fit, appear overqualified, or want to have more flexibility to negotiate the offer, applying directly is a bad sales tactic. Instead consider the job posting as a lead and try to find somebody to recommend you, and the stronger the recommendation the better. If you have a big enough network LinkedIn will show you these connections to the job-poster. Alternatively, search on LinkedIn to find the department head and contact the person directly. But you need to be creative to get noticed. For example, a few months ago a young MBA in Italy told me he wanted to work in telecommunications, but had no relevant experience. To get noticed and demonstrate his ability, he prepared a competitive analysis of the company’s product line, sent it to the VP Marketing and landed an interview.
3. Use the job post as a lead to other jobs that haven’t been posted yet: Once you find a job of interest, check out all of the related job postings to see if the company is ramping up its hiring efforts. If so, use the back door contact method mentioned above. Again, being different is the key to being noticed. As a result, you might discover that there are other related jobs the company is planning on posting soon. Even better: companies have more flexibility to adjust the scope of the job before it’s officially posted, so this is an excellent way to tap into the hidden job market. You'll then use solution selling techniques to customize the job to better match your needs and compensation requirements.

Of course, this isn’t a complete job-hunting manual, just a different way of thinking about the job-hunting process. Recognize that all sales people need to uncover leads, convert these leads into selling opportunities, and convince the buyer that what they have to offer is far greater than the competition. Getting a new job is no different.

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Lou Adler (@LouA) is the CEO of The Adler Group, a consulting and training firm helping companies implement Performance-based Hiring. He's also a regular columnist for Inc. Magazine and BusinessInsider. His latest book, The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired (Workbench, 2013), provides hands-on advice for job-seekers, hiring managers and recruiters on how to find the best job and hire the best people. His new video program provides job seekers inside secrets on what it takes to get a job in the hidden job market.