Jobs: Seek positions the way a headhunter would

His first new rule is that many of the 8 million jobs lost aren’t going to return. “When you add in the 40-70 percent of workers who are unhappy and ready to make a change once the economy improves, the competition is only going to get worse,” he said.

“It’s harder to get your resume in front of a hiring manager. Job seekers have to get more skilled at breaking through the barriers that companies are putting up to screen applicants out.”

To think like a headhunter, Freeman advises job seekers to divide the job search into four phases: preliminary planning and preparation; developing a marketing plan; selling (yourself to prospective employers); and closing the deal.

“Companies are only hiring those who can help them make money or save money, so you have to first understand and articulate exactly what you can do and want to do," Freeman said. "You need to know your value proposition, with specific data to back it up, and be willing to sell it. No one’s hiring generalists.”

Knowing your value proposition, you can research companies where you would fit and craft a direct-mail piece to send by U.S. certified mail directly to possible hiring managers. You get those names through Linked In or your own network. Freeman recently had a client send a letter saying that his skills and knowledge of utility energy costs could keep managers from losing sleep at night. Phone calls and a resume followed the letters. “He wrote to 17 CEOs, heard back from four and was offered a position that didn’t exist before he had written,” Freeman said. “Sending three to four targeted direct-mail pieces a day takes time, but it can bring results.”

For effective marketing, job seekers need to know their product (you), pricing (salary range based on today’s market), promotional materials (resume, direct mail, etc.) and placement. “There are six channels to place yourself in the market: job boards, career fairs, recruiters, networking, direct mail and phone calls to hiring managers,” Freeman said. “Of those, job boards are the least effective.”

Freeman’s book offers specific scripts for tapping into the unseen job market and getting the attention of recruiters or employers, and it gives advice on interviewing.

“As a job seeker, it’s your responsibility to lead the interview. All hiring managers need to know the answers to four questions: ‘Can you do the job?' ‘Do you want to do the job?' ‘Will you do the job?' and ‘Are you a cultural fit for the organization?' ” Freeman said. “No matter what you’re asked, if you can find ways to weave in the answers to those questions, you’ll be more successful.”

Today’s job seekers should be aware that the interview process takes much longer because hiring managers are afraid of making mistakes. A call to inquire how the process is going is not the kind of follow-through that will get you hired.

“Most people are very good at what they do and very poor at finding their next position because they only do it five or six times in their lifetime," Freeman said. "I’m involved in the hiring process five or six times a day. That’s why I wrote the book -- to show people how to better represent themselves.”