Dear Recruiter,
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​My name is Sandy and I work as a Market Coordinator for a small law firm just outside of St. Louis.  Doing marketing for a Law Firm, my job lacks the flexibility for me to be creative so I'm on the hunt for a new one.  That has been a struggle as I apply and apply for jobs online with no luck at all.  I barely get any interviews.

Dear Recruiter Help!  What am I doing wrong?

Sandy first of all thank you for writing in and sharing your question.  I'm sure there are a lot of marketing people that are in your situation so they will appreciate you asking the question.  So I get similar questions to these a lot and the common theme to the frustration people have is applying to jobs online.  Look I get it, companies require applicants to apply online to get hired.  But let me let you and the rest of the reading audience in on a secret Sandy, you don't have to apply to the job right away you can apply anytime.  What does that mean exactly?

Well once a company has interest in you as a candidate and they want to set you up for an interview, at that point you can officially apply to the job which they will direct you to do.  The misnomer is that in order to be considered initially for a job you have to apply for it online, not true.  There are other ways to be considered for a job other than directly applying to it online which is what I will cover.

Still the most effective way to get your "foot in the door" to be interviewed and considered for a job is network with someone working there to advocate for you or connecting directly with the hiring manager.  The other way to find not only marketing jobs but any jobs is to have them notice you and approach you.  This way jobs you are not aware of will have a way of finding and reaching out to you.

As a Marketing person Sandy you have the advantage of having the skills to market yourself in Social Media as a way to get Hiring Manager to notice you that other people may not have.  Here is a quick list of things I would recommend you do and this can all be done on Linkedin which is still the top Professional Social Media Platform.

1. First thing first make sure your Linkedin Profile is complete and up to date.  Include all of your accomplishments in the top under your summary as well as in each job.​
2. List any Content/Blogs/Websites you have created in your Linkedin Profile.
3. Reach out to Company Hiring Managers for organizations you want to work for as well as other people in the marketing department and invite them to connect.  If and when they accept your invitation, write them a note to say hello and introduce yourself to them.
4. Follow Marketing Groups and Marketing organizations that interest you.  If they share content that interest you feel free to comment on it or better add your insight to it.
5. If your job doesn't allow you to create creative content then take the initiative to do something on your own personally.  Create your own website that houses your own marketing content such as blogs, videos, podcast etc.. and share it with your network.
6. Last, let those Marketing People in your network know that you are looking.  You don't have to advertise it to the world that you are looking but you certainly can in private conversations.

Sandy I hope that helps.  Thank you for writing in and good luck on your search!

Best Wishes,

​Dear Recruiter