You read a lot these days about how depressed the average person is about the labor market, or that the average person can take up to 17 weeks to find a new job.

But where is it written that YOU have to be average? When did Congress pass that law?

Good news: You don’t have to be average. Thankfully, this is one area that the politicians haven’t decided to “help” us with (yet).

Instead, you can get radically better results in your job search — starting today — by doing two simple things differently.

Here’s how …

1) Think Differently

Let’s face it: Most of the news you read, hear or see on TV is bad.

And most of it has little to do with your life, if you think about it. For example, what can you do with the “news” that a car bomb has exploded in Iraq or that a house was gutted by fire on the other side of town? Nothing. Not one thing.

You could let all that bad news get you down, like most people do. Or you could tune it out. You could think differently.

Here’s why.

No matter what the news — good or bad — every company wants to increase revenues and profits. And every company wants to control costs and save money.

If you can get in front of the right employer and show him or her that you can either make or save more money than you’re asking for in salary, that employer will either hire you for an existing job or create a job for you.

Read that last paragraph again. It holds the key to every successful job search!

And, to repeat, it doesn’t matter what the economy is doing, or how much the talking heads on TV are bemoaning layoffs, outsourcing, off-shoring, or any other economic “news.” All that counts is your ability to do exactly four things:

1. choose a specific job you want to do;
2. choose a company you want to work for;
3. meet with a hiring authority at your target company;
4. demonstrate exactly how much money you can make or save for them.

It all starts when you refuse to go along with the crowd and let outside events influence your inner attitude. In fact, you may just start to laugh at bad economic news, because it can cause other people to stop looking for jobs, leaving less competition for you.

2) Act Differently

Once you start thinking differently and more opportunistically, it’s easy to start acting differently and more effectively.

Here’s how one California man did just one thing differently in his job search — and how it made the phone ring with interview offers for the first time in months …

First, some background.

I’ve written before that you can pique employers’ curiosity by writing them a letter in which you offer to send them a report to help improve their business.

It need be no more than 2-3 pages, describing the best, most valuable things you’ve done on the job, and their specific value. (Google my article, “Can You Write a Simple Report? You Can Get Hired” to learn more.)

One reader, Michael Schwab from Los Angeles, California, not only read that advice, he acted on it. And he struck pay dirt.

Michael was smart. He took the time to ask his network of contacts about the target company and learned enough about their products to tailor a letter that got attention.

He says: “I wrote a letter yesterday offering to send a report and got an email from the recruiter an hour later — they want to interview me. In my original email, I proposed two options: (1) helping with their existing product areas, and (2) helping build out a new area of practice involving different software products.”

So, next time, instead of sending a resume, why not try something different? Write a letter offering specific ways to improve your target employer’s business. Because, while few employers get up in the morning wanting to get a resume in the mail, every employer wants to increase profits. All you have to do is show them how.

When you offer solutions instead of a resume, you’re not acting like a typical job seeker. You’re acting like a star employee. And you’ll have little or no competition for your next job when you do.

It all starts when you think and act a little bit differently.

Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes and creator of GetHiredNow.TV. Since 1996, he has provided job search assistance to more than 10,000 people. Author of “51 Ways to Find a Job Fast — Guaranteed,” Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CBS Radio and others. His latest product, The Instant Job Search System, is available at www.gresumes.com/instant.

Everybody loves a story with a happy ending, right?

Well, here’s one about an Ontario man who got the job he wanted in exactly 31 days, with lessons that can help you do the same.

Rod Sider, from Waterloo, Ontario, sent me an email describing the success he had after reading my ebook, “Guerrilla Resumes.” We later spoke by phone and I asked Rod what the most important change was that he made in his job search. His answer: “Focus. I narrowed my search to one type of job, sales, in two industries: home remodeling and new cars.”

Your Lesson: Start your job search by thinking clearly of what you want. Rod aimed at one specific position — sales — and two industries. As a result, he was able to produce results quickly, like sunlight focused through a magnifying glass.

In the words of Robert Collier: “The time you put in aimlessly dreaming and wishing would accomplish marvels if it were concentrated on one definite subject.”

Next, I asked Rod about his resume.

“Among the changes I made to my resume was to put in comments from past clients,” said Rod. Including testimonials like this helped prove the claims he made in his resume, because praise about you is more believable when it comes from somebody else.

Your Lesson: Watch any TV infomercial and you’ll find that at least 30-50% of the program is made up of testimonials from happy customers. That’s no accident. Testimonials are incredibly powerful. In your resume, including two or three testimonials — brief quotes from clients or managers — can be just as powerful.

Now. How many employers did Rod contact, and how did he find them?

“I faxed, emailed and mailed my resume to 19 companies that I wanted to work for. I found 16 of them just by driving around near my home and looking. I located more than 50 potential employers this way. Then, I researched them on Google, narrowing the list and finding contact information for executives I wanted to meet. The interesting part was, only one of the 19 companies I contacted was hiring, but I got a total of 5 job interviews.”

Your Lesson: When most folks look for work, they look for a job. Why not look for an employer instead? That’s what Rod did. He created his own job market by targeting companies within 20 minutes of his home. Rod didn’t wait for his ideal employers to advertise an opening — he simply went after them. You can, too.

What happened after he sent out his resumes and cover letters?

“For the first few days, there were no calls. I got a bit discouraged. But, I called all 19 employers to see if they got my resume and cover letter. Then things started to snowball. I received a total of 12 responses, resulting in four in-person interviews and one phone interview. On day 30, I was called back for a second interview and offered a position 5 minutes from home. On day 31, I accepted the job, selling new cars.”

Your Lesson: This one has two parts.

First, you must follow up. Rod called each of his 19 target employers to make sure they got his resume. If a company is worth identifying, researching, and applying to, it’s worth a phone call to make sure your materials were read.

Second, if you persist, you will succeed. If you don’t, you won’t. While Rod felt dejected after not hearing back from employers, he never quit. Instead, he got busy calling employers to follow up. One good thing led to another, until he had the job he wanted within 31 days.

If you never give up, you’ll never fail. It’s just that simple.

Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes and creator of GetHiredNow.TV. Since 1996, he has provided job search assistance to more than 10,000 people. Author of “51 Ways to Find a Job Fast — Guaranteed,” Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CBS Radio and others. His latest product, The Instant Job Search System, is available at www.gresumes.com/instant.

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What’s the best way to get hired for the job you really want, in any economy?

Prove that you’re the best person for that job. And a great way to do that is to start working — before you’re hired.

How do you do it? Let me explain with three mini-case studies that won jobs …

1) Start Work BEFORE the Interview

“Six candidates were interviewing for a sales position in Atlanta with an exclusive company that had just received about $83 million in funding,” says Ron McManmon, a former recruiter and Executive VP of Careeradex.com.

“Five candidates were ‘top gun’ sales people who all came from industry leaders … and then there was Tony. He was young, with about five years of experience. But Tony was highly motivated and willing to go the extra mile.”

“In his job interview, Tony not only mapped his accomplishments out in a PowerPoint presentation, he demonstrated that he had already started working for the company. He did this by researching, assembling, and bringing with him a list of sales leads and contacts. His presentation consisted of past, present AND future. The other candidates did nothing like this.”

Did it work?

“Tony was hired over five more-experienced candidates,” says McManmon.

2) Start Work BEFORE the Interview — Part 2

This example is near and dear to my heart – it’s how I landed a job with a marketing communications firm back in the 1990s, when I worked for other people.

After mailing in my resume, I was called by a receptionist to schedule an interview. During our conversation, I asked if he could send me back issues of their corporate publications. I explained that I wanted to research the writing styles of the magazines and newsletters I would be editing if I got the job.

He agreed, and had a nice package of materials couriered over to me the same day.

It turned out to be a gold mine.

I found three typos in one back issue of a magazine I would be proofreading in the position I was interviewing for. Here was proof that I could do the job.

Two days later at the interview, the subject of proofreading skills came up. I pulled out the magazine (with post-it notes marking the typos), slid it across the table and said: “I’ve been researching your publications and found these three errors. If you hire me, I can improve your image by preventing this from happening again.”

They hired me.

3) Start Work AFTER the Interview

This lesson in perseverance is a variation on the first story, about the candidate who brought a list of sales leads to a job interview.

“Robin, a woman from Los Angeles, had been interviewing with the same company for three months. She felt she was a perfect fit for the position, but the hiring manager was not responsive — he wouldn’t tell her yes or no about a decision to hire her,” says Ron McManmon.

So Robin called McManmon to discuss her dilemma. His advice?

“I suggested that she REALLY demonstrate her skills to the hiring manager. I encouraged her to call 100 potential customers and ask them, ‘Would you be interested in looking at a technology that would solve your problem with X and save you Y amount of dollars?’” says McManmon.

The next day, Robin walked into the manager’s office, put her contact list on his desk and said, “I’ve already started working for you. In fact, I have 100 customers who are interested in your technology.”

What happened next?

“Robin was hired on the spot,” says McManmon.

Now. These three examples all illustrate a common point.

Do whatever you can to research your target company and “start working” for them before you’re hired, or even interviewed. Because, it’s one thing to claim you can do the job. It’s quite another — and much more powerful — to prove it.

Now, go out and make your own luck!

Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes and creator of GetHiredNow.TV. Since 1996, he has provided job search assistance to more than 10,000 people. Author of “51 Ways to Find a Job Fast — Guaranteed,” Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CBS Radio and others. His latest product, The Instant Job Search System, is available at www.Instant-Job-Search.com.

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