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The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search: The Proven Program Used by the World’s Leading Career Services Company: The Proven Program Used by the World’s Leading Career Services Company Hardcover – January 6, 2006
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The Proven Program Used by 600,000 Job Hunters!
You put hours and hours of hard work into your job search and the companies you've contacted never call. It's a story all too common in the fast-paced, highly competitive world of job hunting. Nothing is more discouraging than sending one resumé after another into the job-hunting void. Eventually, you expect silence from the other end.
The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search was written so this never happens to you again. These techniques, developed by author Orville Pierson, have been used successfully for ten years by Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH), the world's premier career services company. Here, Pierson provides you with the job-search techniques that up to now have been limited to the LHH consultants he trains.
Orville Pierson has helped thousands of job hunters during his career, taking note of the characteristics that have led to success as well as failure. In The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search, he supplies key information on how professional job search consultants structure the job search project so you can apply the same winning strategies to your own search. You'll also be privy to inside information on how decision makers operate, enabling you to get the inside track on job openings before they are announced.
This insider's guide covers every phase of the job search, leading you step by step through the process of creating a clear-cut plan-essential to every job search. Using the Pierson Method, you'll learn how to
- Develop a Target List (the key ingredient to every job search)
- Measure your progress
- Create a “core message” about yourself that decision makers won't forget
- Present yourself in the best possible light to prospective employers
Using these strategies, Orville Pierson and LHH have helped 600,000 people land great new jobs. Employ the Pierson Method in your hunt for employment and you'll soon be doing what you love in the company that's right for you.
- Print length288 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherMcGraw Hill
- Publication dateJanuary 6, 2006
- Dimensions6.4 x 0.88 x 9.3 inches
- ISBN-100071464042
- ISBN-13978-0071464048
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Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
Orville Pierson is Senior Vice President, Corporate Director of Program Design and Service Delivery, for Lee Hecht Harrison, a 240-office career services company that is part of the $20 billion Adecco global family of employment services and placement firms. Yale educated, he has worked in career services for nearly 30 years, authoring career publications that have helped over a million people land jobs they love. For more information, visit: www.highlyeffectivejobsearch.com
From the Back Cover
Land the Job You Love Using the Methods Top Career Professionals Teach Their Clients
To conduct a successful job search, it's imperative to develop a well-formed strategy aimed at getting the right message to the right decision makers-before they have announced job openings. The career services company Lee Hecht Harrison has helped over 600,000 people land great jobs using the proven strategies of Orville Pierson. And now, for the first time, Pierson shares his secrets with you!
The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search helps you create a powerful plan using the Pierson Method. You'll learn proven methods to sharpen your focus, taking you step by step through the search process that has helped make LHH the world's leading career services company. Put Pierson's strategies to use and you'll soon be embarking on a successful job search. Learn how to:
- Structure a personalized search project and measure your progress
- Target the companies that best suit your immediate needs and long-term goals
- Create a "core message" about yourself that decision makers will remember
- Overcome job hunting obstacles-and get back to work!
A clear focus is essential to success. Remember, you can find a great job at the best company-as long as you have the right plan!
About the Author
Orville Pierson is Senior Vice President, Corporate Director of Program Design and Service Delivery, for Lee Hecht Harrison, a 240-office career services company that is part of the $20 billion Adecco global family of employment services and placement firms. Yale educated, he has worked in career services for nearly 30 years, authoring career publications that have helped over a million people land jobs they love. For more information, visit: www.highlyeffectivejobsearch.com
Product details
- Publisher : McGraw Hill; 1st edition (January 6, 2006)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0071464042
- ISBN-13 : 978-0071464048
- Item Weight : 1.25 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.4 x 0.88 x 9.3 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #482,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #455 in Job Hunting (Books)
- #1,151 in Job Hunting & Career Guides
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
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Orville Pierson is a top expert in job search assistance. He is the author of three widely acclaimed job hunting books: Team Up! Find a Better Job Faster with a Job Search Work Team, Highly Effective Networking, and The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search, all available here on Amazon. He is also is the creator of Job Search Work Teams, one of the most successful programs in the history of job search assistance.
ASSISTED OVER A MILLION JOB HUNTERS
He served for 19 years as Corporate Director of Program Design at the headquarters of Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH), a 300-office global career services program. He led the team that created job hunting programs used to assist over a million job hunters in finding good new jobs.
CREATED CURRICULUM, BOOKS AND WEBSITES
TRAINED HUNDREDS OF CAREER COACHES
In that role, Mr. Pierson created the overall LHH job search curriculum and was the primary or sole author of dozens of privately-published LHH books, manuals and websites, including Executive Directions: Creating Options in Life and Work, Managing Your Search Project, a guide used by up to 100,000 job hunters a year and content for the industry's most comprehensive password-protected job hunting website, Career Resource Network. He also designed training materials for LHH's staff and trained hundreds of career coaches.
TALKS FOR UNIVERSITIES, BUSINESSES, AND CAREER PROFESSIONALS
Mr. Pierson has been in the career services field since 1977 as a program designer as well as a trainer and career coach to hundreds of private clients. He has spoken at universities and business schools, as well as for groups of executives, HR professionals, and college career professionals. He has appeared on radio and TV, and has been featured in many articles, ranging from the NACE Journal to Forbes.com to general audience publications. His education includes a BA from Yale University and training in career-related psychological instruments.
For complete information on Mr. Pierson's experience and expertise, please see his Linked In profile and recommendations, or his website, highlyeffectivejobsearch.com.
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Customers find the book provides a clear and organized job search plan. They find it an excellent resource for job seekers, with good tips and advice. The writing quality is described as well-written, easy to read, and straightforward.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book helpful for job seekers. It provides a clear and relevant plan for identifying potential opportunities and prioritizing daily search activities. The book offers valuable insights and common sense, along with a sound understanding of the job seeker's needs. They find it helpful and mention it has good tips and suggestions, even teaching you what to say when.
"PROS: A sober, thoughtful, organized book that presents a definite plan for a job search, organizing many common elements of a good job search into..." Read more
"...book validated some of the things I was doing correctly and fed me additional ideas I was missing in my plan of finding a new position...." Read more
"It is interesting and entertaining, and leaves the reader to act on his or her behalf. Thank you." Read more
"...With a great deal of insight and with a whole lot of common sense, along with a sound grasp of what it takes to find a job, Pierson's book is..." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's writing quality. They find it easy to read and well-organized, with clear, concise, and uncomplicated language. The book provides an organized plan for job search that is ready to use out of the box.
"PROS: A sober, thoughtful, organized book that presents a definite plan for a job search, organizing many common elements of a good job search into..." Read more
"...For me, the writing is clear and helpful...." Read more
"...Whether a novice or a seasoned veteran, this book provides a framework to help you get organized and to prioritize your daily search activities..." Read more
"...It is very easy to read, yet drives home the key message for an effective job search...." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2009PROS: A sober, thoughtful, organized book that presents a definite plan for a job search, organizing many common elements of a good job search into one process.
CONS: Extremely dry writing style may put some off. Despite organization, some of the book's organization is odd.
SUMMARY: A must-buy book for the job search, presenting an organized plan you can use "out of the box" as long as you're willing to do some research.
There are a lot of books out there on doing a job search, and it seems most of them repeat about 80% of the same material, with different levels of enthusiasm and different audiences in mind. We all know about networking, resumes, cover letters, etc. It seems there's nothing new under the sun job-search wise, and even the technical innovations we see, such as social media, only seem to build on common behaviors - networking and sending out resumes.
Orville Pierson's book contains all the advice you've ever heard before - there's no magic in a good job search, but a lot of research, networking, and common sense. What Pierson does that makes the book stand out is give you an organized plan for using good job search techniques. This isn't a pile of advice - it's a plan to get you a job and improve your job searching.
The core of Pierson's work is fourfold:
1) Research one does on oneself, one's potential positions, and one's market.
2) Using that research to create a good resume and "sales tools."
3) Networking with an eye toward the long term, while using resources you have now.
4) Treating this as a project with measurable numbers, information, etc.
These four elements work together, feeding into each other and providing feedback. A list of companies you want to work for (a vital part of the Pierson method) feeds into your sales pitch, your networking tells you about the companies further, your plans modify, and you track your results. In the end you navigate closer and closer to your ideal job, probably faster than you may realize.
Besides the plan, the book does provide a lot of useful advice, and fortunately these tidbits are usually couched in the larger picture. How many hours to put in on a job search ideally, what kinds of job hunting work, for whom and why, etc. You'll pick up a lot reading this even if you're an experienced professional, and there's an entire subsection on forming a support group that's good for all professionals.
The book is not without it's flaws. It's extremely dry writing, reminiscent more of a textbook or a manual, and the few attempts to add some humor don't really work. Despite its organization, there are a few curious asides or re-visiting of past ideas that seem a bit distracting. These are minor flaws, but it's important to realize them tackling the book, especially if you're used to some of the rah-rah go-go job advice books. This is an encouraging book, but it's mostly about getting to work on your job search.
This book is ideal for everyone in the job market except maybe high-level executives. It's smart, intelligent, well-written (if dry), and presents a useful, rational plan that anyone can use in their job search, and that builds good job search habits. It's not the LAST job search book you'll read (especially if you're in a specialized market), but it should be on the shelf of anyone with a job.
In short, I'm giving it my rare "must buy, must read" rating - when you're done with this review, go buy the book.
Also if you're using this book, don't lend it out untill you've got that job you want.- you'll want to refer back to it in the future. If you want, buy extra copies for your friends and family - it's worth the money.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2021Bought this book at the recommendation of a colleague and found the advise and techniques very helpful. Though I've been advised on the value of networking to support job search, I didn't have a framework and strategy that identified why and how networking play a role in job search. Orville's approach clarify's strategically what you're trying to accomplish and gives a clear and relevant plan to identifying prospective future employers. This book validated some of the things I was doing correctly and fed me additional ideas I was missing in my plan of finding a new position. For me, the writing is clear and helpful. I did not read the journal element that was woven throughout the book as a "real" world case study of the drama job seekers face in the journey of finding a new role though I could see that element of the book being extremely helpful for some. Overall I really, really valued Orville's advise, structure and wisdom.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2017It is interesting and entertaining, and leaves the reader to act on his or her behalf. Thank you.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2006You will find that this is the book that has been missing from the top seller's list on how to get ready, get moving and manage your job search. With a great deal of insight and with a whole lot of common sense, along with a sound grasp of what it takes to find a job, Pierson's book is invaluable to job seekers. It is sound advice and helpful tips from the man who can demystify the job search for anyone. For example, he reminds us that to increase your odds in job search, a Target List is crucial. In the Pierson Method, this Target List is a key tool in job search - just as important as your resume - because it focuses on a group of organizations you might want to work for and hire people for the kind of work you want to do. He reminds us that the Target List also helps you see exactly who your resume is designed for before you sit down to write. And, in 10 pages he gives us the strategies for pulling together a Target List that is proven to work!
Don't want to work the Pierson Method alone? Check out the special bonus section on how to Team Up for a Successful Search which outlines how to use a Job Search Work Team to work with others or to set up a program to work with others. Don't conduct your next job search without reading this book first!
- Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2016It was an ok read, unfortunately I was expecting techniques or tips that I had not heard before. Overall good advice though.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2013I recently decided to kick off a job search, and I was coming up with more questions (e.g., "How do I get started?" "What should my priorities be? etc.) than answers I purchased the "Parachute" book and -- while I realize it's a classic in its field -- it didn't offer the structure I was looking for right now. So after looking online for "job search plan" and similar terms, I came across this book by Orville Pierson. I'm really liking the plan it prescribes along with how it sets expectations and shows how to measure progress on a daily and weekly basis (to help stay focused and motivated). A minor complaint I have with the book is that I think it could've been shorter ... seems like content is either unnecessary or repeated for a third or fourth time. But that said, it's possible that information presented one way may resonate with a specific reader while the same info presented in a slightly different manner may better resonate with someone else. So that's not a major gripe. Overall, I highly recommend this book.
Top reviews from other countries
- Laurence EverittReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 15, 2018
3.0 out of 5 stars Useful, though not ground-breaking
This book presented an interesting view on searching for a job. It's key strength was the clarity it gave on the most useful activities - defining what type of opportunity you want and then speaking with key decision makers, rather than firing off endless unco-ordinated CVs. It was a little too folksy for me and didn't contain any information on the end stages - ie how to close the deal once you have an interview - but is worth a read nonetheless
- mushagngrReviewed in Canada on August 5, 2019
4.0 out of 5 stars Good career advice but - I
I think this book provides great insights regarding the contemporary job-search scene. However, I also have another book from the same author, they have very similar content ( the one about effective networking). My advice either have this one of the effective networking one. Having both of them, as I do, not quite meaningful as I said there are main commonalities in between the two. This is why 4 star but not 5.
- FrankwdtReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 16, 2017
4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but I prefer the up-to-date "I can get you a job"
I liked it, but prefer the more up-to-date "I can get you a job" with help for the dull spots