I believe you can actually get just about any job you really want.
Of course, this must be within reason. No matter how much I want a job tomorrow as a brain surgeon or NBA player, that’s just not going to happen. But lots of people think they’re totally at the mercy of others when it comes to getting a job. I believe people have more control than they think. They just need to do something unexpected.
Early in my marketing career I had learned a great deal working at Soter Associates. Greg Soter had been a kind mentor but I knew it was time to move on. I heard about a Marketing Designer position that had opened up at WordPerfect Publishing—one of the hottest companies in town.
At the time Orem-based WordPerfect was HUGE and owned practically all of the world’s word processing market. An obscure guy named Bill Gates had not yet crushed WordPerfect (although that happened during the few years that followed).
I had just started my new-found marketing career and although I had great passion for what I was doing, I was clearly NOT qualified for the WordPerfect job. (If this were happening today, I would know how to use social media to bypass the gatekeepers. But this happened a long time before social media.)
I went in to their offices and filled out an application. I didn’t hear back. When I called to follow up I was given the runaround. I knew I needed to do something more to get their attention.
I created two handmade greeting cards. I mailed the first one to the publishing division’s CEO:
I didn’t hear back. So, I mailed him the second one:
I got a call—and an interview.
Right after the interview, I mailed him the third card:
I got the job. Later the CEO told me that I wasn’t even on his callback list, based on my resume and application. But when he got the second card he felt like he HAD to consider me.
Don’t give up when you really want something. Just think different. Do something extra—something unexpected. Sure… Sometimes you still won’t get it. But many times you will. And when you do, it’s very satisfying.
I loved my time working there. The experience became a huge stepping stone in my career.
