Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the world. (Archimedes)
In the old Tarzan movies a “great white hunter” is walking through the African plains followed by a couple of trusty gun bearers. Suddenly, out of the trees, an elephant charges. He reaches back and his huge elephant gun is placed in his hands. He takes aim and waits. When the elephant is a mere 30 yards away he fires. The elephant falls to the ground at his feet.
What would happen if the hunter reached back and a bow and arrow were placed in his hands? Well, there wouldn’t be enough left of the hunter to have a funeral.
For every job there are a few key experiences that will get you an interview. They are the elephant guns or levers in your job hunt. If you have those experiences, you will get an interview.
Before you submit your resume for any job you have to ask yourself, “What is the elephant gun for this job? Is there one?” You may have to read the job description two or three times before you know. If you are still confused, call up the company and find out. Ask for the person in charge of that job. Whether you get HR (Human Resources) or the hiring manager, ask what the most difficult to find skills for that job are.
We submitted one resume for a job using an elephant gun. The candidate did not have the college degree necessary. He was not a CPA and had never been an auditor. Still, the company phoned back immediately. They were excited that we had found a candidate with the one skill they absolutely had to have. He had several years of experience collecting the data to fill out a particular set of government forms.
We knew what the elephant gun for the job was. The candidate got the interview.
Are you using a bow and arrow resume when you could be using an elephant gun? You need a lever and a place to stand to move the world.
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Something To Do Today
Find an ad that is picky, an ad that asks for 10 different skills and a lot of experience. Find out what the elephant gun is for that ad. Call the company and ask what the most important skill sets are and which are not essential. Find out where the lever can be placed.