As HubSpot is actively growing our Customer Success team by hiring Inbound Marketing Consultants ( apply here ) and Customer Success Managers ( apply here ) we thought we’d take a minute to talk about how you can use inbound marketing techniques in your job search.  In a job hunt you’re marketing yourself, so it would make sense that you’d want to create, optimize, and promote content about you in order to generate as many potential job offers as possible! 

Create

Step one in any inbound marketing campaign is creating compelling content.  In a job hunt, there are 2 very important pieces of content to create:

Resume: I believe this goes without saying, but you need a resume.  Not only does this help a potential employer know who you are, but a good resume can be shared.  At HubSpot we have received numerous resumes from our network and we have also shared resumes with others (assuming there wasn’t a good fit for the applicant at HubSpot).  So, a compelling resume, much like a compelling blog article, will get shared and help expand your reach.

Blog: While a resume can tell an employer a lot about you, a blog demonstrating your thought leadership will tell them even more.  This concept is not new in the art and modeling world as you need a portfolio of past work to demonstrate your skill.  Therefore, think of your blog as your portfolio.  It’s where you can discuss ideas and thoughts you’ve had relevant to your work experience and the job you’re looking for.  Not only will this impress employers, but you are now building your brand.  As your blog reach grows, not only will you be recognized as a thought leader, but potential employers and recruiters could find you that way.  HubSpot has found several employees this way.

Optimize

When we talk of optimizing content, we typically mean two things.  The first is optimizing for search engines and the second is optimizing for your audience.  In a job hunt, it is still important to optimize your blog for search engines as both employers and recruiters may find you that way.  However, I want to talk about optimizing your resume for your audience as that is critical.
As a marketer, you would never put up a call to action or PPC ad without thoroughly thinking about your target.  You want to make sure you target your audience with a compelling offer that gets them to convert into a lead.  The same is true with your resume.  While it is easy to find a lot of job listings and mass send emails and cover letters, this shotgun approach rarely works.  Not only that, but you’ll burn through your leads (the job’s you’re applying for) quickly. 

Instead, take the time to think about your audience for each job.  Who will receive the resume and cover letter; is it a human resource person or recruiter that handles initial screening or the hiring manager who makes the decision?  What are the exact requirements for the job so you know which of your qualities to highlight?  What is the exact nature of the job so your objective statement in your resume can be as compelling as possible for that job? 

Researching the companies you are interested in can help with this process.  For example, if you were applying to HubSpot, you’d want to thoroughly read our site , our CEO’s article on HubSpot Culture , our CTO’s article on getting a start-up job , and demo our software .  These resources would help you know more about what we’re looking for and you could modify your resume as needed.
Usually, no two job descriptions or requirements are the same.  Therefore you shouldn’t send out the same resume and cover letter twice.

Promote

The final step in any inbound marketing campaign is promoting the optimized content you’ve created and this is true in a job hunt as well.  While you should find and apply to job listings on career boards or corporate sites (like HubSpot’s Careers Page ), any recruiter can tell you that one of the best ways to find a job is leveraging your network.  In today’s digital age, your network encompasses your social media reach!

This includes reaching out to your existing network but this also means publishing your content out to social media.  You should have your resume on Linked-In and actively engage the conversation there while promoting your blog and personal brand. 

This can go a long way in getting found by recruiters as well as employers that are actively searching.  

You should also leverage Facebook and Twitter to publish your blog content.  As in any traditional inbound marketing campaign, this will increase your reach and greatly improve your personal brand by generating activity on your blog.  If a potential employer looks at your blog and sees 100 subscribers and some comments, this will show them you are a thought leader they should hire.

While this is a lot of work, if you’re actively searching for job in this economy, applying inbound marketing concepts will help you stand out as the candidate to be hired.  As with any inbound marketing campaign, it can take a few weeks or months to build up momentum, but don’t lose heart.  Stick with it and you will see results.  Lastly, once you do find a job, don’t stop building your brand!  While the job hunt may be over for now, you never know what the future will hold, so keep up with your blogging and social media engagement.

Photo Credit: AngelaArcher.com