Job Posting to Interview in 24 Hours

In a market where landing a new job takes an average of 211 days (or just over 7 months), it can become frustrating to continue the search. If you're a job seeker that's been strategically approaching your search, know that there will be a time when success comes your way and your unique qualifications and talents are the right fit for a position out there.

When I got a call this week from Richard* sharing his success story, I requested his permission to share it here. His success is an example of what you can, and will, experience with the type of focused persistence he applied to this position.  In the spirit of full disclosure, Richard is a recent career coaching client of mine; I coached him on a new Resume That Gets Results and a new Pimped Out Linked In Profile focused on a strategic search plan based on networking. 
*names have been changed to protect actual client confidentiality

Richard's 24-hour Success
10:00 a.m.
Noticed position posting for Vice President at Company X, posted on 8/25
3:00 p.m.Based on networking advice, he created a targeted profile and applied on-line.
3:30 p.m.
Logged in to Linked In to search for a contact he knew at Company X. Identified Jason, a Recruiter within Company X he'd met at a career networking class he attended just last week.
4:00 p.m.
Sent Jason an email referencing the class they attended.
4:05 p.m.
Jason responded via email with the contact information for the recruiter on the V.P. position.
7:00 p.m.
Crafted customized cover letter to accompany resume and sent it to the recruiter, and Jason.
7:15 p.m.
Jason responded to my email; he's sent a personal note to the recruiter.
7:30 p.m.
The recruiter responded; scheduled a phone interview for 10:00a.m. tomorrow.
10:00 a.m.
Phone interview with the recruiter went great; Richard is now 1 of only 5 candidates being submitted to the Chief Marketing Officer for an in-person interview.

Why did Richard have this type of success in a 24 hour period? Preparation. Using every tool in his tool box and Taking Swift, Clear Action.

Richard's highly qualified for this position and clearly got in on the interviewing schedule at the last minute, bypassing the stacks and stacks of resumes that the recruiter had received. If you're going to go after a position posted on Monster.com, Yahoo! HotJobs (now owned by Monster), Careerbuilder.com, TheLadders.com or any other top job board, it's to your advantage to take a comprehensive approach and create a strategy around landing that job rather than merely submitting your resume online.