The document provides unconventional tips and strategies for finding and applying for jobs online. It discusses using Reddit to get anonymous resume critiques, searching Twitter for job postings without much competition, using specific search operators on Google to find targeted job listings, setting up Google Alerts to receive notifications of new relevant job postings, and using the Job Hero tool to organize contacts and track job search progress. It also recommends highly engaged tactics like optimizing one's online presence to get noticed by potential employers and putting significant effort into applications to stand out from other candidates.

1. Creative Career
Hacking
The not-so-well-known ways to find and
apply for jobs online.
Stephen C. Murphy

2. About me
Hi, I’m Steve. I’m a volunteer career coach and
speaker. I still have to earn your trust, but here’s a
couple reasons you might listen to me:
• My last 4 job presentations have been viewed 20,000+
times on SlideShare alone
• My resume template has been downloaded 2500+ times
• I am the owner of a strategic marketing firm – and let’s
face it, job hunting is marketing yourself!
• I’m not going to sell you anything

3. Finding a job sucks.
Let’s lay it out there – looking for a job can be a
real drag. I’m not going to argue that.
Instead, I want to pump some life back into your
job search with some less-than-obvious
approaches that just might jive with you.

4. The “normal way”
1. Search Indeed, Monster, and CareerBuilder
2. Apply for roughly 600 jobs
3. Wait for reply
4. Keep waiting
5. Wait a little more…
6. Repeat

5. So what’s wrong?
1. High competition
2. Time consuming
3. Hard to track & follow up
4. Insanely demoralizing

6. “Insanity is doing the
same thing over and over
again, but expecting
different results.”
- Rita Mae Brown

7. So let’s all make a commitment:

8. A quick word…
Not all these hacks will apply to every career path.
And not every person will use every hack.
Instead, use these as guidelines to help you leave
behind your comfort zone and start applying
creatively.
Onward!

9. Get help from strangers
Hack #1:

10. Your resume is still #1
Without a strong resume, it won’t matter how
many jobs you find and apply to. The resume is
still the most important job tool, and I doubt that
will change for a long time.
So you need a good one…

11. Use Reddit to get critiqued
The website www.reddit.com is one of the largest
internet communities.
They have a discussion group specifically setup
for resume critiques – so go have some strangers
give you some unbiased reviews!

12. Use Reddit to get critiqued
1. Sign up at reddit.com
2. Visit www.reddit.com/r/resumes
3. Remove all personal information from your
resume (your name, phone, email, and
employer names)
4. Upload your resume online somewhere (try
DropBox or Google Drive)
5. Create a new reddit post and ask for critiques!

13. Be prepared to get some brutally
honest reviews – but remember, its
all anonymous, so try to be open
minded to the advice!
Sample Post

14. Example:

15. Why this is awesome:
• Anonymous, unbiased advice from passionate
community of volunteers and experts
• Get more than one opinion to see if anything
sticks out
• See what other people have gotten critiqued on
their resumes
• “Borrow” inspiration, styles and wording from the
community

16. Tweet, tweet
Hack #2:

17. We all know about LinkedIn…
I’m not going to touch that one. You’ve probably
heard a million times that you should be looking
for jobs there.
But what about that other social network?

19. Whoa, are you serious?!
It turns out Twitter is chock full of job listings
without as much competition.
To find them, we need to master Twitter search.

20. How to use Twitter Search
• Go to search.twitter.com
• Click on “Advanced Search”
• Enter your keywords (i.e. Marketing) in the “All
these words” box
• Enter “jobs” and “careers” in the “Any of these
words” box
• Enter your location
• Enter a date range

21. This search would
find jobs in the
NYC area, posted
in the past 10 days
that contain the
word “marketing”
Sample Search

22. The last search we did
provided a live feed of all
postings that matched our
criteria. Here, we see a list
of jobs in the greater NYC
area posted within the past
24 hours.
Sample Results

23. Why this is awesome:
• Real time results let you react quickly and find
new jobs
• Less competition gives you a better chance to
land an interview
• Less formal than LinkedIn, so it is easier to
engage with the poster by tweeting at them

24. Power searching
Hack #3:

25. Hey, what about…Google?
We don’t hear too much about Google in the job
search circles.
But with a little MacGyvering, you can turn the
search engine into a powerful job hunting tool.

26. Understanding Search Operators
Search operators are techniques to get laser-
targeted search results. Here are some examples:

27. Using search operators
There are a few we want to focus on:
“xyz” – adding quotation marks specifies words that must be
included in the results
site:abc.com – by using site and colon followed by a website,
we restrict results to only that site.
job OR career – using capital OR means the results can include
any word listed
-careerbuilder – using a dash before a word removes it from
your search results, helping filter negative words

28. Using Search Tools
Google also has a feature called “Search Tools” in
its search results page, which let you further drill
down to get more specific results. This includes:
Date: Pick how recent you want results
Location: Change location of your search
Sorting: Sort results by date or relevance

29. For example, this search will bring up the following results:
• Must contain the words “marketing” and “manager”
• Must contain either NJ or NY
• Does not include posts from Indeed, Monster, LinkedIn or Glassdoor

30. The last search we did
gives some job listings
directly from company sites
– which you might not find
on the job boards
Sample Results

31. This is tricky, let’s try another…

32. And one more…a little different

33. Why this is awesome:
• Find jobs and people that are difficult to find on
the standard job boards
• Get targeted search results with unlimited
customizations
• Use it to search all the job boards at once!

34. Real time alerts
Hack #4

35. Back to Google!
Did you think we were done with Skynet…I mean
Google yet?
They have another lesser known tool that helps
you stay up to date on your job search…

36. Google Alerts
Google alerts is a free service that monitors the
web for any keywords you choose. When it
detects something new, it will send you an email
with the new link.
And best of all, we can use our search operators
from the last section to make even better alerts!

37. Using search operators in
google alerts, we can
create an alert that is
automatically sent to us as
often as we like – in either
real time or as a digest.
Sample Results

38. Why this is awesome:
• Get alerts for new jobs as they are posted
• Find jobs not listed on the normal job boards
• If you’re following specific companies, get any
news and updates about them to keep you in
the loop!

39. The fortune is in follow up
Hack #5

40. OK, following up is not a hack
…but keeping tabs on your entire job search with
a single online tool is.
By managing all your job applications,
communications and contacts in one place, you’ll
be more prepared and inclined to follow up
regularly and make progress.

41. Enter Job Hero
I came across this new tool while on Reddit, and
after some back and forth with the CEO, I was
able to get a demo account to explore. What I
found was incredible.

42. One place to manage it all

43. Track each step, meticulously

44. Indeed integration

45. Easily save jobs

46. Why this is awesome:
• Organize your entire job search
• Become a master of the follow up
• Store all your recruiter contacts and documents
in one place, online

47. Go all in
Hack #6

48. Here’s a few tips for the brave
Not all job applications are created equally.
Sometimes, you really have to put all your chips
into the pot to stand out.
The next few slides give real life examples of “all-
in” job search techniques.

49. Be found for your name online

50. Be a human, not an applicant

51. Show ‘em you love ‘em:

52. Nina noticed AirBnB
didn’t have many
listings in the middle
east – and put in
some elbow grease
to show them the size
of the opportunity,
and how she could
help make it happen.
What she did

53. That’s it from me
What ideas will you come up with?

54. Shameless self plug…
I own a marketing agency in Red Bank called Red
Bamboo Marketing.
We help growing companies grow faster with
strategy, communications and digital marketing
solutions.
If you know someone that could use our help, I’m
always open to a kind word and an introduction J

55. Thanks!
Stephen Murphy
www.redbamboomarketing.com
www.linkedin.com/in/sbcmurphy
Have a question? Don’t be shy! I’m here to help.