Think like a maverick to better pounce on emerging job chances

Jason Kanigan succeeded with a maverick move. He has received four job offers where he set himself up as the one candidate.

Coming from Canada with no contacts in November 2009, he began nine months of not working, per the immigration process. To create visibility, he followed what became his mantra — “get people used to seeing you.” Leaning on family and friends, he developed a no-cost website — he’s not a techie — and content he could put in front of people. He landed a job as a sales trainer in a sales training company.

“Get on the radar of the people who have the power to hire you,” Kanigan says. “Drip-feed them your relevant, interesting content. Develop yourself as the expert. Get them to start seeing you as the expert, you as the only possible solution, the only candidate.”

Today, as founder of Sales on Fire Inc. in Wilmington, N.C., he advocates the “drip marketing” he used to land his first job here.

In lively job-hunting environments, such as California’s Silicon Valley and Houston, invisibility might not be your problem. There, your maverick move is to interview every time you have a chance, even if you feel you’ve had enough interviews for a lifetime.

Joanne Driscoll, retired from a corporate and private headhunting career in Houston, says experienced people in oil and gas in her market are in great demand today.

Driscoll advises everyone to have your job radar on at all times, because opportunities will appear.

“If you don’t pay attention, someone else will get the opportunity,” she says. “A job that’s not appealing at first glance might turn out to be much more interesting in a face-to-face situation. You’ll sharpen your interview skills and the interviewer could remember you for something else or refer you to another company’s hiring influence.”

Not all maverick moves must be major. Think of tweaking your process.

Leto Papadopoulos, director of training and development at King &Bishop Inc., a human resources and contract recruiting firm in Waltham, Mass., lists several possibilities, including how to network and get really good leads.

Don’t just network hither and yon.

“Network with people who have your title or are in your industry,” she says. The stronger your target, the more effective the link.

When you’re doing it, don’t shy away from asking about opportunities or introductions to key people, she says.

“Ask for referrals,” she says. “Don’t assume that someone knows what you’re looking for or that they’ll take action if you don’t ask.”

If you’ve been wearing white shirts or a subdued blouse, try something else, she recommends; being traditional doesn’t always work.

Accept a cup of coffee or glass of water in the interview, unless you’re really not thirsty, Papadopoulos suggests, to make the interview more relaxed on both sides of the desk. She also advises that you take notes, because each of you is interviewing the other.

A maverick move of stepping out of your current environment might inspire new ideas. You don’t have to take a vacation to do that. Schedule a day or weekend away from your computer filled with self-indulgent activities. Turn your technology off. Go to a movie. Throw a party for no good reason. Call friends and relatives you haven’t spoken with for a long time.

If you’ve been job hunting intensely and you don’t want to take a break, your predominant maverick move might be to ease up a bit.

Making the search easier on yourself might make it easier for an employer to offer you a job.