Walk Right Into a Job

By Marty Nemko

Ready for a risky but high-payoff job search strategy? Walk into an employer unannounced. When I'm in a TV studio, nervously waiting to go on the air, I often chat with the producers and camerapersons and ask how they got their cool job. A surprising number say they went from studio to studio until someone said yes. Similarly, when my wife and I came to California, we drove from school district office to school district office, and she got three job offers within seven days. Colonel Sanders started selling his chicken by going from restaurant to restaurant asking the owners to try his chicken.

You may say, "Showing up unannounced is rude," but if you believe that the employer might benefit from hiring you, you'll be doing the employer and yourself a favor. Remember, if the employer is too busy to see you, he's an adult. He can refuse to meet with you.