I used the opportunity to talk about the fact that while the fundamentals of marketing, still taught in most college programs, had not changed much, the way we need to view and think about marketing and markets has changed dramatically.

One student set this up nicely for me when I asked for her definition of marketing and she promptly offered the four Ps of Marketing as a definition.

As most of the students in attendance had either recently accepted a position with a firm or were in the throes of a job search, I took the opportunity to offer some marketing advice tinged with just a bit of parental preaching.

I believe that anyone, regardless of job title, that approaches the completion of their job with marketing thinking can make themselves indispensible to the organization they choose to work for and in effect control their destiny.

This talk was aimed specifically at students, but what I had to say is a recipe for success, regardless of where you currently reside in the career process.

Here’s how I suggested they employ marketing thinking.

Find mission first – Yes, you may need to take what seems like a good job so you can move our of your parent’s house (trust me they want this as much as you do), but dig deep and find out about the culture of this organization, find out why they do what they do, find out what their story is, and find out if their mission (not mission statement) is something that excites you.

Ask people that already work for the company you’re considering what they love about the company. Ask them to tell you a story that illustrates what the company is really passionate about.

In The Referral Engine I recounted Zappo’s now well known practice of offering all new employees $2,000 to quit upon finishing their training. The thought is that if someone is willing to leave for $2,000 this isn’t the place for them. I challenged them to apply the reverse thinking and asked them how much someone would have to offer them to not take the job they were considering. It just might be one way to measure the connection with the organization.

Get good at content and context – We’re all drowning in information overload and one of the master marketing thinking skills is filtering and aggregating content in ways that allow us to gain deep knowledge in subjects without having to invest our days and nights in it. Bonus points for being able to condense and communicate reams of information into snack size educational value.

I implored them to subscribe to blogs, create content alerts and connect to every social pipeline available for the companies and industries they were considering.

Question everything you’re asked to do – They liked that one, but I had to clarify that I didn’t mean that as in question authority, I meant it as question why you are doing what you are asked to do, how it connects with the overall objectives of the department or company, and how, particularly if it benefited the customer, you could improve upon the experience.

Anyone with a college degree can operate from the manual – difference makers have the confidence to create value.

Create change in favor of the customer – In almost every job situation there will be a manager. Now, great managers encourage growth, change, innovation and maybe even the occasional flat out challenge of authority, but great managers are rare.

Most managers want to know that you will do what’s asked, not ruffle feathers and keep hitting assignments and deadlines.

But, even weak managers will come to trust you if you make them look good by creating change that benefits the customer. Think this way and you’ll soon be on your way to creating change the impacts your entire organization as well.

Construct a platform – Look all around you and start asking what your boss, managers, co-workers, vendors, and customers need to be more successful. What resources and other professionals could you assemble to become the go to person to help other get what they need?

College students and young professionals are always instructed to go out there and meet people and network with folks that might help them get ahead, but what if we showed them instead how to build a platform for helping others get ahead?

Now that’s marketing thinking applied at its most effective level.

So, let me ask you this . . . if you’re employed by an organization, even if you run that organization, are you applying marketing thinking to all that you do? What other advice would you give these students and job seekers?

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This agency owner’s response to that comment: “I don’t want people who ‘need a job’, I want people who want a job HERE.”

I thought that statement summed up a lot of what I’ve seen and heard in the marketplace lately, too. I hear a lot of “I need a job.” That’s the wrong approach. Here’s why:

* It’s no one’s job to give you a job. There are no more handouts. It’s as competitive as its ever been out there. You have to take that damn seriously. And that agency owner I spoke with? It’s not his job either. His job is to find the best talent that is going to help him achieve the best results for his clients (and ultimately, his agency).

* “I need a job” is too general of a statement. When you’re looking for a job, you need specificity. Both in organizations and agencies you’re targeting and in describing yourself.

It’s tough out there. No doubt about it. But, in environments like this, the most committed wins. It’s always been that way. Those that are willing to bust their tails, WILL find a job. It’s the difference between those who say “I want to work in PR” and those who say “I NEED to work in PR.”

Let me tell you a bit about my personal experience. Coming out of school 15-plus years ago, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was working at a golf course to pay my “bills” (I was living at home). A friend of mine said I should come join her working for a mortgage company focused on mobile homes. Essentially the job was faxing and a lot of office-type coordination.

I lasted one day. Never went back.

That experience drove my decision-making for a long time. I knew I didn’t want to “survive” at a job like that. I wanted to be excited to go to work each day. I wanted a career. I wanted much more. And that motivated me. I wasn’t going to settle. I wasn’t going to just “get a job.” I wanted a job in PR. And I started devising a path to get there (which included three UNPAID internships).

Now, I don’t recommend taking my path. But, I do recommend taking a more methodical approach to the job search. You have to if you want to compete against the hundreds of other candidates out there. The good news is: Few people are still playing the game the right way. It’s easier to cut through the clutter than you might think. Trust me. Sarah Anderson, a young student who’s working a bit with me now, is a perfect example of that.

So, what do I recommend? Consider baking the following components into your job search:

* Start a hard target search. Again, don’t just look for a job–look for the right job. I’m not saying you hold out all hope for that dream job working for The White House. But, I am saying you should develop a list of all the organizations and agencies you would love to work for. Start there. And focus ALL your time and energy on those targets.

* Master your elevator speech. I was pretty surprised last Thursday at our HAPPO Hour event. I met some incredible students. But very few of them had a polished elevator speech. When asked, “what do you do”? I got some pretty soft answers. Hone your speech. Write it out. Practice it. And make damn sure before you go to a networking event you have that thing down to a science.

* Brush up on the basics. Like I said above, it’s not all that tough to stand out from the crowd. Case in point, the first time I met with Sarah (see above), she came prepared with specific questions and had clearly done her research on me. She knew who I was and what I cared about (for the most part). I will tell you VERY few people put in that time and effort prior to a meet-up. Be one of those people. It will pay off. It certainly did for Sarah.

* Solid follow-up is critical. When and how you follow up after that coffee or networking event is absolutely critical. My suggestion? Start with email (provided you have it). Send a short note thanking him/her for their time. Mention a point/issue you discussed when you spoke. And then, offer up information you think might benefit that contact. For example, after the HAPPO event the other night, I sent someone I spoke with briefly a quick note. I noticed during my time chatting with this person that he’s a bit of a beer snob–me too! So, I included a link to a great beer community site I thought he might enjoy (Pintley–if you’re interested). Not a huge deal, but just a nice way to separate myself from others in this contact’s frontal lobe.

Those are my tips. What about you? How can students separate themselves from the massive competition out there right now?

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And that’s part of why I prefer working with students and the newly graduated – often times, they aren’t lucky to have a champion. It’s also why when someone emails me with 5 or more years of PR/SM experience, I make a few recommendations but am not as giving with my time, because if you are at that point in your career you should have your own networks, own knowledge of recruiters, and have your own mentors.

Now, a handful of the women I’ve mentored through the years are amazing people. These are PR professionals with social media skills that I would hire in a minute. These are people that I think are the pinacle of the profession, at different levels in their careers, who will be running things in the industry. And I’ll be proud of them as if they were my own family, as I do think of them as family.

Through that mentoring, I’ve become involved with #HAPPO. The concept, the idea of HAPPO is admirable: helping out other PR pros network and get a job. The economy is bad, and we’ve all been hurt by it. Some of the best PR people I know searched for jobs too long, while some of the worst PR and SM people I know are gainfully employed or have transitioned themselves into “thought leaders”.

Unfortunately, at times, the reality of HAPPO is either a “look at how great I am because I’m helping others get jobs” or “K, I tweeted #HAPPO, where’s my job?”

So what has happened is a bit of self-interest and a bit of self-entitlement. New graduates and others think that by merely posting #HAPPO!!! (or other hashtags) on a tweet, that the jobs will come to them and they should be hired, because dammit, they ARE social media geniuses because they’re the digital generation!!!

That one is a good fallacy, though. The digital generation understands the tools – but that’s it. In reality, many are dangerous as they do no get the big picture of how public relations and social media work together. Nor is there an understanding on how to push back on a client, how to protect them from doing something bad and destructive in social media, or a complex and advanced understandig and knowledge of a little something called strategy and tactics.

PR is not an easy profession. We are always top 5 for stressful professions. PR wears you down, as you’re under attack from all sides: clients, agency, press/analysts/social media. But it’s one of those things that people love: the ability and chance to tell a story, do some good.

But the missing the point of HAPPO – no one is entitled to anything. It’s a hard job finding a job, harder than the job itself, so be thankful for those that help you along the way. And don’t think that just because you send an email you’re owed something. Respect the other person’s time, energy. If that part of HAPPO continues to be ignored, the people that are giving of their time will reevaluate where they are putting their efforts. As they should.

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For a quarter of workers, its difficult to leave the office behind when they leave for the day.

*24 percent of workers reported that when they’re at home or out socially, they’re still thinking about work.

*19 percent often dream about work.

*16 percent stated that most of their conversations – at work, home or out socially – always tend to focus on work.

Extended workdays and an unwavering focus on business while at home are taking a toll on family relationships.

*22 percent of workers reported they don’t have time to pursue personal interests because they say they’re always working.

*15 reported that they would rather be working than at home.

*12 percent said the amount of time spent on work is causing friction with their family.

*9 percent are more concerned about approval from their boss than their family.

Workers reported increased stress levels and health complications tied to pressures at work.

*51 percent of workers reported their workloads have increased over the last six months.

*27 percent have not taken a personal or sick day in the last few years.

*26 percent have experienced health issues tied to stress on the job.

“With increased demands at the office and greater accessibility through mobile devices, the workday literally never ends for some workers,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.

“While a strong work ethic is valued, a lack of balance with your personal life can ultimately work against you in the long run. As the year wraps up, take inventory of your personal time and see where you need to make adjustments in 2011.”

Utilize Social Media to Help People Find You - To get people to find him online, James utilized Facebook Ads, Google AdWords, LinkedIn ads, and of course, Craigslist. His Facebook ad is actually how I discovered him in the first place. He used specific demographic targeting to appear for UNC alums and me being one of them, it popped up in my ads. Even if you don’t want to spend the money, it’s still a good idea to utilize Facebook’s demographic targeting. You can find out how many fellow alumni are in your area and how many people are involved in your industry.

Having ads aren’t enough though. You’ve got to make sure you stand out from the crowd.

Stand Out - “I put the (‘Non-Lame-Ass’ Craigslist) title for a couple reasons,” said James. “One, it’s an attention grabber in a big dull category of resumes and second of all, I thought I didn’t want to work for someone who didn’t think that was hilarious or could at least deal with the fact that I had put it on there.”

I’ll admit if I saw this ad, I would definitely click it. Having said that, it’s still probably not a good idea to use profanity or write headlines that can offend. You have to tread a fine line between funny and offensive. If you do it correctly, people who might have been normally offended by it will applaud you for taking something dirty and making it fun. People who like that type of humor will take an innocuous comment and make it dirty by themselves.

Businesses could learn from this example. The majority of Facebook ads I see are subpar. The pictures and copy often make them look like spam. Facebook does have its limits when it comes to advertising, but I believe art thrives on limitations. It forces you to be more creative. James’ ad was genuine, easy to understand, and most importantly targeted at the right audience. Toss funny in there and you’ve got the perfect combination. But your job doesn’t end there. You also have to make sure that when someone clicks on the ad, the place to which they’re taken is worth their while.

Web Presence - “It all started with knowing that it was a bad economic environment to find a job,” said James. “So I was trying to think of ways to separate myself from other job applicants because that’s really all you can do.” Daigle created a website that would serve as his resume. The site allows you to view his resume online and provides you with the ability to download it as a Word document or PDF. There are also links to his Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn profiles, along with share buttons.

“A hiring manager could just go on there, whether it’s in the office or in their underpants,” said James. You won’t be able to go to every career fair or networking event, but your website will always be available.

Too often, when I click on Facebook ads, they direct me to something that was vaguely related to the ad. James’ link doesn’t direct you to a survey or a contest entry form, it takes you to something clean, good-looking, and easy to understand.

As of my interview with James, he had not found a job, but he had had several interviews and another lined up. I find it very impressive that he has gotten interviews from his online efforts. I’m sure that if he, and anyone else that tries this method and continues to persevere, then more opportunities will arise.

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In this work, I’ve had the good fortune to hear about a number of creative ways to go about the job search. Today, I thought I’d share a few of those ideas–some I’ve picked up from friends and colleagues (during HAPPO, for example) and others I’ve just long thought would be interesting approaches.

* Offer up a digital audit of the agency’s/corporation’s activities. A friend of mine employed this approach earlier this year, and I thought it was brilliant. Come prepared with a full audit of the organization’s social activities and talk about how they could use that information to better their online strategies. Trust me, they’ll be impressed. Not only will they have practical thinking they can actually use when you leave the room, but they’ll also know you understand how to work up an audit and take the findings and apply them to a client’s needs. Believe me when I say, that will make a huge difference with the folks you’re interviewing with. And if it doesn’t, well, you probably didn’t want to work with that particular employer anyway.

* Make a video pitch. One of the tactics we encouraged folks to take earlier this year as part of HAPPO was to develop a video pitch–a 3-4 minute video that tells prospective employers who you are, what you do and why they should hire you (here’s a great example from Mary Krueger earlier this year).

The beauty of the video pitch is it gets beyond the limits of pen-and-paper. Employers will be able to see you in the flesh. They’ll get a better feel for who you are. Remember, “fit” accounts for a lot in the hiring process.

* Give the agency/organization 3 big ideas to consider for the rest of the year. Similar to the audit, walking in with three big ideas the agency/organization can use should really impress the hiring manager and anyone else in the room. Make sure the ideas are relevant, easily understandable and executable (don’t go suggesting a $200,000 campaign for a small business or niche agency). If it was me, I’d even throw them in a Powerpoint or Prezi deck/show and present it just like they were a client. Go all out–what do you have to lose?

* Let your friends do your talking for you. You know how most agencies/firms ask for your references right before they’re about to hire you? Why not move that process up a bit? Ask three trusted colleagues/fans to send a note to the hiring manager telling them why you’d be a fantastic candidate for the job–in their own words. The trick is to find the right three colleagues. Ideally, you want people the hiring manager knows–or has heard of. In this case, I might suggest using LinkedIn to find out who the hiring manager is connected to from your network.

* Write a blog thank you. A friend of mine (Dana Hughens) recently had a candidate who thanked her for an interview via a blog post (she also sent a private note and posted a note on her Facebook page). The end result? The candidate got the job. If you’re applying for a job in the digital realm, why not put one of the primary tactics to good use?

* Create a blog devoted exclusively to your job search. Granted this approach would take some extra effort, but you are looking for a job, right? Just take the time and energy you’re using updating your resume and put it towards creating a killer blog/site that highlights your strengths, experience and accolades. Make the site your virtual resume. Highlight projects you’ve led in the past–and results. Ask former colleagues to record a video testimonial. Record your own three-minute video that allows you to talk about yourself and how you could help an organization. Link to other online properties you’re involved with–including guest posts on prominent PR/marketing/social media blogs (if you haven’t done this yet, start now) and other online projects you’ve been a part of.

Have you seen any particularly creative approaches to the job search? Care to share?