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The 2-Hour Job Search

Using Technology to Get the Right Job Faster

🤖 AI Summary

TL;DR 💡

• Invest about two focused hours to create a prioritized target list (the LAMP list) that leverages technology and your network, transforming a chaotic job search into a systematic, sales funnel–like process designed to secure informational interviews and drive job opportunities. 🚀📊

A Surprising Perspective 🌟

• New Approach to Job Hunting:
  Dalton reframes job searching from a haphazard daily grind into a structured, one-time intensive setup. Spend about 2 hours in total to build a prioritized target list (LAMP list) and prepare to initiate outreach—leveraging technology and network-based tactics for long-term efficiency. 📊

Deep Dive 🔍

Key Topics & Methods 📚

• The LAMP List:
  • LAMP stands for List, Alumni, Motivation, Posting.
  • List (≈40 minutes): Rapidly compile 40–100 potential employers using various approaches (dream companies, alumni connections, actively hiring firms, trending names).
  • Advocacy (≈10 minutes): Quickly note whether each company has someone in your network (alumni, friends, etc.) who could act as an advocate.
  • Motivation (≈5 minutes): Score your gut feeling (1–3) about how much you’d like to work for each company.
  • Posting (≈15 minutes): Briefly check job postings (without deep-diving) to see if the companies are actively hiring.
• Outreach Preparation:
  • After building the LAMP list, the next steps involve identifying key contacts within these companies, crafting concise outreach emails (using a six-point method), and setting up informational interviews—all grounded in a systematized approach.
• Tracking & Follow-Up:
  • Dalton advises using systems like “3B7” (3 business days before sending to a second candidate and a 7-day follow-up) to automate and track your outreach efforts.

Significant Mental Models & Theories 🧠

• Sales Funnel Analogy:
  • The job search is approached like a sales process—filtering many companies down to a few warm leads through systematic scoring and prioritization.
• 80/20 Rule:
  • Focus on the small portion of tasks (the initial setup and outreach) that yield most of the results, rather than wasting time on low-impact actions like generic online applications.
• Process Over Daily Routine:
  • The book emphasizes an initial intensive 2-Hour session to set the foundation, after which the structured system drives ongoing job search success.

Practical Takeaways & Step-by-Step Techniques 🚀

• Step 1: Build Your LAMP List
  • Time Investment: Approximately 2 hours total (40 minutes for listing, 10 minutes for advocacy, 5 minutes for motivation, 15 minutes for posting).
  • Method: Use online resources (LinkedIn, alumni databases, job boards) to gather and score potential employers.
• Step 2: Identify Contacts
  • Use filters (functional relevance, alumni connections, hierarchy level) to select 1–2 potential advocates at each company.
• Step 3: Craft Your Outreach
  • Follow the six-point email formula: keep it brief (<75 words), lead with your connection, ask for insight rather than a job, and keep the focus on the recipient.
• Step 4: Track & Follow-Up
  • Implement the “3B7” system to ensure you follow up systematically without overwhelming yourself.

Critical Analysis 🧐

• Quality & Credibility:
  • Steve Dalton draws on his extensive career services experience (including roles at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business) to offer a method tested in the real world.
  • The method’s strength lies in its actionable, data-driven approach, aligning with modern sales and lean startup methodologies.
• Strengths:
  • Efficiency: The process is designed to yield high-quality leads with a one-time intensive effort rather than daily drudgery.
  • Clarity: The step-by-step breakdown demystifies the job search process, making it accessible even for those new to systematic networking.
• Limitations:
  • The approach may seem rigid for fields that require a more creative or less quantitative job search, and the initial time investment is not a guarantee of immediate results—it sets the stage for continued, personalized outreach.

Additional Book Recommendations 📖

• Best Alternate Book on the Same Topic:
  • What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles
    • A classic guide that combines self-assessment with practical job-hunting advice. ✈️
• Best Book Tangentially Related:
  • Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
    • Uses design thinking to reimagine career planning, expanding beyond the traditional job search. 🎨
• Best Book Diametrically Opposed:
  • So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
    • Argues that career satisfaction comes from building rare, valuable skills rather than chasing jobs. 🚀
• Best Fiction Book Incorporating Related Ideas:
  • Microserfs by Douglas Coupland
    • A narrative exploration of tech culture and the modern work environment. 📘
• Best Book More General or More Specific:
  • The Start-Up of You by Reid Hoffman
    • Offers a broader, entrepreneurial approach to career development. 🌱
• Best Book More Rigorous or More Accessible:
  • Job Search Strategy: The Ultimate System for Tapping into the Hidden Job Market by Matt Durfee
    • Provides a more rigorous, data-backed system for navigating the job market. 🔢

📝🐒 Human Notes

Job postings are black holes for resumes
Employers rely on internal referrals for interviews.
The goal of the modern job search is to acquire an internal referral.
Hiring managers satisfice: instead of spending a lot of time finding the perfect candidate, they aim to quickly find a good enough candidate.

The LAMP method

Create a spreadsheet with 4 columns:

1. Company (name)
2. Alumni (Y/N)
3. Motivation (1-5)
4. Postings (1-3)

Spend a total of 2 hours following the following steps:

1. List 40 relevant companies. Enter them in column 1.
2. Alumni - do you have contacts at this company who may advocate for you?
3. Motivation (5m) - on a scale of 1 to 5, how much do you want to work here?
4. Postings - does this company have job postings for your desired title? (3) Or any job postings? (2) Or no job postings? (1)

The following techniques can produce some companies to consider. 10 minutes for each yields a total of 40 minutes for the L step in LAMP.

1. Dream Employers - list your dream employers (don’t waste time with research, just use what comes to mind)
2. Alumni Employers - list employers of your alumni or close contacts
3. Posting Search - list employers with active job postings for your desired position
4. Trend Following -

Tracking Outreach

🚫 Not in a spreadsheet
📧🗓️ Use integrated email and calendar apps

The 3B7 Routine

A standard, replicable email tracking routine.

After sending an outreach email to a new contact, create 2 calendar events 3 and 7 business days in the future. These are reminder appointments to follow up first thing in the morning.

What to do with the reminders

Scenarios:

1. First contact has already responded before the 3 day reminder. We have a booster.
   1. Set up an informational interview for a later date.
      1. Within their availability if they supplied it.
      2. Or respond with your availability if they didn’t provide any. Provide a few example times to reduce their decision fatigue.
   2. Cancel follow up reminders.
2. First contact has not responded before our 3 business day reminder. We most likely do not have a booster.
   1. Initiate contact with a second person at the same employer.
   2. Use the same process as before.

Informational Interviews

🎯 Goals

1. Build rapport
2. Gain useful information

Principles

1. Focus on the interviewee - not yourself
2. The interviewee is the ultimate source of information
3. Avoid negative news & topics

Agenda

1. Small talk
2. Q & A
3. Next steps

🔍 Research | 15 minutes

External preparation - 15 minutes

1. Investor relations pages
2. Annual reports & 10K forms
3. Quarterly results conference calls (SWOT analysis)
4. Press releases of major initiatives
5. Recent news headlines
6. Headlines
7. Google results for recent employer headlines & interviewees

Internal preparation

TIARA - A Framework for Small Talk

1. Trends - what trends are most impacting your business right now?
2. Insights - what surprises you most about your job?
3. Advice - what can I do right now to best prepare for a career in this field?
4. Resources - what resources should I be sure to look into next?
5. Assignments - which projects are most common or important in your work?