The 2-Hour Job Search

By: Steve Dalton

Old Job Search Way

1. Find classified ads in newspaper

2. Mail resume and cover letter to potential employers
3. Wait for invitations to interview

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

Reason for Change

• With online job postings it’s too easy to apply for jobs, hiring
managers receive hundreds and hundreds of resumes over
night. This is called the resume “Black Hole”

• “Being qualified on paper used to be sufficient (or at least a

great advantage) in the job search--now it is inadequate by
itself. A qualified candidate still requires internal advocacy in
an organization to raise his other credentials above the noise
of the many other casually submitted resumes that online
job posting have made possible.” –Dalton, 41

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

New Job Search Way

1. Prioritize your target companies

2. Contact people who work for those companies
3. Recruit/Connect with those people, build their trust, so
that they will advocate for you inside your target
company

This guide will walk you through an outline of “The 2 Hour

Job Search” process to help you select, prioritize, and contact
prospective employers so you can land your critical first
interview. While reading the actual book is the best way to
follow this process, this can still be used to guide you. The
process is designed to be focused and efficient and will only
take a total of 2 hours but can be broken into pieces.
Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit
Step 1: Prioritize (the LAMP Method)

List
Alumni
Motivation
Posting

In new Excel spreadsheet, make each Letter of the LAMP

method a column that will be filled out as we go, this job
research will only take an accumulation of 2 hours!

Agenda 1 Step
| 1:Agenda
L A M P2 | | Step
Agenda
2: Contact
3 | | Agenda
Step 3: 4Recruit
| Agenda 5
1.1 List column (40 minutes - 4 approaches x 10 minutes per)

Four approaches to compose your List

• Dream employer
• Alumni approach
• Posting approach
• Trend-following approach

Agenda 1 Step
| 1:Agenda
L A M P2 |L| Step
| Agenda
A 2:|Contact
M3 | |P| Agenda
Step 3: 4Recruit
| Agenda 5
1.1a Dream Employer Approach - 10 minutes

• Type any “dream employers” that come to mind into the L

column of your spreadsheet

• Determine common traits shared by your dream employers,

and log employers who similarly meet those criteria.

Agenda 1 Step
| 1:
Agenda
L A M 2P |L| Step
| Agenda
A 2:| Contact
M3 | |P | Agenda
Step 3:4Recruit
| Agenda 5
1.1b Alumni Approach – 10 minutes

• Search alumni databases for organizations where alumni

hold interesting job titles in interesting locations
o https://alumni.byu.edu/find-alumni/alumni-directory

• Use the BYU Alumni Group on LinkedIn

o https://www.linkedin.com/school/4035/alumni/

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

1.1c Posting Approach – 10 minutes

• Search Indeed.com for organizations with currently

available job postings of interest to you.

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

1.1d Trend-following Approach – 10 minutes

• Google trends in industries or functions of interest (such as

“marketing trends”) for employer ideas.

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

1.2 Alumni Column – 10 minutes

• Search your most recent alumni database for alumni at

each employer in the L column
o Alumni database: https://alumni.byu.edu/find-
alumni/alumni-directory
o BYU Alumni Group on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/school/4035/alumni/

• Note only Y for yes and N for no in your A column for each
company – do not copy contact information, this will save
time now and will allow you to find contact info later for
people you will actually contact

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

1.3 Motivation Column – 5 minutes

Assign target employers in the L column a qualitative score of 1

to 5, assessing your motivation to approach each

• 5 – “dream” employers
• 2 - least motivating employers
• 1 – employers you are unfamiliar with

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

1.4 Posting Column – 15 minutes

Using Indeed.com, classify current hiring activity.

Use scale of 1-3.

• 3 – hits found when searching for “<employer

name><job keyword>”
• 2 – hits found when search for “<employer name>”
• 1 – no hits are found

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

Step 1: Wrap-Up Sort LAMP List

• Motivation (largest to smallest)

• Posting (largest to smallest)
• Alumni (reverse alphabetically, or Z to A)

It’s okay to change target motivation scores (as desired) based

on job posting quality, alumni contacts, or additional research
of unknown employers, and sort again.

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

Example of LAMP List

# List Alumni Motivation Posting

1 Company B Y 5 5

2 Company D N 5 5

3 Company A N 4 4

4 Company H Y 3 2

…. …. …. …. ….

…. …. …. …. ….

…. …. …. …. ….

39 Company Y N 1 5

40 Company W Y 1 1

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

Step 2: Contact

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

2.1 Naturalize – 20 minutes

Identify top-priority employers with Ns in the Alumni column

• Use the following algorithm to convert Ns into Ys

1. Most recent alumni database (already done)
2. Previous alumni databases
3. LinkedIn (group,1st, or 2nd degree connections)
4. Facebook
5. Fan Mail
6. Cold calls
• Once a target is found, note source
• Utilize emails4corporations.com as needed

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

2.2 Email – 20 minutes
• Locate email address for most relevant contact at each of
Top 5 target employers

• Write 5-Point Email to each contact

o Fewer than 100 words
o No mention of jobs anywhere (subject of body)
o Connection goes first
o Generalize your interest
o Maintain control of follow-up

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

5-Point Email Example (not template)

SUBJECT: Duke MBA student seeking your advice

Dear Mr. Jones,

My name is Brooke Franklin, and I am a first-year Duke MBA student

who found your information in the Duke alumni database. May I have
20 minutes to ask you about your experience with IBM? I am trying to
learn more about marketing careers at technology companies in North
Carolina, and your insights would be very helpful.

I recognize this may be a busy time for you, so if we are unable to

connect by email I’ll try to reach you next week to see whether that is
more convenient.

Thank you for your time,

Brook
Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit
2.3 Track – 10 minutes

Follow the 3B7 Routine for Top 5 target employers:

• Set two reminders your calendaring system any time a

5-Point Email is sent to a new contact
o Reminder #1: three business days later
o Reminder #2: seven business days later

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

2.3 Track continued – 10 minutes

• If a response is received before Reminder #1 appears, you

likely have found a Booster – schedule an informational
interview as soon as possible
• If no response is received before Reminder #1 appears,
initiate outreach to a second contact using the 3B7 Routine
• If no response is received before Reminder #2 appears,
follow up with the original contact

Make sure to initiate contact with new target employers

beyond Top 5 whenever a Booster has been identified, an
employer is ruled out, or time permits.

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

Step 3: Recruit/Connect (informational interviewing)

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

3.1 Research – 15 minutes per interview

• Conduct external research

o See DataMonitor360 analysis (when available)
o Review positive headlines on front page of target’s
website
o Google both the interviewer and employer for any
other headlines (also search them on LinkedIn)
• Prepare for the Big Three Questions
o “Tell me about yourself”
o “Why are you interested in our company?”
o “Why are you interested in our industry and/or
function?”
• 15 minutes per interview

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

3.2 Discuss – 30 minutes per interview

• The three phases of a TIARA Framework informational

interview are:
o Small talk
o Questions and answers (TIARA)
o Next Steps

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

3.2 Discuss: Small Talk

• Should occur naturally, but can be induced systematically

if it does not
o “How is your day going?”
o “What are you working on?”
o “What path did you follow to join your employer?”

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

3.2 Discuss: TIARA – Guide for Q&A

• Use the topics outlined by TIARA to ask the interviewee

questions that will get them talking.

• TIARA
o Trends
• “What trends are most impacting your business right now?”
o Insights
• “What surprises you most about your job?”
o Advice
• “What can I do right now to best prepare for a career in this field?”
o Resources
• “What resources should I be sure to look into next?”
o Assignments
• “Which projects are most common/important in your work?”

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

3.2 Discuss: Next Steps

• If a referral is offered, commit (and schedule) yourself to

follow up in two weeks

• If a referral is not offered, transition to Two-Part

Informational Closing

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit

3.3 Follow-up
• Set monthly reminders to update those with whom
you’ve conducted informational interviews
o First update email should recap advice given and
benefits gained, ending with a request for additional
suggestions
o Subsequent updates serve primarily to update
contact on your progress and request any additional
suggestions
• Time spend “harvesting” Boosters will grow as progress is
made, but should remain minimal compared to outreach
to new targets on LAMP list
• Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until contacts lead to interview
and employment!

Step 1: L A M P | Step 2: Contact | Step 3: Recruit