Becoming a Rare Find: How Jagged Resumes Lead to Great Jobs--a Companion Guide to The Rare Find: An eSpecial from Portfolio/Penguin Book

Why don't employers take a more optimistic view of people's potential? Why is there such a fixation on a few bullet-point highlights of candidates' résumés, to the point that most applicants are quickly cast aside as "not good enough"? Why is there such unwillingness to get to know what job seekers are all about? What if you could change the rules? What if you could capture the attention of employers who should be hiring you, persuading them to see you on your terms?

Becoming a Rare Find will show you how to approach job hunting in ways that play to your strengths. If you are a natural project manager, then develop a project plan. If you like marketing, build a marketing campaign that centers on reasons why employers should want you. Whatever approach you settle on—and no matter what job you want—you will get a better chance to "show your fire." You will escape the clutter of job-posting stampedes, where the odds of winning even a barista's job can be slimmer than the chances of getting into Harvard. You will start finding jobs through the "hidden market," where they are sometimes never announced, and you will discover the value of small companies with big ambitions. Finally, you will learn how to rearrange your social media profiles so that when great employers look for talent, they will find you.