Action drives results: after the post, the social proof showed up in my inbox

I thought I’d do a quick follow up on my post about taking action with a real-life success story about how the process actually works.

This comes from an email that I got last Friday morning. I picked it up while waiting for a connecting flight at LAX, and immediately called the person who sent it. I think she was a bit surprised to hear from me, but she shouldn’t have been. Her email was great.

Hi Jason,

…

You’ve been on my radar screen for a while, though. I was bound and determined to land a job through social networking, so I got on Twitter and started a blog about Web 2.0 job-search strategies for seniors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (graduated in May ’09). I can’t count how many times I referenced your blog along the way.

Now I’m one of those Web 2.0 success stories that seem to be plastering the news. I found this job through Twitter — never filled out an application or wrote a cover letter. A career counselor friend in Maine connected me to this company that had been in my backyard (Durham, NC) the whole time, and from tweet to job, my “search” took about a week.

…

This was a perfect email.

Want to know why?

Get ready, here it comes:

For starters, it wasn’t the flattery, I’m sorry to say. It was actually the following five things that made this note relevant to me:

1. I know a career counselor in Maine, and had a hunch it was the same one referenced. The connection gave this email immediate credibility.
2. Did I say five things? I meant one. Everything after this point is gravy.
3. The first paragraph gives me enough information to verify her story.
4. She’s barking up the right tree telling how she landed a job without a resume!
5. OK, OK… the flattery helped… ya happy now?

How perfect is “perfect?”

It worked for the same reason she got a job: She took action. She took action to start a blog, to network, to help others along the way—all of which made set the right tone and made it easy for her current employer to hire her—and here she is again, taking action in reaching out to me and making it easy for me to help her, too.

Sure, if I put back in the missing paragraphs, we could probably find things about the note to improve, but why bother? It’s clear, it’s written in full sentences, and it got the main points across quickly. The author wants me to take a look at OptimalResume.com and help get the word out. Optimal is now on my radar, I’ve looked at their business, and I’ve got “call COO” on my calendar for next Monday. (Does that work for you, Dave?)

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: take the risk. Reach out. Fumble. Goof. Stick your foot in your mouth and take a bite.

Maybe you’ll look like a clown once or twice. Or maybe, you’ll end up following in Kelly’s footsteps. And for the record, she wears a size I-GOT-A-JOB-BY-TAKING-ACTION!

Jason Seiden is Co-founder and CEO of Ajax Social Media, a training company that shows professionals how use social media to work more effectively.