Harrison cites examples of how job seekers with less than perfect credentials are actually managing successful careers now thanks to applying for openings that were never really advertised as jobs.

1. Do Your Job Search On Heavy Ground

2. My Goal Is For You To Succeed In Your Job Search After working for many years helping people get jobs, I have realized that those who get the best jobs, do not conduct their job search like everyone else.

3. You Wouldn’t Believe How Many Times I Have Seen This. In Sun Tzu’s The Art of War , Tzu identifies eight different types of combat. The following two are applicable to your job search:

4. Heavy Ground: Heavy Ground describes a stealthy approach; to go undetected into the enemy’s territory before attacking. One utilizes the element of surprise to win the war.

5. Deadly Ground: The deadly ground style describes a face to face encounter in which there are no easy escapes. It is a battle of brute force and usually results in a good deal of casualties. Sun Tzu says this is the worst sort of battle as it is without “art.” He claims it reflects poorly on the commander of the troops.

6. In A Heavy Ground Battle, A Weaker Force Can Paralyze A Much Stronger One. While most people are trained to do things in unison with the rest of the world, I propose that you take a heavy ground approach to your job search. If you take a deadly ground one, and approach your job search in the simple, straightforward manner that everyone else does, you have only your resume to distinguish you.

7. America Is Currently Fighting A Guerilla War With Iraq And Afghanistan. The guerilla tactics of our enemies is what makes them so difficult, if not impossible, to completely defeat. Guerilla warfare makes it very difficult for any army to have rules. This constant surprise is a somewhat successful approach to warfare.

8. This Guerilla Warfare Is Essentially How America Defeated The British In The Revolutionary War. The British completely outnumbered the Americans. Had America taken a conventional approach to the war, they would have undoubtedly lost.

9. According to John Ferling, The Author of Almost a Miracle, The American Victory In The War Of Independence: “ The colonists learned how to minimize the chances of an enemy ambush, sometimes employed a hit-and-run style of fighting, often utilized a mobile strategy, and not infrequently adopted terror tactics that included torture; killing women, children, and the elderly; the destruction of Indian villages and food supplies. . . . In time, warfare in the colonies came to be associated with a manner of fighting that England’s career soldiers variously called ‘irregular war,’ ‘bush war,’ or simply the ‘American way of war.’”

10. The British Also Believed In Fighting A Gentlemanly War Had the Americans done the same, we never would have won the war.

11. An Integral Part Of My Philosophy In My Career Of Helping People Find Jobs Is Using a “Heavy Ground” Approach. Every single year I managed to bring in upwards of $1,000,0000 in fees. Even during a bad economy, I still managed to bring in these sorts of fees. My “heavy ground” methodology is absolutely the secret to my success.

12. In The World Of Legal Job Recruiting, It Is Considered Unethical To Submit Candidates To Law Firms That Have No Openings. When I Started my legal recruiting, BCG Attorney Search, I realized that this made no sense. It made no sense because the minute any firm had an opening, every recruiter would start submitting their candidates, making any one attorney’s chances of getting the job, slim to none. It was my goal to get any attorney I worked with a job. This meant sometimes resorting to unconventional methods.

13. I Started Looking For Jobs In Unconventional Places. I was reading The San Francisco Sun and I read an article that quoted the head of a law firm saying they have so much work, they had set up desks in the hall ways. I immediately sent two out-of-work attorneys over there. Both of these attorneys ended up being hired and having successful careers with that firm.

14. Doing A Job Search On “Heavy Ground” Means Applying Places Where Others Are Not. On my company’s website, EmploymentScape.com I have a place where I list old job listings because I realize that if a company was hiring for a position in the past, it will most likely be hiring for that position again in the future. Most people do not visit that part of the website because they only want current job listings. Big mistake in my opinion.

15. Someone May Have Recently Left A Job At The Given Firm And They Could Be Hiring Again. You are much better off applying for that job now, and without any competition, than later.

16. When You Do Your Job Search On “Heavy Ground” Terms, You Are Not Competing With Others. I have based my entire career around this, and if you understand it, you will never have too much trouble finding a job.