LAMP List

The 2-Hour Job Search: Creating Your LAMP List

As Shared by Steve Dalton, author of “The 2 Hour Job Search, Using Technology to Get the Right Job

FASTER”

Presented by the Office of Business Career Management

LAMP is a job search strategy created by Steve Dalton, author of “The 2 Hour Job Search, Using Technology to Get the Right Job Faster”. It helps by gathering specific employer information and helps you select which employers to approach and in what order.

• Guarantees that: 1. similar tasks are grouped together. 2. each task is done to the appropriate level of detail.

• Uses the 80-20 Rule to get 80% of employer research’s benefit in 20% of the time.

What is LAMP?

• L = List • A = Advocacy (Alumni or Affinity) • M = Motivation • P = Posting

• You will need access to Excel to create your LAMP; avoid creating multiple LAMP lists.

What Does LAMP Stand For?

LAMP = LIST

Remember: List only company names; omit any contact information or available position(s) in this step.

Advocacy: Search our Alumni database to locate alumni and where they work. Write down any that spark your interest. Other “Affinity” Options: (1) friends and family , (2) proximity to your current residence, (3) similarity to your previous experience. Actively Hiring / Posting: Search

for job postings that interest you. Trend Following: Look up via google “trends” in your desired industry/functions, locate relevant articles. You can find some hidden gems.

• Goal: List 10 possible employers in 10 minutes for each part, ending with 40 companies.

• Break into four parts:

- Dream Employers

- Alumni or Affinity Employers

- Posting Search / Actively Hiring Employers

- Trend Following / Sponsorship*

• *International students can replace the Trend Following category with a Sponsorship category. Good resource to search: Redbus2us.com.

• Do not use this for company research; just list the names. If you get stuck, think of competitors for those companies listed.

LAMP: List Column (40 minutes)

LAMP: Advocacy Column (10 minutes) • Search your Alumni database such as

(Alumni groups in LinkedIn) to locate possible Alumni from the 40 companies listed in the “L” column.

• If you find Alumni place a Y (yes), if no Alumni matches any of the companies place a N (no) in the Advocacy column.

• If using Affinity for your Advocacy column, follow the same instructions as for Alumni using one of the following:

Option 1 - friends and family Option 2- proximity to your current residence Option 3 - similarity to your previous experience. Write Y (yes) or N (no) in this column.

LAMP: Motivation Column (5 minutes) • Analyze the employers you have in

your “L” column.

• You are going to rate the employers based on your motivation in approaching each.

. • The higher the number, the more

motivated you are.

• Use the following rating system: 3 = favorite employer

2 = middle tier choice

1 = lower tier choice

0 = don’t know enough to make an informed opinion

LAMP: Posting Column (15 minutes)

• Using your job search engine of choice, search for current job

postings from companies listed in your employer list (L) column

• Use the following rating system: 3 = relevant job postings

2 = has job postings, but not relevant to your job search

1= no job postings

Time to Sort Your LAMP List • Sort your LAMP list as follows:

1. Motivation 2. Posting 3. Advocacy

• After you have your completed LAMP list, select Custom Sort>Add Level>Sort By: Motivation, Posting and Advocacy.

• Order from Largest to Smallest your Motivation (3-0) , then Posting (3-1).

• Place Advocacy column in reverse alphabetical order (Z-A).

Unsorted LAMP List

Sorted LAMP ListOriginal LAMP List

Now What Do I Do With My Sorted LAMP List ?

• Look at your top 5 employers on your LAMP List

• Reach out to them using a 6 Point Email Template

• Conduct Informational Interviews

For more information on the 6 Point Email and informational interviews, check out our workshop:

2 Hour Job Search: Why Do We Network?

Join us @HireFIUBiz

Contact us: Email: [email protected] Telephone: 305-348-7396 Website: business.fiu.edu/careers