"Headhunter Tony Haley puts a name to the fear every professional harbors -- that they are The Invisible Candidate.

With penetrating insight, he shines a light on how top employers choose job candidates. Page after page, this book delivers hard-hitting advice about how to make yourself the clear choice among the crowd of indistinct applicants.

This book is a must - and the sooner you read it, the brighter your career will be.”

Nick Corcodilos
Author - Ask The Headhunter
www.asktheheadhunter.com

“A lifetime of sales and executive recruitment is clearly evident in the book.  A very “tell it as it really is” book … no punch-pulling.  Excellent real-world advice!”

Douglas  Loewe  
Inspirational Executive-Level International Business Leader

You may find it interesting to know that I have being trying to apply some of your useful tips while job hunting, specially the "keep the advantages you may bring to employers at the forefront of your mind", and I can tell you it works.

David Garrido
Spain

I received "The Invisible Candidate" and read through it immediately. Josh Billings was right (p68) "There is nothing so easy to learn as experience and nothing so hard to apply"

Even after many years in sales I was unprepared for the task of actually applying for jobs when made redundant at the end of last year. It took months of full mailboxes from all sorts of agencies and a number of failed interview cycles to reach the same conclusions.  The whole process left me feeling devalued. I knew I needed a coherent campaign. I also knew that the only results I was enjoying came from networking and cold calls and that this was how I had always changed jobs in the past.

What stands out for me is the simple practicality articulated in your book.

As Josh Billings may have put it "Genius ain't anything more than elegant common sense"

Martin Whiteley

I have been a follower of your advice posted in the newsletters, I found them inspirational and applied them in my attempts to find a job. This message is only to let you know that it worked for me because (finally) yesterday I received a phone call saying I had the job. I just think it is a matter of changing the perspective, try to not get desperate, follow the steps and trust in yourself.

Dulce Alvarez
Belgium

I just want to express my thankfulness for your newsletters which you sent to members of the board. I found the hints and advice very helpful, and I have started thinking about my self-presentation in interviews.

Since I am a very open person and can speak frankly, I mostly over-sold myself and did not express enough interest in the concerns of the company.

Now, with another perspective on the topic, I prepared better and I was successful in getting the job.

Thank you very much, and if you don't mind, I will share this experience with other people and forward your advice.

Mechthild Kaiser
Germany

A great book for getting a job.  I had the chance to work with the author previously and I was impressed by his professionalism then.  Reading the book now I understand why - he is also a great Sales person.

The concept of the book is clear - getting the job is one of your most important sales jobs.  It is your choice do you wait for somebody to find you and buy you or do you work proactively to find the buyer / employer.  While giving number of practical advises, the author continuously emphasizes the importance of preparation for the process - including mental preparation.

Great book, which I recommend to everybody, looking for a job, looking for a new employee or simply looking to improve his sales skills.

Stefan Tsvetkov
Budapest, Hungary

I think that The Invisible Candidate is a welcome addition to my personal library and I have found much wisdom in your experience.  Moreover, if money were no object (and sadly, this is not the case), I would send a copy to every recruitment consultant it has been my misfortune to meet!

John Dexter

I have finished reading The Invisible Candidate and have found it most useful in preparing and doing interviews.  I enjoy closing the sale interviews now and also did a presentation in a second interview the other day on my career achievements even though it was not asked for.  I think it gives you the edge on other candidates.

I have already started recommending your book to friends who are also job hunting like myself.

Emma Sheldon

Having read the book cover-to-cover, I believe it to be the best I've come across concerning the process of getting a good job. I have seen most of the advice in one form or another in different books and articles, but the author has done a great job in distilling all the information into an easy-to-read, "non-waffley," manual for those who need to get to grips finding a new role.

David Nicklin

This book has blown the lid off of my understanding of how the recruitment system works - which has been a big eye opener for me. I found the book hugely informative and impossible to put down from start to finish.  It is like you have looked into my head and written about how I feel at the moment, able to answer questions related to why the phone is not constantly calling me to inform of progress on on-going opportunities.

I don't think that I have absorbed a book quite so heartily for a long time - the only comparison I can make was reading Steinbeck's East of Eden, which I found almost impossible to put down and was virtually ostracised from my family for my anti-social behaviour.

Although I had an understanding of some of these facts, some were new and to have a publication that is (a) current; (b) insightful and (c) ties everything together nicely in explanation has been a pleasant surprise and provided me with some cause for re-thinking my present search policy.

I am aware that some of the traps that you outlined as existing recruitment policy are those that I am falling into, so I want to try to adapt your Sales techniques into something more appropriate for the interim Qualified Management Accountancy market to do my best to get in front of decision makers.

Admittedly, there are aspects of the book which click with me better than others, however as a pocket book, aide memoire I cannot think of too many books which cover such ground - for any person looking to change career from any walk of life, I would thoroughly recommend it.

Thanks for making some of the frustration with the system disappear for me.

Jeremy Yeomans  
Self employed CIMA Qualified Accountant.

"Just this week on the radio, there had been a jobseeker telling the interviewer all about the 700 jobs they have applied for which had resulted in 11 interviews but still no luck in landing a new job.  The interviewer duly noted that the jobseeker really needs to get some help because they must be doing something wrong.  The "Invisible Candidate" is not merely for the hapless serial applier of jobs but for any current jobseeker in the UK that wants to stand out from the crowd and beat the competition to their dream job.  Anthony Haley's book is current (the advice given is all in line with the current economic downturn), practical common sense, and crucially brings tools and techniques that are sales in nature, but translate beautifully to the business of getting a job.

"The Invisible Candidate" is like having your own job coach: Haley's style is straight to the point and he obviously has many years of experience that all makes perfect sense (especially at the senior end of the market as a head-hunter). It is for this reason that I felt that the "Invisible Candidate" would appeal to the project management marketplace: This book is about seizing the opportunity, understanding your skills and experiences to provide the necessary motivation to lift yourself above "today's dysfunctional job market" to get the job you really want, rather than just any old job to pay the bills.

Haley's approach essentially utilises sales skills to sell yourself and you may think that sounds like nothing new. But we still see in the marketplace people relying too much on job boards to find positions, outsourcing of your own CV writing to companies that may or may not have your best interests at heart, and, like the opening paragraph, some people still using methods that fail to land themselves a job.

"The Invisible Candidate" takes the reader through the job hunting process from where to find your ideal position (over 70% of vacancies are never advertised), plus self analysis to understand who you are, what you're worth and what you've got to offer. It's a technique that is straightforward with a very powerful outcome for any jobseeker. Of course the CV is covered, and mirrors the advice I always give out, too; "You will need several versions of your CV to suit different companies so do not be concerned with how many". Remember: this book is all about making yourself visible to the employing organisation and Haley's common-sense approach should be heeded by everyone when creating your CV.

Practical advice continues through making calls to the organisations you would ideally like to be working for, the importance of interview etiquette and surprisingly, good sections on the psychological, including use of NLP and the importance of body language in "business meetings" (Think of interviews like business meetings, a two-way street). The book also takes the reader through first and second interviews, psychometric testing, the offer process and counter offers, all with the tools and techniques to make you, the jobseeker, the most visible and likely candidate for the job. The "Invisible Candidate" leaves the reader feeling empowered in the job hunting process: it is all about both taking control and being in control throughout the entire process. Sometimes this might mean walking away from a potential opportunity, but at least the decision is firmly in your corner (indeed Haley gives a great insight into how the UK recruitment market works and how organisations deal with the business of employing people; sometimes you know when it's better to walk away!)

This book is not for the jobseeker who wants to carry on applying for vacancies on job boards and the national press, sending the same old "me too" CV with cover note that says not very much at all. This book is for the jobseeker who wants to be proactive in their search; who is not scared of trying new techniques that may very well take you out of your comfort zone; who is looking for a much more professional approach to the whole business of job hunting. The "Invisible Candidate" is more about acquiring life skills primarily for job hunting but ultimately, you will be left with new skills which can be used throughout your professional career.

Lindsay Scott
Arras People