How do I have a great interview and LAND the job?

What are some interesting stories you have about going through great lengths to land a job interview?

• Whether it relates to networking, your resume, or anything else you may have done to get an interview it would be great to hear your story.

• Answer:

  I think most people will agree that the preponderance of job/candidate search activity (including networking) is conducted electronically, via computers, tablets, smart phones, internet job boards.  I think that it is done this way so much so that it is difficult to differentiate yourself from the hundreds and thousands of other candidates for the same jobs you may be interested in. Taking this into account, I bought some high-end stationary to print my resume and cover letter on, and used the U.S. Postal Service to deliver them to the CEO's of the companies I was targeting. The executive assistants that opened the mail saw the quality of the material, the high-bond, watermarked paper, the gold paper clips, the easy to read formatted documents, assumed high-qualty, and made certain it got in front of the CEO.  The CEO took a look, forwarded it on to the VP of HR with the directive to contact me. In a couple of cases, I had calls from the CEO, the VP of HR and the Hiring Manager before I had to fill out web-site applications or follow other company processes designed to screen out others. I've landed a couple of jobs this way - it's easier to stand-out, it's easier to network, and the results speak for themselves.