Today's topic is inspired by our recruiter website of the day, Dieckmann & Associates. 

Think about when you are buying or reading something.  Doesn't a third party endorsement sound more credible than a direct pitch? 

It also carries more weight depending on who is making the endorsement.  When I look at the movie ads, I don't treat all recommendations from critics the same.  Some carry more weight than others, like Roger Ebert. 

It can also depend on the circumstances behind it.  If I know that someone has been paid to make and endorsement, such as ad on TV, it's diluted in my book.  Does that athlete really drive that vehicle around town?

(Another example that hits home closer to you in the search.  This is not the core part of the message, but a good time to slip this in.  Have your antenna up high when you hear a networking group making a strong pitch for another group; there could be sponsorship money behind the scenes.  Always ask, is that the recommendation that should make sense?  We value our independence at Finance Leaders, so we can recommend what makes the most sense for you.)

Dieckmann & Associates mentions on their web site that while they do accept unsolicited resumes, they clearly put more weight on the word of trusted third party sources.

You can make that work for you in your search.  This can carry weight in two ways:

• The person knows you well
• The person has no economic interest in endorsing you

That person.  Your former boss.

Suppose you were a recruiter.  Which would sound more powerful (obviously I have kept the language blunt to drive a point):

• Hi.  I am a great CFO and at my last company which was just sold  ......
• Hello.  We just sold our company, and I thought that Jack/Jill did a wonderful job for me as our CFO ....

Is there a former boss or investor from your last company who could write a terrific third party letter for you?  Use that instead of your own cover letter. 

Make it easy for them:

• Draft the letter if you need to or give them a layout on what to cover.  Perhaps if they see a sample from elsewhere, that could work (I believe John Lucht has one in his book)
• Come up with the list to send it to
• You do the legwork on the mailing and distribution.  You could get the letter as a Word document and email it.

If you can do this, you might find your hit rate going up many times from the 1% or less in recruiter and direct mail campaigns.