1. Modlish
Business Writing Redstone College Introduction (MOD 1)
1
AN ADVENTURE: THE JOB SEARCH AS A FISHING TRIP
Think of the process of seeking and applying for a job as a fishing trip. The kinds of
questions you ask to catch one fish or one kind of fish are the same kinds of
questions you ask to catch any fish. Like fishing for fish, fishing for a job requires
patience and engagement in the process of understanding the fish you want to catch.
 What kind of fish do you want to catch?
 Where will you find that particular kind of fish?
o Are you willing to go wherever you need to go to find the fish?
 What kind of fishing rod and reel do you need?
o What kinds of equipment are you trained to use?
o Do you need to take a fly-fishing course?
o Are there any circumstances where bare hands (think general
resume) work to catch fish? Noodling for catfish? Anything else?
o Why are you interested in catching one kind of fish, but not another?
 What kind of bait does that fish like?
o Have you researched the fish? The fish might not like deer corn, even
though deer corn works really well for deer.
 Do you know the particular habitat the fish lives in?
o Do you have a friend who knows the habitat really well, and will that
friend accompany you or show you the habitat?
o If you don’t have a friend who knows the habitat, can you do enough
research to learn about the habitat and catch the fish?
 Do you know what scares the fish and what you can do to attract the fish?
 How do you pay attention to a fish so that you can catch it?
 What are you thinking about to successfully catch the fish? YOU ARE
THINKING ABOUT THE FISH. Where it is. What it likes. How you can find
it. How you can become a part of its habitat, not scare it away but attract it.
 1) The Job You Want (interesting, good pay, what you are training for)
o The perfect fish (the right pole, bait and circumstances)
 2) A job in the industry, may be entry level
o An O.K. fish, but not what you’re after (decent off-the-shelf
fishing pole and bait)
 3) A job not in the industry, not very good pay or prospects
o Not a very good fish, found it by grabbing it out of a pond with
your hands, fish wasn’t well enough to skitter away (one of the
equivalents is generic “motivated professional seeks stable
company”)
How are the elements in the job search similar?

2. Modlish
Business Writing Redstone College Introduction (MOD 1)
2
 Personal contact: Someone you know who is inside the company
(habitat) where you want a job.
 Applicant Tracking System: A substantial briar patch to cut through to
get to the habitat. The right words can help you machete your way
through the patch.
 Job and company specific resume and cover letter: You have identified
the exact fish and its habitat, you’ve done the research, and your resume
and cover letter will be like a siren song calling the fish to you.
 Redstone Career Services: Generally knowledgeable about fishing
strategies, many kinds of fish and habitats of interest to you, and about
the blasted briar patches.
 Industry specific resume and cover letter: For catching a variety of fish
in a particular type of habitat. Might not be the fish you want, though
(could as well be a sand shark as a red fish). But it gets you to the right
place.
 Online application: Often an ally of the briar patch, but all too
frequently an unavoidable element in the process. Think of it as
mosquitoes buzzing around your head, but don’t let it get in the way of
your pursuit of your prize fish.
 General resume and cover letter: Think of it as an old shoe of yours
you’re offering for bait. It’s true that it is something of yours. But the
fish ignore it—the tug on the line you feel is the tug of an old tire or
possibly of another fisherman’s line on a very crowded fishing boat.
 Recruiter
 LinkedIn profile: Let’s the world know you are a fisherman and what
kinds of fish you like and know how to fish for.
 Business card: Bait to hand out at job fairs, chance encounters.
 Job fair: Bait and fish shop. Potential to learn about lots of different
fish, maybe discover some kinds you didn’t know were out there.
 Chance encounter: Someone who loves the same kinds of fish you do.