By Phil Rosenberg

A reader asked if he should use a direct email campaign for his job search.

“What approach I should use in the messages I send? Is it best to be direct or indirect in the messages    I send to business owners or executives? For the direct approach, I could say that I would love to  hear about positions they might have where I could put my e-marketing skills to work.  At the worst I will just find that there isn’t much of a response.”   – M.S.

While there are many career professionals who like this approach, I find it to be self defeating, risking more harm than good. Here’s why …

My thoughts and experiences are going to be different than those of most career coaches, outplacement professionals, recruiters, college placement offices, and “rules of thumb”. Most of these sources will advise candidates to take a direct approach. Typical advice would be to craft an email, stating that you are in an active search mode, possibly attaching your resume, and asking for help or referrals.

While those approaches worked 9 years ago, when email was still fairly new, it’s less effective today – and can cause you to damage relationships unknowingly. I’ll sum up the points below by » Read more: Networking: How should I let my network know that I’m looking for work?