Mary Berman, from Farmington Hills, Michigan, had been looking for work since February 2009 before starting her Guerrilla Job Search, in mid-September.

Up to that point, 20 weeks of job hunting had produced zero job interviews.

Just 7 weeks later, she accepted a job on Thursday, November 12, as a marketing executive assistant.

How did she use Guerrilla job hunting tactics to find work 65% faster?

“I started with the Coffee Cup Caper. I sent a paper Starbucks coffee cup with my cover letter and Guerrilla Resume. I heard back from them a couple days later to get my first interview,” says Berman.

After her first interview, which went well, Berman followed up with panache.

“It was Halloween time, so I decided to send them a chocolate covered apple with my hand-written thank-you note attached. A friend of mine, who was off work that day, played delivery person and took it to [the employer]. That was a big hit — they were thrilled — and I got the second interview out of it.”

Berman’s second interview was with the executive vice president. Afterwards, she followed up diligently. “When I came home, I wrote a 30-60-90 day plan. I had taken copious notes during the interview and used that information given to create suggestions for what I would do in the first 30, 60, and 90 days. I sent that to them via FedEx with another thank-you note. And I got a job offer.”

Now. Let’s break this successful Guerrilla Job Search down …

1. Start smart

The Coffee Cup Caper — a paper Starbucks cup, full-color Guerrilla Resume, and a Guerrilla Cover Letter (asking to meet for coffee), shipped in a box — gets extraordinary results. By contrast, ordinary resumes and cover letters, sent by email, get ordinary results.

2. Follow up with style

Delivering a Halloween treat with her thank-you note was correct seasonally, if not politically. Use good judgment before sending items that might be perceived as bribes by employers sensitive to such things. In Berman’s case, however, it worked like a (chocolate-covered) charm.

And, leaving out the gift, could you arrange to have your thank-you note delivered by a courier, or a friend posing as one? Of course.

3. Give employers another reason to hire you

Mary did this in spades after her second interview, when she sent a written plan of action for her first 3 months on the job.

A 30-60-90 day plan is a way of proving you can do the work — before you’re even on the payroll — by describing how you would learn the job, build rapport with employees/customers, and contribute to the bottom line.

Mary’s plan was 8 pages long and took the better part of a Friday night to prepare. (Before you balk at spending an entire evening at home researching and writing a 30-60-90 day plan, ask yourself if you wouldn’t trade a night out for getting a steady paycheck again.)

4. Score style points with your delivery

Mary’s first follow-up, the chocolate-apple-thank-you note, was delivered by a courier, not by email. Her 30-60-90 day plan was delivered by FedEx, not by email.

Do you NOT see a pattern? Email should NOT be the sole delivery method for your career documents.

Bottom line: This smart Guerrilla had failed to get even one job interview in 20 weeks of conventional job hunting with conventional tactics.

After adopting unconventional Guerrilla tactics, she found work in only 7 weeks.

If Guerrilla job search methods can work in Michigan, where the unemployment rate tops 15%, they can work where you live. The only thing stopping you from thinking and acting like a Guerrilla is you.

The same Guerrilla Resumes and Cover Letters Mary used are here.