DAHLSTROM+COMPANY
Helping thousands of job centers put millions of people to work
HARRY
DAHLSTROM
AUTHOR
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Hi, I'm Harry Dahlstrom. Thank you for stopping by.
I guess this is where I’m supposed to blather on and on about myself. Instead, let me tell you how I help people find new jobs. I’ll keep it brief.
Basically, I write the books, handouts, and other material,
used by 8,000 job centers, career centers, and outplacement centers nationwide. Together, we’ve helped millions of people get the jobs they need and want.
Three of my books are national best sellers.
How are my books different?
They are NOT 250-page textbooks. The material I write is short, friendly, easy to read, and easy to use. My books are the size of a news magazine, 8 by 10 inches with 50 pages. You can read each one, cover to cover, in an hour or so and get started right away.
Don’t let the short-read fool you.
I once asked my largest customer, a state director of employment services, why he purchases my books for his twenty-two job centers. He replied, “Because your books say more in 50 pages than the other books say in 250 pages.”
How did all this happen?
Here’s my story in six short paragraphs—
(1) l left my job as director of recruiting and outplacement at a small New England technical college to work on my own as a freelance copywriter. Copywriters are the folks who write promotional material, like advertisements, brochures, and sales letters.
(2) A year or so later, a recession hit and people lost their jobs. As a writer and former recruiter, scores of friends, relatives, students, clients, even friends of clients, asked if I would take a look at their resumes. They also asked an endless stream of questions about the job hunt.
(3) With so many people asking for help, I wrote out a simple job-search plan. I printed copies and gave them to anyone who asked for my help. I was glad to help them and I never charged anyone for my time, my coaching, or my printed handout.
(4) Then I received a phone call. Someone had shared a copy of my handout with their local state job center. A purchasing agent from that job center called to ask about quantity pricing on my handout.
(5) That phone call led me to wonder. Would other job centers be interested in purchasing my handout too? So, I tested it. I mailed a free handout with an order form to 50 job centers. “Hmm,” I thought, after the response. Then, just to be sure, I tested another 50 job centers. “Ha!”
(6) Today, we mail a free copy of my books, with an order form, to 25,000 job centers and career centers each year. I update each of my books every-other year to keep them current. The Job Hunting Handbook, Surviving A Layoff, and Out of Debt rewarded us by selling millions of copies each.
What’s the secret? |
• Teach something important
• Keep it simple, short, and friendly
• Send free samples plus an order form to institutional buyers
I didn't do this alone.
My wife, Gail, has been my CFO, sounding board, and lucky charm since the beginning. Our eldest son, Jamie, is the technical genius who keeps all our electronic plates spinning in harmony.
Together with Deb Holmes and Ann Keenan, we spent decades mailing-out free samples, answering phone calls, taking orders, and shipping millions of books. There were also scores of part-timers, interns, vendors, critics, and mentors along the way. Thank you all.
Where’s home?
Gail and I live in the quiet, rural, town of Holliston, Massachusetts.
Holliston is about 25 miles west of Boston. It’s a great place to raise a family. And that’s what Gail and I did. Today, we have three, grown, wonderful kids, with the best spouses ever, and three happy, healthy, little grandkids, who call me, “Bumpa.”
If you’re ever in the area, you can spot Gail and me, most mornings, as we run the back hills of rural Holliston, and pick up the roadside litter on our way back home.
If you can’t toot your horn, wave or yell, “Hello,” when you drive by, you can always say, “Hi,” HERE.
—Harry Dahlstrom
Oh, before you leave, be sure to grab your FREE copy of "The US Employment Snapshot."
It's a four-page monthly report on employment and unemployment by industry and occupation. Sign up and you'll get the newest report every month. Again, it's free.
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AUTHOR'S BACKGROUND
Author & founder, 1981 to Present
Dahlstrom & Company, Inc., Holliston, Massachusetts
- The Job Hunting Handbook
- Surviving A Layoff
- Out Of Debt
- The US Employment Snapshot
- Plus, other articles, handouts, and training material
- Coming soon: Let The Job Work For You, “Go from new-hire to MVP in 50 easy to read pages"
Director of recruiting & outplacement, 1976 to 1980
Holliston Junior College, Holliston, Massachusetts (merged several years later with another institution)
- Market analysis, copywriting, media, events
- Student & staff recruitment
- Staff layoffs & terminations
Bachelor's Degree, History, 1973-1976
Harvard University, cum laude, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Thank you, Harvard, it was incredible
- Thank you, America, for the GI Bill
- Thank you Mom and Dad, for all your love, advice, and support. I miss you.
Operations Specialist, 1968 to 1972
US Navy, aboard the USS Cochrane (DDG-21), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
- Amchitka Nuclear Detonation
- Vietnam, 1969 and 1971
- Taiwan Patrol
- Apollo-9, Spacecraft Recovery Team
Other Interests
- 3x Boston Marathon, with Gail
- 1x Holliston Triathlon (we finished dead-last with huge applause)
- Red Cross, Double Reds
- Holliston Food Bank
- Collecting roadside litter
Copyright © 2025, Harry Dahlstrom
All rights reserved