ABOUT
DAHLSTROM+COMPANY
Helping thousands of job centers put millions of people to work.
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. I’ll try to keep it brief.
Basically, I write the books, handouts, and supplemental 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.
• The Job Hunting Handbook
• Surviving A Layoff
• Out Of Debt
• I also publish the FREE monthly, “US Employment Snapshot”
How are my books different?
The material I write is short, friendly, easy to read, and easy to use. My books are the size of a news magazine. You can read them, cover to cover, in an hour or so, and get started right away.
But don’t let the short-read mislead you.
I once asked my largest customer, a State Director of Employment Services, why he purchases my books for his two-dozen job centers. He replied, “Because your books say more in 50 pages than the other books say in 250 pages.”
HOW DID
THIS HAPPEN?
Here’s my story in six short paragraphs:
1. I left my job as a recruiter at a small New England technical college, to work on my own as a copywriter. Copywriters are the folks who write promotional material, like advertisements, catalogs, 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, clients, even friends of clients, asked if I’d 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 set aside some time to write out a simple job-search plan. I printed copies and gave them to anyone who asked for my help. I was glad to help, and I never charged anyone for my time, my coaching, or my handout.
4. Then I received a phone call. Someone had shared a copy of my handout with their local state job center. The center’s purchasing agent called to ask about quantity pricing on my handout.
5. That phone call led me to wonder. "Would other job centers be interested in ordering my handout too?" So, I tested it. I mailed a free handout with an order-form to 50 job centers. Then, 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. The Job Hunting Handbook rewarded us by selling 8 million copies so far. Surviving A Layoff,with a similar format, sold 6 million copies. Out of Debt sold another million. I update each of my books every-other year to keep them current.
That’s the short version, the nice one, without all the drama.
Maybe another time.
WHAT'S THE SECRET?
"Write something important.
Make it super simple.
Send free samples to thousands of 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 we 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. We are couple carrying the black trash bags.
If you can’t toot your horn, wave, or yell, “Hello,” when you drive by, you can always say “Hi” at www.HarryDahlstrom.com. I’d love to hear your story.
Thanks again for stopping by,
—Harry
PS: Be sure to grab a FREE copy of
the “US Employment Snapshot.”
It’s a four-page monthly report on employment and
unemployment—by industry and occupation.
BRIEF
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 48 easy pages”
Director of recruiting, 1976 to 1980
Holliston Junior College
Holliston, Massachusetts and at Lee, Massachusetts
• Market analysis, copywriting, media
• Student & staff recruitment
• Staff layoffs & terminations
Harvard University, 1973 to 1976
Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, History
Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Thank you, Harvard, it was incredible
• Thank you, America, for the GI Bill. You paid most of my tuition at Harvard
• Thank you, Sears-Roebuck, for your weekend education in retail sales
• Thank you, Dad, for listening and sharing while working with you in your one-man, auto-body shop, during college breaks. Miss you.
Operations Specialist, 1968 to 1972
US Navy, aboard the USS Cochrane (DDG-21)
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
• Amchitka Nuclear Detonation
• Vietnam, 1969, 1971
• Taiwan Patrol
• Apollo Spacecraft Recovery
Other Interests
• 3x Boston Marathon
• 1x Holliston Triathlon
• Red Cross, Double Reds
• Holliston Food Bank
• Collecting roadside litter
•• End ••