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About

Dahlstrom+Company

Helping thousands of job centers put millions of people to work

HARRY
DAHLSTROM
AUTHOR
• • • 

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 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

      


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, 8 by 10 inches. 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 two-dozen job centers. He replied, “Because your books say more in 48 pages than the other books say in 248 pages.”

How did all this happen?

Here’s my story in six short paragraphs.


l 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, 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, 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 set aside some time and wrote 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. A purchasing agent from the 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.” 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. 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.

What’s the secret? 

“Teach something important. 
Keep it short and simple.
 Send free samples to likely 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’ve 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 little 
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.

If you can’t toot your horn, wave, or yell, “Hello” when you drive by, you can always say “Hi” here at www.HarryDahlstrom.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks again for stopping by,
—Harry

Before you leave,

be sure to grab a FREE copy of the current
“US Employment Snapshot.” 

       

It’s a FREE, four-page monthly report on employment and unemployment—by industry and occupation.

• • • 

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 48 easy pages”

Director of recruiting, 1976 to 1980

Holliston Junior College

Holliston, Massachusetts and Lee, Massachusetts

  • Market analysis, copywriting, media, events
  • Student & staff recruitment
  • Staff layoffs & terminations

Bachelor of Arts, 1973-1976

Harvard University, cum laude

Cambridge, Massachusetts

  • Thank you, Harvard, it was incredible.
  • Thank you, America, for the GI Bill.
  • Thank you, Sears-Roebuck, for your part-time 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 Petty Officer, 1968 to 1972

US Navy, aboard the USS Cochrane (DDG-21)

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

  • Amchitka Nuclear Detonation 
  • Vietnam, 1969, 1971
  • Taiwan Patrol
  • Apollo 9, Spacecraft Recovery

Other Interests

  • 3x Boston Marathon
  • 1x Holliston Triathlon
  • Red Cross, Double Reds
  • Holliston Food Bank
  • Collecting roadside litter