Thanks to all who have contacted me and shared their job strategy. I hope my input would help set you on the path to multiple job offers and a wildly successful career. Anything is possible, you might get lucky and land a job with minimal effort simply posting your resume online or submitting your resume to those openings which seem like a good fit for you. However, if you want to maximize the outcomes, diversifying your job-hunting strategy is likely to yield better results. It’s hard to predict where your next job will come from. I’ve had clients who spent hours crafting targeted application letters only to find a job following a casual conversation with another parent at a little league game. When you take a multi-pronged approach to explore several sources of job leads, the more opportunities you will have at hand, and thus you are more likely to find and land the job you really want. 4 steps to a successful job search strategy: 1. Focus Job search is definitely not about the joy of the journey but rather about having a clearly defined destination, where you aspire to be. But it’s also imperative to recognize your starting point. Before the days of GPS, I used to get lost all the time. Yes, I was the annoying person calling my family and friends asking “how do I get there?” The first response was always “where are you now?” Starting your job search with a comprehensive analysis of where you are is the fastest way to get to where you want to go. In the words of Kofi Annan: “To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.” So start with a mastery assessment listing your knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) and any special qualifications and personal attributes; anything you have to offer potential employers. Then ask yourself the following questions:
What do I want to do next?
What is important to me in my next job?
What industries, companies & positions are of interest to me?
2. Prepare Make sure you have a lot to offer to prospective employers. Always seek knowledge and ways to enhance your skillset and utilize your expertise to bring more to the table, your value prop. Think of it as marketing and selling a product, except you are the product. There are many applicants competing for the best jobs available. Are you the best product on the market? How can you set yourself apart and stand out? Challenge: create a basic marketing message. In 20 words or less/30 seconds or less, answer the following question: what makes you uniquely valuable to potential employers? Then continue to create your marketing materials: your LinkedIn profile and a basic template of your resume and cover letter (to be customized to each job opportunity.) Collect any materials that affirm your qualifications and accomplishments, your own work portfolio, such as presentations, documents, etc. Put in place a tracking system for your networking leads, target employers, opportunities, and communications sent and received. Analyzing the data would provide insights as to which elements of your job search strategy are working and which need to be tweaked: do you have enough job leads? What is the ratio of resumes sent to job interviews? 3. Engage Build a solid pipeline of leads, a minimum of 50 leads at any given time. Identify contacts, preferably hiring managers, at target employers and start putting the word out there. According to Lou Adler, LinkedIn Influencer, most jobs are filled through networking. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-survey-reveals-85-all-jobs-filled-via-networking-lou-adler It’s true; it’s not what you know, it’s who you know! Generally speaking, networking is simply talking to people to identify helpful contacts or learn about opportunities that may not be publicly posted. Start by talking to your own family, friends and acquaintances. Let everyone in your life know you're looking for a job, and give them an idea of what type of job you want (your marketing message above.) Proactively seek opportunities such as networking events and professional associations. Cast your net wide. Get out of your comfort zone and meet new people to grow your existing network; mix, mingle, and share your story. 4. Apply Following your targeted research, run your own target-market campaign to selected employers. Apply directly to companies that interest you. Visit target companies’ career sites regularly to keep up with news and opportunities. Distribute your resume to select recruiters. Following the above steps will result in invitations for job interviews. Next step would then be preparing for your interview. The biggest mistake in interviewing is failing to adequately prepare. Do the research. Be ready to answer typical interview questions and tell your story in a compelling way. More about interviewing skills in my next blog posts. Be sure to follow my job search series for tips and offers for free feedback and critique. Email me at info@choicefulpath.com.
