Job Search, Career Change or Internal Move in 2008?
Ready. Fire. Aim.
That doesn't sound right. And yet, that is how most people begin their job search, career transition, or internal move. And sadly, I am being generous on "ready" and "aim."
This page, and this program, is about Ready. And it is about Aim. If you have are thinking about looking for a new job or career this year or have already started but are not getting results. Or, if you want to move ahead with your current employer, then...
Start the Year Right by Getting Market Ready First
I use the term "market ready" because when you try and make a career move, you are usually in competition with others, or a decision maker needs to say yes in order for you to successfully make your move. In order to win that job, get that promotion, or successfully make a career change, you need to market yourself. And that means connecting the dots between what you have to offer and what your target is looking for.
So, how do you know when you are truly prepared? How do you know when you have the Ready, Aim parts nailed?
You are ready when you have covered these 8 Steps
1. You have captured your starting position and defined your next career step
2. You have a deep understanding of your professional background, including your accomplishments, your strengths, skills and abilities
3. You understand in which kinds of jobs, teams and organizations you fit
4. You have then defined the specific kinds of position and organization you are targeting
5. You have prepared persuasive reasons, backed up with concrete proof why you make an excellent candidate for your target(s)
6. You have created an effective, focused, compelling, proof-based resume that shows the reader "why you?"
7. You have prepared for networking conversations, and have mastered interviews, including the ability to prove your candidacy when faced with behavioural-based interview questions
8. And, you have carefully defined your criteria for making a decision when the time comes.
How Ready are you for your move in 2008?
What I am introducing here is a concept called Strategy. Strategy applies to businesses, to product launches, and it certainly should, and does, apply to your career transition. What is your strategy for your move in 2008?
If you don't have a strategy, don't false start. I have been in this field since 1993 and I can say that hands-down, the biggest and most common issue I have seen is a lack of preparation, forethought, strategy and focus in career transitions.
There are significant risks to not being "market ready" for your career transition
One of the problems with career transitions is that for many people, they have to happen Now! And that means entering the job market or the promotion shoot-out with being significantly prepared. Urgency is sometimes unavoidable, but when urgent replaces common sense preparation, there is a long list of risks you run into...
* Little or no response to you resume
* When you do get an interview, poor interviewing performance because you can't sell yourself properly, or because you are interviewing for a job that you shouldn't be.
* Not being able to go for what you really want, or not knowing where you fit and what you want.
* Feeling like you don't have choices and saying yes to the wrong opportunity (usually the first thing that comes around) and then spending months and years feeling trapped in the wrong job.
* Saying no to the right opportunity because you weren't clear about your true values were or where you really fit.
* Precious time wasted.
* Longer job search, and perhaps a longer period of unemployment.
* Settling. Not getting your true value.
* Confidence crisis.
Of course, there is more to job search and career change than a strong start. You need to go out and seek and find the right opportunities. You need to network and pursue your target markets. Getting prepared, however, is the all important starting point. The 8 Market Ready Career Transition Steps form the foundation to effective career transitions. After conducting thousands of interviews, reviewing hundreds of thousands of resumes, and working personally with hundreds of clients, I can tell you with great certainty that effective job search is very much about good process.
Special note: A Career on Purpose
Wouldn't it be nice to feel a sense of direction and control over where your career is going? When you do a career transition in a rush, without preparing, you decrease the likelihood of landing something you really want. When you follow the 8 Steps for your career transition and you have a credible track record that makes you at least a feasible candidate for the position you are shooting for, then you set yourself up for getting hired into that job you really want. This is the part about being Bold. You aren't going to reach that goal unless you really go for it, with a strategy.
Don't I just need to update my resume and go to the Job Boards?
As Dr. Phil would say, "good luck with that."
It would be nice, wouldn't it. Granted, in some fields, there is strong hiring from the job boards, but overall, the number of positions filled as a percentage of total jobs available is in the single digits. The low single digits. The online job boards are fantastic. I love them. I even used to work for Monster.com running their executive and self-employment markets. They are an invaluable tool. But, I have to say that dusting off your resume and applying to a bunch of jobs on a few job boards is not a strategic, proactive job search. What it is, is a critical part of your job search strategy. And given the enormous competition you face on the job boards from other candidates, your success in applying to online job postings is about delivering a crystal clear message to the hiring organization that you are the exact candidate they are looking for. (Are you ready to do that?)
Good job search process means doing a lot more than simply relying on the job boards.
So, what does that say about your job search / career change assumptions and plans? Are you ready? Or putting the question another way:
Based on your current level of preparation, are you confident that you are going to successfully win the job you want, get the promotion you truly desire, or make that change in career that you have been dreaming of?
We can help
I would like to help you. Since 1993 when I completed my MBA and joined a high-end executive search firm, I have been immersed in the world of hiring, resumes, interviews, job search and career change. Since January of 2002, I have been focused on working with individual clients on their career transition needs as the founder of BoldCareer.
Leading organizations like Monster.com, Workopolis.com as well as many other job and career sites as well as newspapers, magazines and radio turn to me for advice on these topics. In short, my contributions to the world of career transitions measure like this: hundreds of articles published, hundreds of clients personally served, hundreds of thousands of resumes reviewed, thousands of in-person interviews conducted and over 10,000 career-related phone conversations from the hiring side, from the career coaching side, and as a former product director at Monster.com.
Helping people make successful career transitions is my expertise.
Job Search / Career Change Packages | Resume Writing | Interview Strategy & Practice
Career Coaching for slower transitions, working towards goals like promotion, or to develop and execute personal career development strategies: Monthly Packages | Hourly | Custom
Ian Christie