It Is Your Move...

I am told, that in the game of chess, the very best players do not make their first move until they have planned their last. I can't even imagine the amount of strategic thinking and planning that requires. I don't think my mind works like that. Does yours?

If you find your job search is in a stall or not going well, it may be time to call "time out" and conduct some strategic planning. (I am pretty sure you can't call "time out" in chess, however).

Over the past several months I have been listening to job seekers talk about how their searches are "frustrating", "depressing", "lasting too long". Perhaps that is because they don't have a strategic plan to guide their moves. Most job seekers leap into job search by adding their last job to their resume and posting it on a job board and waiting for something to happen. The more savvy job seekers understand that networking is an important component and engage with friends and family. Yet neither of these actions will work successfully unless their is a plan or goal or vision set up in advance.

How do you develop a vision, plan, goal? Start with your Marketing Plan. It is a simple document. It contains 5 sections:

Your objective. This is a listing of 10 or more job titles you are searching for. (Use O*Net to research these)

A well crafted mini bio or summary of what your specific and general strengths and talents and experience are.

A competencies listing (this is optional)

Your preferred demographics (where you want to work)

A listing of target companies that fit those preferred demographics. (These do not need to be companies who are hiring, merely those that might employ those who do what you do).

The act of creating this Marketing Plan should force you to think about your strategy. It will provide you with options and insight beyond what you immediately thought of.

It is also an incredibly helpful document to use when you network. Toss aside that tire resume. Use the Marketing Plan to guide your conversations.

I have written and spoken about Marketing Plans a lot. I truly believe it is the single best document to have in your job search tool box. Here are some other posts that show examples and logic:

Your Marketing Plan

Keep the Monday Momentum Going all Week

Marketing and Job Search

What's Your Plan for Finding a New Job?