If you are about to embark on your quest for a new job, you need a map and the tools to reach your destination effectively.
Would you begin a trip without a map or GPS and gas in your car? I didn’t think so. So how do you begin your job search?
Your Job Search Doesn’t Begin with A Resume
So where do you begin? It starts with assessment and research. Yuck. But this is the most important first step. Back to the GPS analogy, in order to get directions, you have to know where you are going and that means plugging in your destination.
Here is your map
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Step 1: Assessment
- Step 2: Research/Information Gathering
- Step 3: Presenting Yourself
- Step 4: Project Management
- Step 5: Interview strategies
- Step 6: Project Update
Once you understand this and have started the journey, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got all your gear!
Check!
Here is a checklist of the top 13 supplies you will need for your journey.
- Portfolio of work and evaluations
- Professional greeting on main voicemail
- Professional email address and email signature (Here’s what a good one could/should include)
- 20+ Accomplishment stories (Read the post and get the template)
- 10 or more ideal job titles
- Listings of “dream” job postings
- 50+ companies that could potentially hire you for what you want to do
- Targeted, strategically focused resume for each job title and/or ideal job posting
- Elevator speech/45 second commercial (Harvard Business School’s Elevator Pitch Builder)
- LinkedIn profile (Spiff yours up today with these 12 tips)
- Listing of 100+ people you know
- Business cards (What should you include and why)
- A Personal Marketing Plan
If you are having difficulty pulling together these pieces, you are not alone. It is challenging for some.
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Ready, set, what are your three words for 2012?
