Will 2012 be the year you land a new job?
Millions of people resolve to make things better in their lives starting January 1st. Are you one of them? I don’t want to see you fall off the wagon, so how are you going to ensure you hold on and follow through?
Here’s the deal. I know first hand how hard it is to DO what you actually say you are going to do. I’m living it daily myself. Last year I set all sorts of goals and had great ideas, most of which I still haven’t implemented. (Running my own business has given me ADHD, but I won’t use that as an excuse.)
Here are some of the things I keep telling myself to help me finish what I start or follow through on good ideas.
Capture the Quick Wins
By quick wins, I absolutely do not mean landing a job! Quick wins are projects or things you can finish in a day or less and will have a significant impact. Chunck big pieces into small pieces if you need to. Here are some ideas:
- Write a robust LinkedIn Summary (just the summary for now!)
- Reach out to 5 people you know who you have to speak with about your search
- Fine tune and practice your Elevator Pitch
Begin with the End in Mind
Even these “quick wins” require you do some pre-work. This is why I am asking you to begin by identifying just a couple of quick wins at first. You’ll realize that they usually take more time then you thought (or should take more time if you are doing it right!)
For example: in order for you to write a robust LinkedIn profile, you will probably want to check out the summaries of other people with your same job/occupation. DO NOT COPY or PLAGIARIZE! Look for ideas. See what kind of tone they use.
In order to reach out to 5 people, you have to identify them and then figure out exactly what you will say to them. A bulleted script can really help here. You will probably be able to use the same script for all 5 people. Keep it simple and make note of what doesn’t work. One more reminder, do not accept no for an answer.
Set A Deadline
Give yourself a reasonable deadline. Put this deadline on your calendar and stick to it at all costs! For the longest time, I would just mentally note deadlines and they would slip by. There is something about writing deadlines down that makes them more difficult to ignore or possibly forget!
Just Deliver
If you are a perfectionist, you know how hard it is to reach the high quality of work you expect. As a result, you tweak and re-tweak forever and as a result…the deadline passes and you continue to keep modifying your deliverable.
In Seth Godin’s book “Linchpin” (which is a great read, by the way), he talks about delivering. He says:
Just deliver!
So my words to you when your deadline hits: Just Deliver! You can modify later.
What will be your quick wins? Put it in writing in a comment below!
Hannah Morgan speaks and writes about job search and career strategies. She founded CareerSherpa.net to educate professionals on how to maneuver through today’s job search process. Hannah was nominated as a LinkedIn Top Voice in Job Search and Careers and is a regular contributor to US News & World Report. She has been quoted by media outlets, including Forbes, USA Today, Money Magazine, Huffington Post, as well as many other publications. She is also author of The Infographic Resume and co-author of Social Networking for Business Success.
