Assess Your Job Search Plan

Here is a short quiz to help you assess your job search plan.

 1.  Are you clear on what job you want to pursue?    Yes or No

 2.   Do you have a list of employers you are targeting?  Yes or No

 3.   Do you know how to tap into the hidden job market? Yes or No

 4.   Do you have a strong network or people who are willing to recommend you?  Yes or No

 5.   Do you have a resume that attracts employers to you?  Yes or No

 6.   Do you have a brand that enables you to stand out from the competition?  Yes or No

 7.   Have you utilized social networking sites?  Yes or No

 8.   Do you feel confident in answering commonly asked interview questions?  Yes or No

 9.   Are you setting daily and weekly job search goals for yourself?  Yes or No 

 10. Do you have people in your life that are supporting you in your job search?  Yes or No

 Count up your number of yes answers.

Total of 8-10: You are well on your way to getting a job.  You will need someone in your life to support you, encourage you, and hold you accountable in your goals.  A few sessions with a career coach could really benefit you.

Total of 5-7: You have some things figured out but you still need a better plan to get a job in these times.  Investment with a career coach would pay off as it would shorten your time in getting a job.

Total of 0-4: You may or may not realize it yet but you need help!  With the unemployment rate rising, you can no longer afford to spend sufficient time looking for a job with no results.  You will benefit greatly by meeting with a career coach to establish a solid job plan, revise your resume, and gain interviewing skills.

Stacy Harshman brings her experience as a recruiter for a Fortune 500 corporation to her work as a life and career coach. In addition to helping people discover their passions, she also provides clients with insight into the mind of a recruiter, unlocking the secrets of what employers look for in potential employees. Stacy offers individual and group coaching in person and by phone to those seeking positive change in their professional and personal lives.

 

What Is My Life Purpose?

Have you ever thought about what your purpose on earth is?  It is a very thought provoking question that I dare say the majority of people have not taken the time to consider.  But what if you did think about it?  Could it change the way you live your life?  Could knowing your life purpose actually impact your career?  I propose that thinking through and determining your life purpose could dramatically change how you see your career.  When there is purpose these is meaning to work.  Your career is no longer about having a “successful” job but a job that fulfills your mission.

 

In thinking through your life purpose, here are some helpful questions to ask your self.  1) What things have I done that have brought me a deep sense of well being?  2) What are my essential beliefs or values?  3) How have I best been able to put these beliefs or values into actions?  4) What gift do I have to offer others?  5) What do I want to be remembered for?  Take time for personal reflection.  Other helpful activities might be to keep a journal and/or to interview others.

 

There are many different ways to articulate a life purpose.  Marcia Bench in her book, Career Coaching, advocates writing the statement like “My life’s purpose is to ________ through ______________”.  An example of this form is “My life purpose is to positively influence children in the world by working as a teacher and through my roles as a loving parent and volunteer.  It really doesn’t matter how you choose to write the statement, only that you have the essence of it down on paper.

 

After your life purpose is developed, it can be used as a guide in decision making for both simple and complex matters.  When you have options to consider, ask yourself which option will take you closer to fulfilling your purpose.   Develop goals that will help you complete your mission.  Above all, let your purpose be your theme to center your life around.

Stacy Harshman brings her experience as a recruiter for a Fortune 500 corporation to her work as a life and career coach. In addition to helping people discover their passions, she also provides clients with insight into the mind of a recruiter, unlocking the secrets of what employers look for in potential employees. Stacy offers individual and group coaching in person and by phone to those seeking positive change in their professional and personal lives.

Network, Network, Network

You have most likely heard the motto for real estate is location, location, location. I believe the motto for job seekers should be network, network, network. Networking is the number one tactic of job searching techniques. A study by Drake Beam Morin revealed that a whopping 71% of jobs are filled through networking. A job seeker simply can’t afford not to network.

What is the goal of networking? Of course, the ultimate goal of networking is to land an awesome job working in a great organization with a wonderful boss; however, to get to that point, there are some things to consider. First, you need to do some networking to see what organizations have a good reputation in which to work. Once you have identified some target companies, you can network to discover what opportunities are available, what issues they are facing and how you can be a problem solver. You must also use networking to lead you to actual hiring decision makers within your target company. This step is probably the most time consuming but also the most rewarding. Hiring managers will almost always be partial to job candidates that have an affiliation to some one they know.

Who should I be networking with? Some may think that networking just involves talking with friends and family. Although that may be one source, there are many more that should be explored. Some examples of effective networking sources are industry meetings, professional associations, industry writers, community leaders, and career fairs.  Other sources may include employees, vendors, customers, and competitors of your target organization. Social networking sites such as LinkedIn may also be great resources.

What questions should I ask when networking? Job search guru, Susan Whitcomb, has developed a great acronym to remember. It is R.E.A.P. which stands for Reading, Events, Advice, and People. Ask your networking contacts what Material you should be reading, what Events you should be attending, what Advice they would give you, and what People they know who would be helpful.

Although networking may be time consuming and tedious at times, it is absolutely essential to the success of any job seeker. So get out there and network, network, network!

Stacy Harshman brings her experience as a recruiter for a Fortune 500 corporation to her work as a career management coach. In addition to helping people discover their passions, she also provides clients with insight into the mind of a recruiter, unlocking the secrets of what employers look for in potential employees. Stacy offers individual and group coaching in person and by phone to those seeking positive change in their professional and personal lives.

Should I Take Any Job To Have A Job?

The question that is plaguing out-of-work job seekers is should I take any jobfor the sake of having a job? The answer, in simple terms, is you should do everything you can to avoid it. The most important thing for your career is to move it forward.  You may ask “Am I not suppose to take a job unless it is my dream job?”  The answer again is no. You can have several jobs until you are working in your ideal career but the key is with each successive job, you are getting closer and closer to your dream job.

You are the CEO of your career; therefore, you must be strategic in planning your future. Can you imagine an elegant restaurant suddenly adding fast food to their menu because they heard that fast food profit was increasing? The idea is ridiculous. In the same way, you cannot take any job for the sake of making a few dollars. Think always of your future and ask yourself “Does this job give me the experience I need to move forward to my ideal career?”

The concept begs the question of “What can I do if I need a job but I can’t move directly into my dream job now?” The first step is to make sure you have a very clear vision of what your ideal career is. You need to spend significant time on this step as it is the foundation of your plan. The second step is to do a gap analysis. Look at job descriptions in your ideal career and determine what skills, experience, and knowledge are missing from your resume. The next step is to fill in those gaps with positions that can build your experience. Determine only to take jobs that fill in the gaps. For example, if you dream of being a professor but have no teaching experience, consider taking a couple of part time adjunct positions. The jobs may be lower paying than a full-time position in another industry, but in the end, you will receive greater payback. The recession won’t last forever and you will be in a position to be a much more experienced candidate when companies are in the hiring mode again.

Stacy Harshman brings her experience as a recruiter for a Fortune 500 corporation to her work as a career coach. In addition to helping people discover their passions, she also provides clients with insight into the mind of a recruiter, unlocking the secrets of what employers look for in potential employees. Stacy offers individual and group coaching in person and by phone to those seeking positive change in their professional and personal lives.

Join Me At The Career Fair

Join me this Tuesday, April 28th and Wednesday, April 29th at Expo Idaho for the Idaho Job and Career Fair.  Expo Idaho is the new name for the Fairgrounds located on Glenwood and State in Boise.  The times for the Career Fair are Tuesday from noon to 5 pm and on Wednesday from 10 am to 5 pm.  The career fair is sponsored by the Idaho Business League.  I hope to see you there!