Know What You Want

Remember that big term project you slaved over for days or weeks in school? You were focused! You had to do the most thorough job, researching, contacting companies, people and maybe even staying up all night before it was due, pulling it all together. For what? A grade, right? The satisfaction of doing the best you could and maybe getting an “A”?

Have you put that type of effort into your job search?

I meet people, recently laid off, and ask them what they want to do next. I often get “well, I can do sales, or operations, or project management. Oh, any company will do.”

Good luck with that. People can’t help you when you’re that general.

I spoke with someone yesterday who knew exactly what he wanted to do next and he identified the 4 companies that he’s targeting. I was able to go into LinkedIn and immediately find people I could introduce him to. He’s doing that with everyone in his network, and starting to get interviews.

Being laser focused on what you want makes all the difference in your search. Instead of fishing and hoping a fish will swim by and see your bait, you are now hunting – armed with knowledge of your “prey”: who the hiring manager is, where they went to school, who’s worked for them, what the culture is like, and most important – what problem they have that you can solve.

In addition, your focus and knowledge gives you the confidence that you will get that position. And with that confidence and knowledge, you probably will get it.

That’s a bit better that getting an “A”, isn’t it?

What are you doing to put that kind of focus into your search? Share your ideas and successes here.

By the way – Career Coach Megan Pittsley writes a Job Search column for The Examiner and is looking for success stories of finding jobs through your Success Teams. If you have one, let her know at megan.pittsley@gmail.com