RESOLVED: This Year, I Will Find the Job I Really Want

[Monday, December 21, 2009 | View Comments ]

FREE HOLIDAY GIFT: Take advantage of this offer and tell your friends, this just might be the best gift you give or receive this year. Between now and January 7, 2010 when you email a resume to perry@perrynewman.com you will receive a Free Resume Critique & Career Coaching Session and a 30% OFF GIFT CERTIFICATE on all resume and coaching services.

As 2009 comes to a close many employees and job seekers alike begin to reflect on what to do differently in the New Year.

I would like to share with you some thoughts from Duncan Mathison and co-author Martha I. Finney in Unlock the Hidden Job Market: 6 Steps to a Successful Job Search that reflect my thoughts as well on what you should be doing at this time of year.

Resolve to get out of the “Networking Rut”. Most job searches fizzle because people network with people they know instead of people they need to know. This is because, according to social scientists, networks form in “clusters” of relationships. Fix a lame job search this year by “cluster jumping” outside of your professional circle. There are 3 ways to start this.

The 100 contacts rule. Pull together a list of 100 contacts you have at least met once. Any profession, any relationship, any time. Just as long as they will at least remember you with a little prodding (“Remember me, Mom?”) Tell them what type of job you are looking for, the job titles of the people who would manage you and a list of 85 employers that you think might hire people like you. Ask them if they know anyone who might know something about the employers who can help you with the search. From this effort you will get new ideas and new connections to create a thriving job search.

Connect to the Experts. Reach out and introduce yourself directly to professional or industry experts, consultants and instructors. These people can help sharpen your skills with the latest trends and books related to your target profession. They also tend to know hiring managers in your trade. Network with these people and learn from these people. Be at your sharpest in your profession to make yourself a better hire.

Look outside your community to find a job inside your community. One big mistake job seekers make is to restrict themselves to geographic boundaries because they cannot relocate. Today professional connections have no boundaries. Talking to someone in New York about employers they might know in your home town in the mid-west is not farfetched. Further, with today’s seamless communications systems, there are many high paying professional jobs with companies that may have a small local office or have employees who work from their home. Don’t be limited to companies that are based in your community.

For the career builder who has a job, here are 4 quick resolutions:

Resolve to improve your skills as a leader. Whether you can serve as a technical leader, project leader, team leader, manager or an executive, skills used to lead others are essential to career success. Pick a leadership skill such as communications, team motivation, managing and measuring, goal setting or meeting management and learn how to do it better, get feedback about it and practice it.

Resolve to let go of the old and embrace the new. Gracefully end conversations that involve gossip and whining about the “good old days”. Embrace new projects and initiatives as opposed to taking a wait and see attitude.

Resolve to shift you focus from expedient to the important. A career disabler is when you chose to focus first on the things you can get off your plate – regardless of their importance. Focus on the important first. Put off the unimportant – even if it will “just take a minute”.

Resolve to have a conversation with your manager about your career and career future. Take the guesswork out of where you stand.

Author:

Perry Newman, CPC is the driving force behind First Impressions Resumes. He is a nationally renowned executive resume writer and career coach and sought after speaker with extensive experience in numerous industries. He can be reached for a complimentary consultation at perry@firstimpressionsresumes.biz.

FREE HOLIDAY GIFT: Take advantage of this offer and tell your friends, this just might be the best gift you give or receive this year. Between now and January 7, 2010 when you email a resume to perry@perrynewman.com you will receive a Free Resume Critique & Career Coaching Session and a 30% OFF GIFT CERTIFICATE on all resume and coaching services.

As 2009 comes to a close many employees and job seekers alike begin to reflect on what to do differently in the New Year.

I would like to share with you some thoughts from Duncan Mathison and co-author Martha I. Finney in Unlock the Hidden Job Market: 6 Steps to a Successful Job Search that reflect my thoughts as well on what you should be doing at this time of year.

Resolve to get out of the “Networking Rut”. Most job searches fizzle because people network with people they know instead of people they need to know. This is because, according to social scientists, networks form in “clusters” of relationships. Fix a lame job search this year by “cluster jumping” outside of your professional circle. There are 3 ways to start this.

The 100 contacts rule. Pull together a list of 100 contacts you have at least met once. Any profession, any relationship, any time. Just as long as they will at least remember you with a little prodding (“Remember me, Mom?”) Tell them what type of job you are looking for, the job titles of the people who would manage you and a list of 85 employers that you think might hire people like you. Ask them if they know anyone who might know something about the employers who can help you with the search. From this effort you will get new ideas and new connections to create a thriving job search.

Connect to the Experts. Reach out and introduce yourself directly to professional or industry experts, consultants and instructors. These people can help sharpen your skills with the latest trends and books related to your target profession. They also tend to know hiring managers in your trade. Network with these people and learn from these people. Be at your sharpest in your profession to make yourself a better hire.

Look outside your community to find a job inside your community. One big mistake job seekers make is to restrict themselves to geographic boundaries because they cannot relocate. Today professional connections have no boundaries. Talking to someone in New York about employers they might know in your home town in the mid-west is not farfetched. Further, with today’s seamless communications systems, there are many high paying professional jobs with companies that may have a small local office or have employees who work from their home. Don’t be limited to companies that are based in your community.

For the career builder who has a job, here are 4 quick resolutions:

Resolve to improve your skills as a leader. Whether you can serve as a technical leader, project leader, team leader, manager or an executive, skills used to lead others are essential to career success. Pick a leadership skill such as communications, team motivation, managing and measuring, goal setting or meeting management and learn how to do it better, get feedback about it and practice it.

Resolve to let go of the old and embrace the new. Gracefully end conversations that involve gossip and whining about the “good old days”. Embrace new projects and initiatives as opposed to taking a wait and see attitude.

Resolve to shift you focus from expedient to the important. A career disabler is when you chose to focus first on the things you can get off your plate – regardless of their importance. Focus on the important first. Put off the unimportant – even if it will “just take a minute”.

Resolve to have a conversation with your manager about your career and career future. Take the guesswork out of where you stand.

Author:

Perry Newman, CPC is the driving force behind First Impressions Resumes. He is a nationally renowned executive resume writer and career coach and sought after speaker with extensive experience in numerous industries. He can be reached for a complimentary consultation at perry@firstimpressionsresumes.biz.

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