I want to start by providing you with an overview of the first and most critical step in the job search process that most job seekers DON’T do. You’re going to build your dream job. I’ll prove that – how many of you have written out your own personal career development plan ? See! So by being here today, you’re already way ahead of the competition. The single most important job search tool is your development plan. Without it, how do you know where your career is going- you can’t. So, I want you to start by asking yourself questions like: What does my dream job look like? What does the office look like.? What are the people like? Do I want to work for a big company, or little one. These are the kinds of questions that you need to ask yourself as you begin to define what your dream job actually looks like. You will need to create a version of your resume called a resume forever that has every job you have ever worked at, including paid positions, internships, volunteer work, helping out at church, your child’s school, anything relevant that counts as work experience. That is going to be your resume forever, and you will add every job you ever get to that resume, so you have a complete view of all of your past experience in a single document for easy reference. Take the time to think about all the jobs you’ve ever had. After you finish your resume forever, look back at all of your work experience and write down seven projects or tasks you did that you are extremely proud of. They can be paid jobs, volunteer work at a school or church, anything. But they have to be significant projects that you are the most proud of. You’ll see that there are certain things in common, the skills that you used in all of them. Those are your seven success stories and will be part of your dream job. Next, I want you to write down any associations that might be good to join so you can network with other people that do what you do that are already working.
Next we are going to talk about developing your very own personal marketing plan . Whether you like it or not, we are each a “product” that we sell to the potential employers that we have targeted to work at. In marketing, you cannot effectively sell any product unless you have a plan and know as much about that product (its benefits, features, and attributes) as you possibly can. You must develop your very own marketing plan for the product called “YOU”. Start by writing down the industries that you want to work in most. Limit to no more than 3 to 4 at first. Then, find out which companies you would would most want to work for in each of those industries (limit your search to 7 or 8 organizations in each industry, for starters). That will give you a short list of 21-24 firms to aggressively target. On your marketing plan, you will need to list your core competencies (things like experience working with certain software packages, spreadsheets, html coding, foreign languages, etc. These core competencies are your very own product benefits, the things that most clearly set you apart from other job seekers. Lastly define any and all possible job titles that might describe the work that you want to do (ex. Sales prep, sales associate, account rep, account executive, customer service rep.)
Next we are going to talk about developing your very own personal marketing plan . Whether you like it or not, we are each a “product” that we sell to the potential employers that we have targeted to work at. In marketing, you cannot effectively sell any product unless you have a plan and know as much about that product (its benefits, features, and attributes) as you possibly can. You must develop your very own marketing plan for the product called “YOU”. Start by writing down the industries that you want to work in most. Limit to no more than 3 to 4 at first. Then, find out which companies you would would most want to work for in each of those industries (limit your search to 7 or 8 organizations in each industry, for starters). That will give you a short list of 21-24 firms to aggressively target. On your marketing plan, you will need to list your core competencies (things like experience working with certain software packages, spreadsheets, html coding, foreign languages, etc. These core competencies are your very own product benefits, the things that most clearly set you apart from other job seekers. Lastly define any and all possible job titles that might describe the work that you want to do (ex. Sales prep, sales associate, account rep, account executive, customer service rep.)
I want you to do something. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Come on, don’t be bashful. You’re amongst friends here. Now, close your eyes. Good, now take another slow, calming deep breath. In….and out….. That’s good! I want you to visualize what your dream job will look like. Start by waking up in the morning. You get out of bed, shower, eat breakfast, then leave the house for that bus or train to take you to work. What we’re doing now is called visualization and it is a technique used by top athletes to help them achieve exceptional results. In order to achieve a phenomenal goal they visualize every step they must take, in order commit those required movements to memory. Your dream job is the ultimate goal for your entire career. Ask yourself “What does the office look like? What are the people like? Do I want to work for a big company, or a little one.” These are the questions that you need to ask yourself as you begin to define what your dream job actually looks like. I want you to always think back on this as you conduct your future job searches. We said earlier to avoid mediocrity at all costs.