5 Targeted Job Search Strategies

At this time of year, we all begin to think about fresh starts, new beginnings, and doing things a little differently.  Whether your goal is to shed a few pounds, be more frugal, or maybe to find a job or start a new career…having a clearly defined goal and a strategic approach are the best first steps. 

According to the latest Department of Labor statistics (Dec. 2010), over 25 million Americans are currently unemployed or are involuntarily working part-time hoping to find full-time employment. 

In the coming weeks, we will be reviewing 5 strategies for conducting a truly targeted job search. 

Strategy 1: Know Thyself

As the saying that is most often attributed to the Greek philosopher Socrates goes, “Know Thyself” is the first step to a successful job search.  Before you respond to a job ad or even write your resume, you must ask yourself…“Who Am I and What Should I Do with My Life”? 

We were all created with unique talents, abilities, and personality.  As we grow through life, we add-in a set of values, interests and experiences all our own.   None of these alone capture who we are, but viewed at all together…they provide us a very clear picture of ourselves and what vocations best fit our “design”.  

We’ll look at each of these aspects of you in-depth, including resources to assessments and additional information to help you better understand each. 

Strategy 2: Target Your “Best-Fit”

Once we’ve defined your design as it were, we will then explore ways you can take this information and identify those vocations that best-fit to your personality, your interests, your values, talents, and gifts, etc. 

We’ll discover how to use your understanding of who you to help you focus your career decisions to find more than a job, but to find a vocation that you were made for.  You’ve heard the saying, “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”.  I would add, do what you’re made to do, and life is good! 

Strategy 3: Prepare and Customize

Once you’ve discovered vocations that fit with your make-up…we’ll look at several resources to help you identify the skills, training, and experience necessary for your targeted vocation and learn how to research the organizations hiring these positions. 

Ever been asked a question in an interview and found yourself unable to quickly come up with that great example or great success story?  Well, I’ll share how to know what all employers want to hear no matter what the job and how to develop your personal success stories that make you shine in any interview.

Based on your targeted job and organization and clearer understanding of your accomplishments, now you’ll be ready to prepare a master resume.  We’ll discuss recruiters’ resume must-haves and deal-breakers and how important it is to customize your master resume and cover letters for every job application.

Strategy 4: Networking

Next, we’ll distinguish between the more passive traditional and active, effective job search strategies and when to use each. 

We’ll discuss how to identify your network and ways you can authentically help your network help you.  For those introverts out there like me, don’t worry, I’ll share some new thoughts that make networking work for introverts too!

The internet has touched just about everything in our lives and it has made a major impact on the way recruiters look for candidates and how job-seekers search for opportunities. 

We’ll look at the what every job seeker should know about how to use the top 3 social media sites (LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter) and how to use blogging to ensure a successful job search.

Strategy 5:  Interviewing

So, the day arrives and you get the call…a phone interview and then a face-to-face interview.  I’ll provide you a checklist for a successful interview. 

We’ll look at the different types of interviews and how to prepare for each, how to deal with tough questions and the all-important salary question. 

We’ll review what questions you should always ask and how to close the interview on a strong note and how to follow-up well. 

By the end, you will be better-prepared to continue your job search or to begin your search for a career that matches your passions and who your truly are.

The "Secret" to Happiness

According to Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, the definition of happiness is a state of well-being and contentment or a pleasurable or satisfying experience.

A recent study of almost 150,000 German adults spanning over 25 years, reinforces what has been long understood - that the quality of our primary relationships in life are the greatest predictors of our long-term life satisfaction and happiness.

The researchers found several correlations between life choices and life satisfaction:

• Marry well: The personality traits of partners influenced people's happiness. People who married or partnered with neurotic people were less likely to be happy than people who married non-neurotic types.
• Focus on the family: People who assigned relatively high value to altruistic and family goals compared with career goals were happier. Women were also happier when their male partners ranked family goals high.
• Go to church: People who went to church more often were happier, though the study can't determine whether the happiness is related to religious views or to the social circle religious organizations offer.
• Work, but not too much (or too little): People who worked more or fewer hours than they preferred were less happy. Working less or being unemployed was worse than working too much, presumably because underemployment is a financial blow, the researchers wrote.
• Get social, and get moving: Social interaction and exercise were both associated with happiness. Working out made people happier regardless of body weight.

As King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:  A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work; another finding of the research reveals once again that money doesn't buy happiness.

"People with a lot of money are more satisfied with their lives... but mainly due to the more interesting and challenging jobs they have," study author Gert Wagner, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Germany.

"Money is simply a byproduct of good and satisfying jobs. If you want to be satisfied with your life, you must spend time with your friends and your family."

Ensuring our priorities are balanced, we have healthy, close relationships with our friends and family, we are engaged in challenging work, and exercising regularly will help us be happier.

But what about the fact that family members pass away, marriages sometimes end, and millions have lost access to challenging work lately...can we still find happiness?

In Philippians 4, Paul writes that “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether filled or going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” 

The person Paul refers to is Christ…ultimate contentment that surpasses any circumstance or trial, can only be found in the relationship with the One who created us. 

High Demand Jobs

Starting college or maybe starting over and not sure what to focus on?  Well, based on these increasing market trends, you have several bright spots when deciding on your higher education. 

Due in large part to America's mortgage crisis and increases in forclosure and bankruptcies, there is almost a 30% increase in online job postings for paralegals, court reporters, loan officers, accountants and finance managers.

With the proliferation of social media being used for marketing and public relations, we are seeing a 25% increase in job postings for graphic and web designers, computer science, and marketing and public relations.

Our interest in a greener, cleaner environment and sustainability, seems to have created a 23% increase in jobs for architects and engineers and the technical trades.

And finally, with our aging population growing, the need for health care including home health care has increased the online job postings for health aides, medical assistants, and RNs by 20%. 

As these none of these market trends seem to be short-term, any of these career choices will likely provide you with more opportunity in the long-term. 

Source: Yahoo Education article by Chris Kyle.

Temping in 2010

Looking for a seasonal temp job? 

According to today’s Orlando Sentinel and the National Retail Federation, retailers are feeling a bit more optimistic this year.  Macy’s said it expects to hire approximately 65,000 seasonal workers, Toys “R” Us plans to open 600 temporary Express stores (compared to 90 last year), employing 10,000; and other retailers noted were Target, other discount chains, and the many Halloween stores. 

 Some tips given to get that temp job?

• Start now…most retailers will begin to hire in October and early November.
• Ask friends and family members who work at the retailers about timing and open positions.
• Check out the retailers’ Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages, many give heads up to posting positions there.

Click here for the full Orlando Sentinal article and here for more tips to snag the job. 

Remember, in addition to the extra cash, seasonal temp jobs can offer additional networking opportunities, experience, and potentially a permanent gig.  Keep and open mind, a positive attitude and you never know where the opportunity may lead. 

Happy Holidays and job search success!

The Morality of "Strategic" Foreclosure

As we watch the housing market continue to tumble and with it pulling many of our homes into negative equity – we become tempted to follow the practices of the commercial developers highlighted in today’s Wall Street Journal that have recently decided to default on mortgages.

“These pragmatic decisions by companies to walk away from commercial mortgages come as a debate rages in the residential-real-estate world about "strategic defaults," when homeowners stop making loan payments even though they can afford them. Instead, they decide to default because the house is "underwater," meaning its value has fallen to a level less than its debt.”

“Banking-industry officials and others have argued that homeowners have a moral obligation to pay their debts even when it seems to make good business sense to default. Individuals who walk away from their homes also face blemishes to their credit ratings and, in some states, creditors can sue them for the losses they suffer.”

In its guide to walking away from your mortgage, businessinsider.com shares this tidbit when it comes to the morality of this practice:

“Besides the law, you may also want to consider the moral repercussions of backing out on your debts.

Just kidding! Everyone is doing it. Feel free to ignore this question.”

REALLY?! So, as many mothers told their children since bridges were invented...if your friends jumped off a bridge, does that mean you’d do it too?!   Relativism at its best, folks!

As hard as it is to see past the world view of debt management...one thing keeps coming back to mind.

Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law…whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor.

~Romans 13: 5 - 10

Please don’t get me wrong…there is a big difference between not being ABLE to pay your mortgage and CHOOSING not to.  As someone with a house in that negative equity zone – I too struggle with this. 

But as I drive through my neighborhood and see those vacated homes with unkempt yards, I remind myself which world view I will choose to follow, not the it’s what’s best for me and its okay because everyone’s doing it view, but the eternal view that focuses on loving and not harming my neighbor.