EmploymentDigest.net

How to Take Control of Your Job Search

Posted on 24. Mar, 2009 posted by Bill in Employment News

In searching for your ideal position are you taking thee “I’ll know it when I see it route?”

Well, this kind of haphazard job search usually results in a lot of time spent searching the internet and changing your resume in an attempt to make a match with all the various positions you are going after. What’s worse, you may soon find yourself wondering why your efforts aren’t paying off in job interviews.

When you start your job search without a clear focus, its difficult to leverage yourself in the market to the extent that you will need to, in order to get results. So, you may be a very talented and deserving career professional, but if you are letting your job search “control you” then you probably are not going to be happy with the results you get.

The good news is getting focused is much easier then your might think.

Its also the most important step you will take in finding and getting the job you really want, because its what drives all your other activities.

Some of the benefits you will experience by developing your focus include a renewed positive energy and enthusiasm (which always happens when we have that aha moment of knowing where we are going and are excited to get there), a dramatically increased possibility of a much shorter job search, more productive interviews and an easier time networking, just to name a few.

There are two sets of criteria you will benefit from focusing on. One is what I call your driving motivators, and the second is the criteria that defines your dream job.

Step number one: identify your driving motivators

Think of these driving motivators as the top three things you must have in order for you to feel like your next move is one that meets your needs.

Sometimes your driving motivators will run counter to your dream job, and that is okay. Give yourself permission to define these because they will affect your job search.

Your driving motivators can include how much money you need, a city or state you need to stay in or an industry you absolutely have to “get out of.”

Step number two: identify your dream job

Now you need to identify what you love to do most, what excites you, what you are doing when you are at your best in your career and generally all those things that make you want to jump out of bed and go to work each day. Lets call this – your dream job.

To identify your dream job start with a list of things you love to do best. Another way to look at it is to ask yourself – what you are doing when you are at your best.

Here’s a tip to identify particular jobs and industries

Go to any major online job board and type in the positions and the industries you are interested in. When you find the job or jobs that really excite you, print them out, highlight the keywords and phrases that you are resonating with and add them to your “dream job list”. These techniques are subtle and refreshingly easy, but don’t underestimate them! You will be amazed at powerful results they will produce for you.

With your driving motivators and your dream job lists side by side- you have to distinct areas of focus to build on. This is the first and most critical step to taking control of your job search, so you can land the job you really want.

Would you like to learn how to quickly and easily get more interviews, shorten your job search and increase your salary? Check out my website: http://www.maryelizabethbradford.com, for free articles, free resources and to sign up for my free audio mini-seminar “5 Simple Steps To Find, Focus On and WIN Your Dream Job – Starting Today!” Job Search Coach and nationally certified advanced resume writer Mary Elizabeth Bradford is “The Career Artisan.”

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