The Self Test
Searching, securing, enjoying: Find the keys to happiness in your next job.
By Matt Krumrie
KEVIN DONLIN, PRESIDENT OF GUARANTEED RESUMES (www.gresumes.com) and author of 51 Ways to Find a Job Fast—Guaranteed! (Guaranteed Resumes, 2004), says the vast majority of job seekers have no plan for each day, week or month that they’re conducting a job search. They simply react to what comes to them. And yet, he says, a successful job search needs time, planning and oversight—not to mention a healthy dose of self-promotion.
“The successful job search is really just a personal marketing campaign,” he explains.
Step one in conducting a successful job search is writing down exactly what kind of job you are looking for. Include the title, the three main skills involved, and at least three companies you’d be happy working for.
“You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how the act of writing this all down will crystallize your thinking and focus your efforts,” says Donlin.
Jay Scherer, partner with Scherer Schneider Paulick, LLC (SSP), a leading Chicago-based coaching and corporate outplacement firm, agrees. “The first step is to put together a good marketing plan that anticipates the realities of your market,” he says. “Then, you must commit to implementation. However, many job seekers do the minimum, never fully committing to an all out sales effort. It’s like jumping into a swimming pool instead of repeatedly testing it with your toe. Have you committed to your job search?”
When searching for a job, consider both the content and the context of work, says Melanie Keveles, president of Aligned Advantage Business and Personal Coaching (www.onlinecoaching.com). Keveles offers a free 30-minute phone consultation for first-time clients.
“Content refers to what you would be doing,” says Keveles. “Analytical work? Problem-solving? Meeting customers’ needs? Making complex issues simple to understand? Context refers to the environment in which you'll be doing the work—do you want to work with many people? A small number of people? For a fledgling company? An established organization? Many people focus on one area or the other, but not both—it's important to explore both.”
Scherer, who has worked in the career management field since 1986, says being in the right frame of mind is a critical component of conducting a fruitful job search. He offers these five tips to ensure you make the right decisions and find satisfaction in your future job choices:
One Don’t think traditionally. Are you stuck in the past, operating without a career plan? Are you dependent in your thinking, waiting for someone else to manage your career and determine your success? Do you understand that in the new work world, you are a service business operating in a free marketplace? Do you realize that taking no action is a career decision, too?
Two Take emotions out of the equation. Speed is the enemy in any employment decision. Rushing doesn’t allow for enough information to be collected and processed by you or the organization. The old saying “quick to hire, quick to fire” does often hold true. And from your side, don’t be over anxious, fearing the potential employer’s interest will wane if you don’t stay aggressive. Don’t react; plan.
Three Gather enough information. If you don’t know enough about the opportunity or company, then you’re less likely to make the right decision. It’s human nature to fill in blanks in information with positive guesses and inferences. Wishful thinking often leads to poor decision-making when comparing a new outside opportunity to your current role.
Four Don’t put too much stock in one opinion. Ask for input and advice from those you trust, but remember that a sample of one is not enough to base a decision on. Many people are willing to give advice, but is that advice based on a full understanding of your situation, why you are considering a change, and the advantages and disadvantages of the potential opportunity? Be careful how you ask for input—conduct an organized research initiative instead of taking a random approach.
Five Don’t let a “push away” be the only reason for making a change. Many job changes are initiated to get away from a difficult situation or boss, an underperforming organization, or difficult environment. Often this feeling, or “push away,” from a situation is necessary to regain a sense of control over your career. But it is not sufficient to ensure success. There also should be a “pull” from the new opportunity, a feeling based on your thorough analysis that shows the new opportunity is appealing and consistent with your requirements. Without a pull, you run the risk of jumping to another opportunity that doesn’t solve the issues that drove you to making a change.
Scherer also recommends that job seekers take some time to complete the following sentences, and then think about which criteria are most important in a new job. Rank and prioritize each to determine highest and lowest in importance.
Key potential criteria include:
- My primary responsibilities should be…
- The company’s strengths/market position should be…
- My compensation needs (including variable versus fixed) are…
- My benefit plan needs are…
- Other perks should include…
- My boss’s style and approach ideally would be…
- The culture of this organization should be described as…
- This organization should exhibit these core values…
- The organization’s position/reputation in the marketplace should be…
- The position location (now and future) should be…
- Learning opportunities should include…
- Travel requirements should be…
- The opportunity for me to make an impact/difference should be...
- The physical environment I’m working in should include…
- The flexibility in my work schedule should include…
- Time at work requirements should be…
- My input into my work assignments should include…
- The people interaction (including type of people I will work with) should include…
- The team reporting to me should be…
- My peers should be…
- Important tools/resources available to me should include…
- Other issues important to me are…
Curt Rosengren, a “passion catalyst” who works with people to help them identify their passions and create a career around them, says that if you want to feel on fire about your work, then you have to ask yourself, “What lights me up at a core level?”
“Unfortunately, that's a question that most often gets left unasked,” says Rosengren, who has published The Occupational Adventure Guide—A Travel Guide To The Career of Your Dreams and The Five Fundamentals of Occupational Adventure—Pursuing Your Passion, Achieving Your Dream (available at www.passioncatalyst.com/download).
“We look at our skills, we look at what career paths have growth opportunities,” he says. “We look at, ‘How much money can I make?’ But the one thing that often goes unasked is, ‘What is it that really makes me feel alive?’”
Keveles agrees: “It's important to get in touch with your values—what's important to you—so that you will find work that is meaningful to you. Few people in our culture spend much time exploring their values; they often ‘borrow’ the values of the larger culture. One way to discover your values is to ask yourself, ‘Who do I most admire?’ Living, dead, fictional, real—it doesn't matter who the person is. Take stock of what you value about that person and you'll have some idea of what you value.”
According to Scherer, one of the biggest mistakes committed by those who switch companies is not doing enough research about the new position or organization. Although it’s hard to fully understand a company until you actually work there, here are a few suggestions to help you better understand the new environment, with a focus on determining whether that organization is a good match for you.
Ask questions. Formulate interview questions related to your criteria. For example, if flexibility in work hours is important to you, ask questions such as, “Do my peers have home offices set up?” or, “How many of the people reporting to me have alternative work arrangements?”
Talk with people. You can collect insightful information by talking with former or current employees. Usually the best way to do this is to use your network to help identify and then approach individuals who know the organization.
Collect company materials. Marketing materials, employee publications, newsletters and websites all give an indication of an organization’s philosophy, people focus and business priorities.
Visit or walk around. Prior to or after any interviews, you may want to visit a location to get a sense of working conditions and customer focus. You also should be given a tour as part of the interviewing process. If it isn’t planned, ask for one, but usually not until the second round of interviews.
Conduct research on the Internet. Visiting home pages, doing article searches and conducting other research can help you quickly access information about a target company. Excellent sources include www.hoovers.com and www.guidestar.com.
Imagine a day at the new organization/job. This exercise can be helpful in identifying your feelings regarding a new opportunity, and will also help you understand where you may need to collect more information. Find a quiet place, close your eyes, and imagine yourself driving/commuting to the new opportunity. Think about the details of the commute, including walking into your new location. What does it look like? What do you do first when you get there? Who do you see? What’s your office like? When is your first meeting? Who’s there? What’s the central issue? And so on.
For Rosengren, it all comes down to finding what works best for you. “As for planning for career success in the future, I think passion for what you do is an enormous factor for success that goes largely untapped,” he explains. “Passion is fuel for success. When you love what you do, you do it better. You do it with more energy. You're more inspired. You're not wasting energy trying to be someone you're not; and you actually get energy from the work that you're doing. All of which means you have so much more to put into doing an amazing job.”