© susan whitcomb 2009 – the christian's career journey – in partnership with career...


Educate you with practical tips, tools, and resources to accelerate & enhance your job search success.

Give you opportunity to apply the concepts.

Provide you with expertise from people in the HR profession to help you make a smooth & successful transition.

Have some fun & network!

Skill Set (Do you have the employer’s “wish list”? Can you deliver significant ROI?)

Industry Experience & Education (Does it match job descriptions?)

Social Skills (Are your verbal, interpersonal skills above average?)

Motivation (How hard are you willing to work?)

Support / Network (Are you going it alone? Do you have a strong prof. network?)

Search Strategy (Are you using the right one, or the easiest one?)

Computer Skills (Do you have right tech skills for job; good computer skills for search?)

Salary (What flexibility do you have in salary?)

Time Availability (Are you putting in 8-10 hours/day; 3-5 if employed?)

Potential Obstacles (Any language barriers, potential age discrimination, weak work history, disability, etc.?)


1. Over-preparing (quit tweaking your resume or elevator pitch; get out there and use it)

2. Assuming you shouldn’t pick up the phone and contact a stranger on your own (not every call has to have a warm lead)

3. Going it alone (it takes humility to ask for and receive help)

4. Not taking the time to do some soul searching to know your strengths and value (vs. lunging after the first opportunity that flies by)

5. Thinking that you’ve networked just because you had lunch with your Uncle Jim’s brother’s barber (get close to hiring managers + influencers)

6. Working hard instead of working smart (face-to-face contact with hiring managers will help hit paydirt faster than anything else you can do … spending all day searching job postings doesn’t count)

7. Forgetting that employers hire people to make money and solve problems (if you’re not focusing on this, you’re wasting your and the employer’s time)


1. Target “dream” companies + a handful of perfect-fit postings … ideally, always be working on 6-10 hot possibilities

2. Identify 3+ contacts (hiring managers, influencers) for each co./opportunity.

3. Research each company’s needs + industry trends & issues

4. Network relentlessly, making 3-5 face-to-face meetings per week with influential contacts (people close to hiring managers)

5. Continue to execute on passive job search strategies (resume posting, recruiters, job fairs, etc.)

6. Log 8-10 hours 5 days/week; 3-5 hours a day if employed … job search is a full-time job!

7. Focus on value/benefits/ROI more than your skills, experience, or personality … answer the “So what?” question!

Make money Save money Save time Solve a problem


Anyone ever planned a work project?

Taken a big trip?

Built or remodeled a home?

What’s the first place you start?

WITH A PLAN!

Your job search is one of the most important projects of

your life!

Your Job Search is a Project

Schedule your time – This is a “9-5” job

Make a “task” list (top 3 things that MUST get done each day)

List your accomplishments each day/week

Tap into your network

(make a list of EVERYONE you know – no limitations!)

Track your results (www.jibberjobber.com)

Update your resume – targeted to each opportunity

Create your LinkedIn Profile – and use it frequently!

Expand your skills – there may be $$ for training / certification

Network, Network, Network!! – know your “elevator speech!

Volunteer – a great way to network and learn new skills

Work Your Plan

????Networking? Posting?

Recruiters?

Job Boards?

Company Websites?

Internal Referral Sources?

Tweaking Resume?

Researching Target Company Issues?


Source: CareerXroads Source of Hires Study


Source: DBM


Source: The Very Quick Job Search by J. Michael Farr (JIST)


Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

6 am

7 am

8 am

9 am RED YELLOW10 am

11 am ZONE ZONE12 noon

1 pm

2 pm

3 pm YELLOW RED4 pm ZONE ZONE5 pm

QUIET TIME AND PRAYER

Green Zone

God gives each of us 168 hours/week

Be a good steward … invest your time wisely


Red Zone / Yellow Zone Search and respond to job postings Research/documentation Plan/evaluate your week Practice 2-minute, 30-second resume

Green Zone Networking calls and meetings Interviews Networking events

Blue Zone

Find a Schedule that Works

Best for You and

Produces Results


Devotional and prayer time

What are your “A” “B” and “C” Activities?

Networking? Posting?

Recruiters?

Job Boards?

Company Websites?

Internal Referral Sources?

Tweaking Resume?

Researching Target Company Issues???


Is Not►Transactional (“I need you to give me a job lead or a job!”)

►A one-way street, with you doing all the “taking”

►Sending mass emails

►Sitting in front of the computer all day searching postings

►Just talking to your normal circle of friends … you must get out of your comfort zone

►Optional

Is►Relational (ideally face-2-face)

►Opportunity to be a blessing to others (say a prayer, share a tip)

►Individualized process; quality is more important than quantity

►Opportunity to learn more about industry/target companies

►A “Screen Test” (contacts are measuring you up, even in informal meetings)

►Lifelong activity … “Dig your well before you’re thirsty”


Most Used

When Job Searching

►96% Internet postings

►95% Ads

►95% Networking

►92% Employee referrals


Most Effective

For Landing A Job

►78% Networking

►65% Employee referrals


►45% Headhunters

►30% AdsSource: SHRM Survey


Target Company

Decision-Makers & Other People Inside Target Companies

Alumni, Professors

Former Employees of Target Companies

Contacts from Church, Community,

Volunteer & Hobbies

Past & Present Coworkers

Mentors, Business

Contacts, Job Club Network

Professional Association &

Industry Leaders

Vendors, Customers, Competitors of Target

Companies

Friends & Family Recruiters


Church & Community

Events

Social Activities &

Service Groups

Your Children‘s

School, Sports & Hobby Activities

Random Meetings& Meals

Seminars, Conferences &

Association Meetings

Planned Networking

Events

Online: Google Search, ZoomInfo,

Social Media (LinkedIn), Blogging

Job Fairs

School/Training (If Enrolled)


(c) 2002 Effective Networking, Inc.

YOU

Alumni

Family

Associations

College

Grad

Exec ed

Camp

Immediate

In-laws

Extended

Peer group

SportsSport

Sport

Strategic PartnersPartner #1

Partner #2

Sport

HS

Work

Present job

Job #1

Job #2

Job #3

Special-interest Clubs

Sport

Investment

Reading

Wine

Colleague #1

#2

#3

#4

Supervisor

Supervisee

Former

BE WISE!Religion

Gender

Politics

Chamber

Trade organization

Leads group

Charity

ServiceFriends

Plan your week

Set small-step goals for each day

Do what’s outside your comfort zone FIRST each day

Keep filling your pipeline w/ new potential target companies, contacts

Reward yourself for small-step victories

What do you need to be your best today? Ask for what you need!

Stay focused on your ultimate goal on a daily, or even hourly, basis

Ask God for His perspective, peace, provision … weekly, daily, hourly!


Go Back to the “Basics”

Progress Metrics (# per day/week/month you will make):

Phone contacts

Email / social networking contacts

Letter contacts

Thank you’s and follow-up’s

Face-to-face employer meetings

Face-to-face networking meetings

Results Metrics:

Openings / opportunities identified

New employer prospects or networking prospects identified

Interviews / candidacies

Finalist spots

Offers

Job accepted© Susan Whitcomb 2009 – The Christian's Career Journey – in partnership with Career Transition Ministries Network & Crossroads Career® Network

www.zoominfo.com - Search over 5 million companies

www.weddles.com/associations/index.cfm - Search hundreds of associations

www.google.com/Top/Business/ - Search more than 50 industry categories.

http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Directories/Companies/ Search more than 60 industry categories.

www.bcwinstitute.com/ - Christian Best Workplaces

www.anywho.com – Search for businesses & people (white/yellow pages)

www.reverse-lookup.com – Reverse lookup & email search (fee)

www.googlealert.com – Updated info on company, topic, industry


www.onetcenter.org – For occupational information

www.jobcentral.com – National Labor Exchange

www.deed.mn.us/ - MN Dept. of Employment & Economic Dev.

www.careeronestop.com – U.S. Dept. of Labor website

www.careervoyages.gov – Find in-demand occupations

www.usa.gov – Information about U.S. Government


www.crossroadscareer.org – Crossroads Career Network

Grace Church Network Key: grace-ce

www.rileyguide.com – Job search resources

www.rileyguide.com/nettips.html - tips & resources for networking

www.careeronestop.com – U.S. Dept. of Labor website portal

www.jibberjobber.com – Organizing job search efforts

www.jobfiler.com – Organizing your online job search


www.minnesotaworks.net – Find MN jobs & post resume

www.crossroadscareer.org – Crossroads Career Network

database

www.free-ed.net – Free education on the Internet

www.goodwilltraining.com – Free learning opportunities

www.elearners.com – Search for learning institutions & programs


• Majors: Monster.com (35%), CareerBuilder.com (30%), HotJobs.Yahoo.com (29.5%)

• Aggregators: Indeed.com, SimplyHired.com, Jobster.com, JobKaBob.com, Oodle.com

• Top Niche Sites: TheLadders.com, CareerJournal.com, Dice.com, CollegeGrad.com, SnagAJob.com, Mozilla.com,

• Listing of Niche Sites: www.interbiznet.com/bugler/060412Specialedition.html


© susan whitcomb 2009 – the christian's career journey – in partnership with career...

Documents

christians career journey

fun network

support network

job search success

job descriptions

job fairs

fulltime job

job good computer skills