What do you want to be when you grow up? That is a question that I asked myself many times–in my adulthood. Throughout my adult worklife, I held onto the notion that I understood the focus and direction in my business development career. I thought I understood my sales career path, I thought I was following the correct course of action, and yet I felt unsettled.
What was wrong with me? Nothing was wrong with me but something was definitely wrong with my thinking. I was not on a career path that held my passionate interests and I was unwilling to admit that fact. I was holding on to my “business legacy” aka my past experience in the business world as my valuable assets in finding my next job.
Job Seekers Doing the Same Old Thing
You have made your wish lists, educated yourself, and done the following:
1.Target companies
2. Target industries
3. Target hiring managers
4. Target job titles
5. You have hired a resume service
6. Paid a business coach for interview practice
7. You joined every networking group you could find
8. You updated your wardrobe
9. You allowed yourself the expense of a trip to the hairstylist or beauty spa
10. You opened a Linkedin account
11. You connected with people on Twitter
12. You created a Facebook page
13. You educated yourself at various workshops and seminars
14. You marketed yourself to the hidden job market
15. Tapped into every networking resource from family & friends to former co-workers
Yet Something is Wrong
Yet something is missing. You feel a bit lost. You are not completing tasks in a timely manner. You feel challenged when staying organized. Your campaign to find a job feels a bit disjointed. You even find yourself making excuses not to do work that must be done to find a new job. You are falling victim to the same mistake I made for years in my business career.
Job Seeker’s Step 1: Your Direction
The very first #1 step that every job seeker must understand is a simple yet sometimes frightening personal question: What is it I want to do with my life? Step 1 for any employment campaign is to identify what you wish to do, what industry you wish to focus upon, what jobs are available in your chosen field, and where those jobs exist.
Without executing Step 1 in a job search, you will fail to be inspired. Your motivation to complete the necessary work in research, marketing yourself, and reaching out to find that new job will never happen. In essence your job search will remain in neutral or worse yet frozen in fear. Without a purpose and direction, the employment campaign is nearly impossible to execute to successfully find a new job.
