We work with many, many clients whose jobs involve a great deal of planning either for marketing, strategic business planning, or financial planning. Project managers, product managers, senior executives - there is rarely a job in existence that does not involve some kind of planning. When faced with a job search, however, the thought of planning seems to go out the window in favor of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants attitude.
Like any other process that has many steps, job search is best accomplished with planning. The thought of job search scares many people because it is a process that is not attempted very often. Job search is also a process upon which a lot of important factors rest such as salary, standard of living, location of living, etc. It can seem daunting, but fear not! Job search is not rocket science (or even artificial intelligence). It's just plain common sense with a little bit of a marketing slant.
Let me give you an analogy that most understand. Imagine that you are a fairly decent golfer. You play on a weekly or biweekly basis and you count it a good day when you don't lose any balls in the woods. Suddenly, you find yourself plunked down in a tournament against 100 other fairly decent golfers, the winner of which gets an annual salary of, say, $100K. That looks pretty good to you since your company cut your job (and everyone else's job) last week when the second round of funding went south. You had thought you'd work out a little of the stress you'd been feeling the past few days on the links but instead, you are smack-o in the middle of a pretty high-stakes competition.
You are in luck - you have 1 week to prepare for this competition. What do you do? What most golfers would do - you go out and plunk down $500 for a new set of Ping clubs. Another few hundred for a Big Bertha driver and a new titanium putter and you decide you are ready in the equipment department. Your spouse points out that cut-off denim shorts and the Lucent t-shirt you received at last years' COMDEX won't be allowed on the course so you whip out the plastic for a new outfit. You even spring for some new FootJoys and spikes. Now you're stylin'.
Now that you are appropriately equipped and dressed, you decide that some time at the driving range and maybe some quick lessons with the pro will improve your chances of scoring the big prize. You spend all week working on your approach shots, your tee shots, and trying to get rid of that slice that always comes up on the narrow fairways.
Tournament day arrives and you are READY! You are as competitive as you can be and you have an attitude that can't be beat. Look out Tiger Woods!
That's how you go about a job search. You get the right equipment - resume, cover letter, references, etc. You get the right outfit - new suit, new shoes, new briefcase, fresh haircut. You get the right training - interview coaching, job search information, networking tips. And then you get competitive. You get aggressive in going after the job you want. You work the shot. You become consistent in your process. You don't give up if the first shot isn't a hole in one on a par 5. You focus. You constantly evaluate your situation and make adjustments. You keep your eye on the prize. And you'll win!