It’s OK to have a Pity Party…
On the one hand, a job search is exactly like any other multi-step project. There is a planning phase, the execution phase, and the on-going hands-on work of keeping the project moving. Because a job search is essentially a sales process, there is also the aspect of prospecting and keeping the hopper full.
There is a very significant emotional aspect to a job search. Women are no more prone to the emotional issues than men are but we do tend to handle them differently. Women tend to discuss their issues more openly with friends than men do. In the heat of it all, we have to deal with emotions we are feeling. There is the shock and then the dismay that we even have to go through this terrible ordeal. Let it all out. I mean wallow in it. Sob, yell and eat a whole bag of chocolate chips. Just get is out of your system. Good. Once that’s done, pull out your project management book and get started.
Get your life back in 5 easy steps….
Take a step back and breathe as you approach this project because, at the onset, something this important to us personally can get us overwhelmed in a hurry. But as the old saying goes “don’t eat the whole elephant, eat it one piece at a time”. The way to approach it is task by task. Get detailed. right down to the type of thank you notes you will send out after each interview.
Step One: Begin by considering how best to sell yourself. What do you offer? What can you do for a company? Can you make a company money? Can you save a company money? Can you minimize the financial or legal risk of a company? In this economy, it’s all about what you can do for a company.
Step Two: You will need marketing materials that make you stand out from the competition. These need to sell what you can do for a company, not what your job description is. Getting this next job is a sales game and you must know the rules, better than anyone else. If have a hard time shouting out about how amazing you are in the workplace, call back your girlfriends and ask them why they are your friend. It will make you feel better hearing all those wonderful things about yourself. After a couple of phone calls, you will feel like tackling the world, have the freedom to brag about your accomplishments, and you will be ready to proceed to step number three.
Step Three: Decide where you will send your resume. Recruiters? Networking contacts? Company Websites? Religious and Spiritual organizations? Non Profit organizations? Will you use Social Networking? Contact Venture Capital Companies? Where are the people that can assist you? Don't decide all in one day, carry a spiral notebook around and when you think of people that may be a good connection for you, jot them down in your book. Print your outlook contact list off of your computer.
Step Four: The Plan. This can be a bit confusing. There are two schools of thought. Some say to have a targeted approach and choose 3, 6 or 12 companies to target and go after them with everything you have. Still others say it’s a numbers game and you must have lots of resumes in the game. As a woman…I say we can have it all. I say do both. Target and play the numbers game. A well diversified plan is the best. Write your plan out, decide on daily activity goals on how many phone calls and how many resumes you will send out in the mail and submit electronically.
Step Five: is simple. Work the plan. Look at your plan daily and be flexible. Change the plan if necessary and keep on going.
On those discouraging days, and you will have them, have your pity party. Grab the stale cookies left in the jar, drink the rest of the orange juice in the fridge and watch reruns of your favorite TV show. Take the time, but not too long. Acknowledge your feelings long enough to give them the recognition they need to fade away.
Then, just like we have been taught and how we have taught others, dust yourself off and keep on going. Because, that’s what women do.
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