General Dwight D. Eisenhower is famously quoted: “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
Based on my experience as a Job Hunter, Recruiter and now Job Search Coach, I know that when you are a job hunter both the PLANNING and the PLAN are critically important. Here’s why:
There are only so many hours in a day, so seekers must be both efficient and effective in how they apply their time. Efficient, getting the most out of their waking, productive hours and Effective by applying that time on the right combination of things to attract the eyes of hiring authorities, leading to interviews, job offers and ultimately a new, fulfilling position.
In my experience fewer than 20% of job seekers have a detailed written PLAN, starting with identifying the positions(s) they seek, target industries and companies and their marketable skills. From here you must decide where to spend your time. Should you be applying on-line, attending job networking groups, using LinkedIn and/or Twitter, attending industry or trade events, or some other activity and how much time should you allocate to each? This is where the PLAN takes form and drives and guides your activities. Why the PLAN is important is pretty obvious; but why is the PLANNING important?
PLANNING creates an output called the PLAN…that’s obvious. But as important, and probably more so, PLANNING creates CONFIDENCE and RESILIENCY – two huge critical success factors in your job search. The PLANNING process creates confidence because it affirms that you are truly in control of the process; you choose where to spend your time. As you are working your PLAN you course correct based on feedback from your job search. Your job search is very personal, but you must not take it personally when things don’t work as planned. You just do more PLANNING and adjust your PLAN. This creates resiliency to move forward as you face the eventual ups and downs of your job search.
Both PLANNING and your PLAN will move you forward successfully in your job search.
Mark Lauterbach is Owner & Principal Coach of Jump UP the Ladder, a Job Search Accelerator. Mark also is a frequent guest speaker on the topics of job search strategy/tactics and career development. Visit www.jumuptheladder.com for more information. email markl@jumpuptheladder.com