I started off including all ten tips at once-- this made for a very long blog post! So in the interest of keeping things mangeable, I'm breaking this article into a series. Following are the first three of ten strategic steps you can take to strengthen your odds of conducting a successful career reinvention:
1. Conduct a multi-level campaign: This means using more than one method to conduct your search; i.e. not just looking at job boards or solely talking to contacts. Some areas to explore:
a. Online: Job boards (i.e. Monster, Careerbuilder, etc.), industry blogs and newsletters (i.e. Marketing Sherpa, Publisher’s Lunch, Cynopsis, Hired Guns), online groups or communities.
b. Offline: Newspapers (especially the business section), industry trades (‘people on the move’ columns), magazines (INC, which profiles fast-growing entrepreneurial companies, is a great resource), classifieds (yes, some companies still do advertise there), industry conferences. NOTE: Recruiters are not a good resource for career reinventers since their job-- slotting people into positions according their background—is at odds with changing industries.
2. Do a targeted campaign: Don’t just send out hundreds of emails, letters or make random phone calls—create a select list of interesting companies (we recommend ten) and pursue them.
3. Identify what your target industry needs: In order to conduct an effective search, you must understand the needs of your industry so that you know how you can help them achieve their goals. The best way to learn this is by networking with people in the industry and researching the industry’s current trends, opportunities and challenges. Keep in mind that the most basic need a company has is to create and serve the customers who keep them in business. Your goal is to figure out how you can help them with this mission!
To be continued next week....
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