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1994-05-18
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CHAPTER 1 - FIRST THINGS FIRST
WELCOME
Your job will be to build a marketing campaign where you are
the product and, through a process of analysis, preparation
and execution, you will be in a better position to further
your career, keep it on track, and achieve the financial
rewards you want.
The best approach is a methodical one, step-by-step with a
sound marketing plan. This proven manual will guide you in
personal analysis, preparation of a marketing approach to
the job market, how to get interviews, techniques of a
successful interview, and interview follow-up, negotiations,
and job acceptance.
Facing change is often very painful. Whether you have lost
your job or are searching for a new challenge, change in our
lives is predictable and it is often good to remember that
it is shared by many others and most people have found
themselves in the same position at one time or other in
their lives.
A job search is one of the most difficult projects we face.
Success is a result of many variables, a positive attitude,
a significant amount and quality of effort, conditions in
your job market, job and salary level, age, geographic
limits, first impressions and good luck, the kind you force
by making things happen.
ATTITUDE AND INSPIRATION
Be Positive
Recognize the importance of always avoiding frustrations or
barriers that plague most people who are in the process of
seeking a change in employment. No matter what the reason,
experience tells us that you should always keep the
following principles in mind.
Be positive in everything you think, say or do. You can
succeed in becoming employed, very often, in a better
position than your previous one. However, you must be
positive and optimistic. Defeatism and negativism are
deadly and there is absolutely no place for them in a job
search.
Have confidence in yourself! Remember, you have much to
offer, and it is very important that you send a message of
confidence and self esteem during the entire duration of
your job campaign.
Above all, don't brood over your past employment misfortunes
or disappointments and always look ahead, never back. Many,
like you, have been in similar situations during their lives
and have ended up securing better positions. As you pursue
this program, make an attempt at turning negative feelings
into positive energy.
There is usually nothing wrong with you, only your approach.
If you have been unsuccessfully marketing yourself for some
time, then this program will be helpful in turning your
approach into a winning result.
Promise yourself that you will follow your marketing plan
until you "make something happen" and that you will devote
full energies to your job search.
In addition you will need to focus on specific job hunting
goals. Having specific positions, titles, salary levels,
etc. in mind, prevents you from floundering and drifting off
plan. Writing down your goals helps to achieve personal
discipline and focus because written objectives have a way
of becoming "unbreakable rules."
Find A Source Of Inspiration
Decide that you want to be somebody by realizing that you
are more important than your problems. Be bold in wanting
success. Expose the genius within you and know that you are
different and special. You have an individuality, you can
tackle things that are big and difficult. Start by
accepting when invited.
You are an exclusive collection of experience. Believe in
the immensity of your experience and accomplishments and
remember, "if you want it...you can have it."
It is absolutely essential that you make yourself into
saleable merchandise, have a good product, present it in a
favorable light to create favorable perceptions, and SELL
YOURSELF!! Even a small improvement is a huge gain and the
taste of success is a step toward your dream.
If it needs doing, do it. Each day try and do something
that you have been afraid to do. Some of the secrets of
selling yourself to people are:
Force yourself and dare to do it.
Get close to what you fear, seek to get hurt.
Be a slave driver with yourself.
Initiative, self starter, act, begin, etc.
Get hurt, want, invite and risk ridicule.
Always be aggressive.
Endure and never quit.
Make a nuisance of yourself.
Come out of your shell.
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than men with
talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a
proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of
educated derelicts. PERSISTENCE alone is the key.
Don't let procrastination become a problem.
It's not a fact of life, you can avoid it.
Analyze why you do it.
Overcome failure. Imagine the worst.
Overcome fear of success and of changes to come.
Take care of yourself and raise your energy level.
Develop hidden will power, get tough with yourself.
Organize your environment.
Reward yourself for avoiding procrastination.
Practice time management.
Use visible reminders and mottos to discourage it.
Don't use a cop-out and excuse yourself from work.
Finish it today, now!!!
There is no time in your life when this is more important.
"AIN'T HARDLY NO [JOB] GOT THAT AIN'T WENT AFTER."
STRESS AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
One of your very first priorities is a program of stress
and financial management. There are emotional feelings
ranging from relief and joy, to bitterness and anger that
you and your spouse will experience when you leave your
position with the company.
To relieve the stress of either an involuntary or voluntary
termination, we recommend:
There will be far less worry if you begin by
straightening out your financial situation.
See the job search as a new opportunity and assume a
positive attitude.
Commit yourself to a formal job search campaign.
Get out among people, stay active in church and the
community.
Continue or start a physical exercise program and watch
what you eat.
Organize a support system; minister, friends, etc.
Work hard, don't give up, and be PERSISTENT.
While you are conducting a job search, it is absolutely
essential that you have and maintain a realistic picture of
your financial status. If you feel inadequate, seek the
help of a professional financial advisor.
Financial planning also involves stated objectives that in
all probability will include immediate needs and plans for
the future. Living from paycheck to paycheck can work but
it deprives you of the opportunity to set and attain
personal goals. Uncertainty is the best you can expect
without a financial plan.
A budget should be a plan and not ridged rules. Knowing
your true financial position is the first step toward
managing your resources. It can be a plan for smart money
management and will reinforce wise spending.
You may already have a system in use. The important thing
is that you use it regularly and make your income work for
you and relieve the stress that can easily occur.
UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF
You will begin the task of discovering your skills with the
help of this manual. You have accomplishments which you
have been recognized for, but you also have many skills that
have become so much a part of you that you don't even
recognize them as special. We want you to think back in
your past and get those forgotten talents documented and to
utilize them to your advantage in your job hunt.
We need to separate skills from opinion. Saying it, does
not make it so. Skills need to be proven and prospective
employers will be looking at what you write and say to
understand your proven or potential skills.
Identify, consider, and document your accomplishments both
at work and in community service. This is the fundamental
groundwork in preparation for your resume, letters, and for
selling yourself in interviews.
Describe them with clear simple statements and use action
words to describe your achievements. Tell what you did and
the result of your actions and be specific. Use dollars,
numbers and percentages as much as you can and don't be
modest or exaggerate.
The object is to find as many accomplishments as possible in
this early draft. You can supply the right words, grammar,
and punctuation later.
Self assessment is the time to chart your interests, values,
skills, abilities and personality type. It is extremely
important that you be honest with yourself. Lifestyle,
motivations and people compatibility must all be considered.
Be aware and document all of the key factors of your
personality and job needs.
In Chapter 1 - Work Forms, there are several pages where you
are asked to make written response to a series of personal
assessment exercises which will help both you and eventually
others to better understand your capabilities. These are
essential because they become input material for your
resume, letters, and interview answers.
Statements Of Accomplishment
Please structure each accomplishment with a description of
the situation/problem/assignment, then an account of the
action you took, alone or with others and follow with the
quantifiable results. These become documented proof of your
value to the next company.
Skills In Accomplishments
Following each accomplishment, there is a worksheet which is
used to identify and document specific management (hiring,
training, delegating, etc.), functional (organizing,
writing, speaking, etc.) and technical (electronics,
manufacturing, etc.) skills which are directly utilized in
your accomplishments. These are your special or unique
skills responsible for making each accomplishment
successful.
Career Summary (30 Second Commercial)
This statement can be used on a resume for a summary of
qualifications and/or it most certainly will be used to
introduce yourself to a stranger. Write it in detail first,
then re-draft it to be positive, strong and as brief as
possible. This will help you respond to the question "tell
me about yourself."
Likes And Dislikes
Recall your last two or three positions and write down the
aspects of the job, environment, and duties that you like or
dislike the most. Do not seek out or accept a job that
makes you unhappy.
Career Past And Present
Describe why you left or why you want to leave your
immediate job. Include all detail; be realistic, honest,
re-write it and memorize it so you can answer positively and
confidently.
People I Know
List all of the people you know whose jobs you would like to
have. Next, pick 3 and explain in detail why you want their
jobs. Then convince yourself that you can reach the goals
you want to achieve.
Strengths
List all of your strengths. Include both personal (relating
to style, personality, attitude) and functional (expertise,
work related, abilities) strengths. These should be of
value to an employer, solve his problems and set you apart
from the next person.
Liabilities
Consider and list what you believe to be your major
liabilities which could be perceived as a problem by some
hiring managers. Draft your answers and responses so as to
overcome any negative impressions. Memorize them for a
confident response to interview questions.
ASSESSING YOURSELF THROUGH TESTING
Our advice is to have professional testing done. This
process consists of questionnaires which are used to search
out personal data. It will take a few hours to complete
these exercises after which a testing professional will
determine the results and review them with you.
The data will be objective, compare you to other
professionals and supplement your own insights and, in most
cases, will be quite consistent with how you see yourself.
How It Works
There are three aspects of your life and career that you
should investigate.
First, investigate your interests. Beyond your own
likes and dislikes about your past jobs, this process
will determine what is satisfying and what is boring
and increase your chances for success.
Next, learn how you come across to others and what type
of job environment is best suited to your personality.
Last, it is essential that you test for basic skills,
abilities and aptitudes.
Analysis And Results
The results of your answers will help you to write a written
statement of your ideal job/position(s) using the form that
follows in the Chapter 1 - Work Forms section.
SEARCH OBJECTIVES AND CAREER GOALS
The Decision Process
Understanding yourself leads to career decisions. The
exercises and testing that you have completed direct you
toward your options.
If you decide to stay on the same career path as in the past
you will have the advantage of the most credibility, command
the best salary and advance more quickly.
Be certain that it is the right choice before you proceed.
If it is not satisfying, look at all of the possibilities
and then make a change.
What better time than now to consider what you want from
your career. Not everyone wants to continue reaching for
the next rung on the ladder, perhaps an opportunity with
less pressure and more fun would make sense.
Use your imagination to search out and identify your niche
and it may be simply a closely related field or industry.
If you are considering transferring your skills to another
field, stay practical. When you target new opportunities be
sure that employers will generally perceive your skills to
be related enough for you to be successful.
Some accomplishments and skills will sell much better than
others across these industry barriers and its important that
you visualize where they will be the most effective.
It will be slower and you will have to utilize different
resumes, letters and tactics but multiple goals are an
option. An approach could be to concentrate on one goal and
have the other ready as a backup plan.
Investigate very thoroughly before you jump into a second
career. Read everything you can and talk to your network
and any experts that they can refer you to. Be sure you can
afford the risk of failure. Perhaps you can try it as a
hobby first or do it part time before you commit 100%.
Personal Goal Setting
First, make a wish list of categories from which goals can
be chosen. Set the list aside for a day and then write
"why" beside each category. If you can't, then it is not a
serious objective. The list could include:
Travel and Vacation Friendships
Automobile Health
House Religion
Money Education
Career Interests and Hobbies
Family and Children
Evaluate yourself by giving each item on the following list
a low score of 1 if you really need to work on it and a high
score of 5 if you're perfect.
Physical Family
Financial Social
Spiritual Mental
Now study this list to determine the highest priority.
Next, look at the wish list above and choose what you want
to achieve.
Select two that you can work on consistently and ask of each
one whether it is my goal, morally right and fair, in line
with long range objectives, am I emotionally committed, and
can I visualize reaching the goal?
For each goal, list and complete each of these seven steps.
Identify and describe the goal
Write down the deadline
List the obstacles
Note people to work with
Identify skills and knowledge
Make a plan of action
Itemize the benefits
As you work toward achieving these goals, read them to
yourself each day and reevaluate them. When you have
reached one of them, substitute a new goal. Share goals
with your family and friends.
Remember, "How can you hit a target when you don't have
one?", "You enjoy the benefits of reaching goals ... You pay
the price of not reaching them.", and: "MANY PEOPLE CAN STOP
YOU TEMPORARILY BUT YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN STOP YOU
PERMANENTLY."
Your Ideal Position
Refer to the Chapter 1 - Work Forms and complete the sheet
in detail. First, list all of your career objectives and
goals by considering the next position as well as those
beyond.
Secondly, describe as comprehensively as possible exactly
the nature of the function you want to perform, in what kind
of organization and, considering various size companies,
describe the person you would report to.
Thirdly, itemize the industries where this work is needed.
Fourth, describe exactly what the work environment is like.
And fifth, be very specific and describe where this position
would be geographically located.
REFERENCES CAN HELP
Immediately visit or phone 3 to 5 individuals and request
them to serve as your reference. Write each person a thank
you letter and include several copies of your resume.
Keep in contact with them and, above all, immediately notify
them when you give their name to prospective employers.
These should be individuals who can corroborate your career
experiences and accomplishments. The best choice would be a
prior boss, associates or clients.
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end of chapter
