William Finally, an organized search
William wanted a job just about any job he saw in the want ads. He spent months answering those ads. He thought he was job hunting, but he wasn't. He was simply answering ads for positions for which he was unqualified. William didn't stand a chance.
After a long time, William gave up and agreed to follow system. At first he resisted because, like so many job hunters, he did not want to "restrict" himself. William thought that focusing on only two or three job targets would limit his opportunities and lengthen his search. He wanted to be open to whatever job came his way.
Many job hunters, like William, simply want a job. But William needed to put himself in the position of the hiring manager: Why would he want to hire William? In his cover letters, William took the "trust me" approach. He did nothing to prove his interest in the industry, the company, or even the position he was applying for. His credentials matched the ad requirements only with the greatest stretch of the imagination.
A shotgun approach like William's may lead to a job offer, but it may also lead your career in a direction that is not what you would have preferred. Later, you may find yourself back in the same boat again wondering what to do with your life, wanting to do almost anything but what you are doing, hoping your next job will miraculously be in a field that will satisfy you.
William's basic problem was not that he wanted to change careers, but that he didn't know what he wanted to do. He was willing to do anything anything except focus on a specific area and go after it.
William eventually narrowed himself to two targets he was truly interested in. Then he worked to find out his chances for getting jobs in those fields. William did the exercises, and came up with this list to focus his search:
What I want in a job:
- A challenge in meeting new situations variety.
- A complex situation I can structure.
- Something I believe in.
- A chance to express my creativity through my communication skills.
- A highly visible position.
- An opportunity to develop my leadership and motivational skills.
- Sole responsibility for something.
What I have to offer (that I also want to offer):
- Enthusiasm for the company's basic mission purpose.
- Penetrating analysis that finds the "answer."
- The ability to synthesize diverse parts into a unified whole.
- An ability and desire to be in new untested situations.
- Effective in dealing with many kinds of people.
- Strong oral and written communication skills.
Goal: A small or medium sized organization where I can feel impact:
- Service
- Health care
- Human care
- Science
- Academia and learning
- Human understanding
Description of targeted areas:
- Targeted geographic areas:
- Major East Coast cities or locales:
- New York
- Philadelphia
- Boston
- Baltimore
- Washington
- Targeted industries:
- First priority is health care:
- Pharmaceuticals companies
- Biotechnology companies
- Hospitals
- Maybe research labs
- Second priority is not for profit community organizations
- Targeted positions:
- marketing competitive analysis
- organizational positioning
- operations planning
William's first campaign was aimed at pharmaceuticals companies. He discovered what they looked for in new hires, and how he could get a position. In addition, he pursued his second objective: not for profit community organizations.
The result: As usual, a career transition takes time. William discovered he could make a transition into the pharmaceuticals industry, but decided not to take the backward step that would require. He learned of a job being created in a not for profit organization. Although he was not qualified for this position, he knew he could handle it, and it matched the list of what he wanted.
William went through the steps to convince his prospective employer he could indeed handle the job and was eager to have the chance to do it. This was difficult because the other candidates were better qualified than William they had been in this kind of job before. For William, it was a career change.
William decided to write a number of proposals. To write them, he first needed to do research, which would not be easy. After some library research, he called the heads of development at six major not for profits. He told them he was hoping to get a position at a certain organization, and wanted some ideas of how he could write a proposal of what he would do if he were hired.
Amazingly, his sincerity won the day. All six gave him information over the phone. Because he had done library research, William was able to ask intelligent questions. He wrote a proposal, stating in his cover letter that he had spoken with the heads of development at major not for profits, and asked for another interview. It would be nice if that were all it took: William got another interview, but was rejected a number of times. Yet he continued to do research, and eventually showed enough fortitude and learned enough that he was hired.
The position was just what he wanted: a brand new marketing research position at a major not for profit organization. He would head his career in a different direction and satisfy his motivated skills. His career was back on track, under his own control. And he's still with the organization today.
