Article, Job Search Strategies for Success : HigherBracket.ca.

Job Search Strategies for Success, Part 1
Ian Christie

Job Search Strategy 1: Getting Moved Internally

Getting Moved Internally...you can help make several cool things happen within your existing employer.

The obvious one is to get promoted. While this has become harder and harder, if you know the ladder you are climbing is the right one for you, working towards this can be a good thing. One should never hang the whole success of their career on the potential of promotion internally, but it is the classic way of moving ahead.

The other way to go is lateral...into a new job, assignment, or project. This strategy can open up new opportunities, put you in front of new people, challenge and stretch you. In today's project economy, this is a solid way to keep variety and growth in your portfolio of work without waiting for the elusive promotion.

The third, and less obvious internal strategy is to redefine your existing job. It isn't always possible, but with reorganizations and the changing demands of the market, often, without changing your job title, you can finesse a change in responsibilities, focus or accountabilities. Perhaps you can offload things that you hate to do or that you aren't good at. Often, job dissatisfaction comes from a person to job mismatch. If you have the opportunity to fit the job to you, seriously think about it as a way of getting

Many people automatically look outside their current employer for a solution to their career problems. Often, the most obvious solution is internal. This is doubly valid when there is soft hiring market.

Think carefully about your options.

Job Search Strategy 2: The Job Posting route

Landing a job through a posting...ask most people what's the first thing they do when they start a job search, and they will tell you that they searched job postings, online or in the newspapers.

Trolling through job postings is an essential part of a well-rounded job search.

Benefits to postings, other than finding a job:

1.Gives you an idea of who is currently hiring for what

2.Identifies companies that you have never heard of

3.Highlights what skills, knowledge and experiences are currently in demand in your field

4.Gives you ideas about job avenues other than your current path.

What doesn't work:

I'm sorry folks, but what are you thinking, when you apply to thousands of postings, most totally unrelated to what is you can offer?

Stating the obvious:

The closer you match the requirements of the posting, the better chance you have. Period.

Recommendations:

1.Identify all the places, online and offline, that could post a job for which you would make a good candidate. (Do not forget the career sections of the companies you would like to work for).

2.Create a pipeline so that as much as possible, you are notified when something gets posted that is relevant to you. Most of the job boards, like Monster.com, offer some sort of agent that will email you the jobs you are interested in.

3.For offline, figure out what days the job listings get published, and schedule a small amount of time to peruse.

4.Monitor your pipeline on a regular basis, and spend the rest of your time on other search strategies.

Cover this channel diligently!

Go on to Part II

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Ian Christie is president of BoldCareer.com, a Vancouver-based career services firm focused on assisting managers, executives and other professionals with career coaching, job search and career marketing, resume writing, interview prep and career change.
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