Why Your Career Search Must Be Done The Right way, Not The Easy Way
Why Your Career Search Must Be Done The Right way, Not The Easy Way
The reason this process needs to be done the right way, not the easy way, is that it has such a large impact on both your career and life. Finding the perfect opportunity earlier in your professional career will accelerate your journey to success. The sooner you are able to find the right situation, the sooner you can have the experience and knowledge under your belt to achieve success. Refuse to be like most other young professionals who are too lazy during the search process and settle for something that will not make them happy or allow them to grow. We all have to earn an income, so take the time to find the right opportunity that you enjoy, constantly challenges you, teaches you and will take you to where you want to be.
Career Search Tips – Make it Just Like College (7 of 7)
Finding a “job” isn’t all that difficult, regardless of the economy. Finding the perfect “opportunity” for yourself, however, can be challenging. If you follow the 7 rules in this series, you will significantly increase your chances at quickly finding the perfect career opportunity. My goal is to make your life easier and keep you focused on doing things the right way, not the easy way. By doing things the right way, you will be more efficient and your search will be more focused and effective.
Many similarities exist between your search for the right college and your search for the right career opportunity. Picking a college or career based purely on statistics or rankings is a mistake. What makes people successful in college? The key is to be in an environment where you’re happy, can learn and grow as a person. Your career is no different – find the city and professional opportunity where you can learn, grow and become a better and smarter person. Find an organization that feels right and has the type of culture and environment in which you will feel comfortable and excel.
Career Search Tips – Know Yourself and Be Yourself (6 of 7)
Finding a “job” isn’t all that difficult, regardless of the economy. Finding the perfect “opportunity” for yourself, however, can be challenging. If you follow the 7 rules in this series, you will significantly increase your chances at quickly finding the perfect career opportunity. My goal is to make your life easier and keep you focused on doing things the right way, not the easy way. By doing things the right way, you will be more efficient and your search will be more focused and effective.
Remember who you are as you shape your vision. My goal was to work in sales for a small company that would offer a lot of opportunities to learn and grow. I wanted to travel all the time, learn every aspect of an industry, and be a huge part of a company. In order for me to be happy, I knew that I needed to be with a small company, have a lot of responsibility, be challenged constantly and have the freedom to do my work without having a boss micromanaging my efforts. Hands off supervision was crucial. I knew my strengths, weaknesses and what type of environment suited me best. Throughout my search process I never lost focus of this vision and ultimately found an opportunity that matched this description perfectly. Finding this opportunity took months of hard work, but it was worth all of the time and effort.
The lesson to be learned here is that you must be well aware of your skills, strengths and weaknesses when searching for the right opportunity. Find something that will allow you to perform at your best and capitalize on your strengths. If you don’t like to be managed constantly or to have someone looking over your shoulder and evaluating you daily, find an opportunity where you have freedom and flexibility. If the thought of speaking in front of people makes you nervous, you may not want to start out in sales. If you hate being indoors all day, an office position probably isn’t the best one for you. Find the opportunity that allows your strengths to shine. Keep in mind that over time you will learn to turn your weaknesses into strengths. This comes from experience and a desire to improve yourself.
Knowing yourself means that you need to be your own person and not allow others to tell you who you are or what you should be. A perfect example is all of the young professionals who are in law school or medical school because they were told by their parents that lawyers and doctors make a lot of money. If you want to be in either of those fields and enjoy that type of work, then by all means go for it! However, if your main motivation is that your parents are both attorneys and they told you to follow the same path, then you might need to find a better reason. Know yourself and what you truly want out of your own professional life. Do what you feel will make you happy. If you aren’t sure what that is, then follow your heart and see where it leads you. You’ll be surprised how often it takes you to exactly where you are meant to be in life.
Career Search Tips – Demand Excellence (5 of 7)
Finding a “job” isn’t all that difficult, regardless of the economy. Finding the perfect “opportunity” for yourself, however, can be challenging. If you follow the 7 rules in this series, you will significantly increase your chances at quickly finding the perfect career opportunity. My goal is to make your life easier and keep you focused on doing things the right way, not the easy way. By doing things the right way, you will be more efficient and your search will be more focused and effective.
You have created a vision of success that you’ll reach by finding the perfect opportunity for you. Do not accept anything short of an opportunity that will eventually lead you to that vision. There are millions of opportunities in the world, so there is no reason to settle for anything less than what you want. Make sure that you find an opportunity you absolutely love, that challenges you and makes you want to jump out of bed every morning. Most people are miserable with their current career choices because they were too lazy to put in the time and effort that is necessary to achieve excellence. If you demand excellence, look hard, build relationships with successful professionals and stay committed to this process, your chances of achieving success will increase exponentially.
Career Search Tips – Fight through Adversity (4 of 7)
Finding a “job” isn’t all that difficult, regardless of the economy. Finding the perfect “opportunity” for yourself, however, can be challenging. If you follow the 7 rules in this series, you will significantly increase your chances at quickly finding the perfect career opportunity. My goal is to make your life easier and keep you focused on doing things the right way, not the easy way. By doing things the right way, you will be more efficient and your search will be more focused and effective.
You will most likely be faced with adversity throughout your search; people won’t get back to you, they’ll want to interview you five different times, they’ll decide to go in a different direction or they won’t be hiring at the moment. By staying focused on your vision and being mentally tough, you can fight through any adversity that you face. Don’t lose sight of what you truly want: be willing to fight each and every day until you find the best opportunity for success.
Career Search Tips – Begin with the End in Mind (3 of 7)
Finding a “job” isn’t all that difficult, regardless of the economy. Finding the perfect “opportunity” for yourself, however, can be challenging. If you follow the 7 rules in this series, you will significantly increase your chances at quickly finding the perfect career opportunity. My goal is to make your life easier and keep you focused on doing things the right way, not the easy way. By doing things the right way, you will be more efficient and your search will be more focused and effective.
Whether you are coming out of college looking for that best opportunity or if you are trying to make a career transition into a better opportunity, you must have a specific end goal in mind. You may not know the exact company or position, but you should have a detailed description in mind of what you want from a professional standpoint. This should be part of the vision of success you will write at the end of this book. An example of a professional vision would be:
“I want to work for a small company in the media business that allows me to utilize my sales skills, to interact with a variety of businesses and that presents me with opportunities for career growth as I learn the industry. I want to eventually be in a management role where I can use my leadership skills to help guide the efforts of others.”
You must have a specific end goal in mind to keep you focused during the search for your best opportunity. The process can be long and frustrating, and the last thing you want to do is lose focus of what you really want. You should also avoid becoming so annoyed with the process that you choose an opportunity that really isn’t what you are looking for, only because you’re sick of searching.
If the search process is dragging on longer than you would like, having a vision will be your light at the end of the tunnel and allow you to persevere through the difficult times. Do not allow yourself to lose focus of what you really want. Stay positive, believe in your end goal and you will eventually get exactly what you want, which is the best opportunity for you to succeed.
Career Search Tips – Find Something You Enjoy (2 of 7)
Finding a “job” isn’t all that difficult, regardless of the economy. Finding the perfect “opportunity” for yourself, however, can be challenging. If you follow the 7 rules in this series, you will significantly increase your chances at quickly finding the perfect career opportunity. My goal is to make your life easier and keep you focused on doing things the right way, not the easy way. By doing things the right way, you will be more efficient and your search will be more focused and effective.
As a young professional, you spend more time working than you spend with your friends, family or a significant other. Considering that your professional life will be such a huge part of who you are, it is important to make sure you are doing something that makes you happy. As alluded to earlier, being unhappy with your professional life can have a negative impact on other areas of your life as well. Make sure that as you are searching for and choosing your best opportunity for success that you focus on the things that you feel will make you the happiest.
One way to find happiness is to choose an industry that you are passionate about. Regardless of what industry you choose, if you are ambitious and want to be successful you will need to become an industry expert over the years. In any industry you must have a “360 degree view” of the industry and really understand how the entire business works. You may eventually become an expert in one particular area or niche within that industry, but initially you need to know how the industry functions. Having this knowledge and expertise at a young age will separate you from your peers and make your path to success much quicker. For instance, if you really enjoy the movie industry, then find something in that area; it could be anything from acting, marketing, advertising, being a critic or producing films. If you truly enjoy the industry, then you will likely work much harder and want to learn, which will make you stand out.
In order to find something that will make you happy, you may need to think outside the box. Not every successful person works from 9-5 in the corporate world. There are plenty of people who don’t throw on a suit and sit in traffic for 45 minutes each morning and evening. You may need to get away from what you consider to be “normal” in order to find happiness. Also, don’t be afraid to look for opportunities outside of your major or focus from college. Be open minded and realize you can take advantage of any opportunity you want as long as you can convince the person hiring you that you are a potential asset to the company. If you are a talented person, find something you enjoy and will work hard at, regardless of whether you are using your degree or not. Don’t look at your diploma as a document that dictates what area you will work in; appreciate it as a representation of the experiences you had in school and the life knowledge you gained.
The bottom line is that happiness with your career will have a positive impact on both your personal life and professional life. You will work harder, be more eager to learn and be someone that people enjoy being around because you have something that very few of them will ever have: a real possibility of achieving your goals and dreams.
Career Search Tips – Build a Network (Part 1 of 7)
Finding a “job” isn’t all that difficult, regardless of the economy. Finding the perfect “opportunity” for yourself, however, can be challenging. If you follow the 7 rules in this series, you will significantly increase your chances at quickly finding the perfect career opportunity. My goal is to make your life easier and keep you focused on doing things the right way, not the easy way. By doing things the right way, you will be more efficient and your search will be more focused and effective.
The reality is that most people do not secure their dream opportunities by shooting off resumes to 500 different employers on the internet. To truly get your foot in the proverbial door and meet with the right people, it is crucial that you build a network of professionals who can point you in the right direction or have the authority to help you directly. In almost every case, a successful and responsible person will do whatever he can to assist a young, ambitious young professional. Simply ask him for the opportunity to learn more about the area in which he works and see if he can be a resource by pointing you in the right direction.
So how are you supposed to find this “network” of people? Put together a list of everyone that you know and everyone that they may know. Ask your parents and other family members for their help in connecting you to successful professionals who they admire. Seek out people in your desired field or industry that have been successful. Send out emails to each of these individuals including your resume, a brief description of how they can help you and when you would like to get together. Follow up in three business days with a phone call and schedule a time, either on the phone or in person, to meet.
Below is an example of what I sent to fellow Ohio University graduates across the country while I was in the process of building a network and figuring out where I wanted to relocate after graduation (this works regardless of whether you are a student or already in the work place – the sooner you begin building your network, the better off you will be!). You will be amazed at the number of people who will respond, as well as how willing they will be to help you network and answer any questions that you may have. Here is an example of what I sent out to professionals in Phoenix, Arizona:
“My name is Tom Healy and I will be graduating from Ohio University this upcoming June. I came across your information on the “Arizona Bobcats” alumni website. I am interested in relocating after graduation and have targeted Phoenix as one of the four cities I am interested in moving to. Because of the economy, future growth, weather, proximity to other cities and many other factors, Phoenix is at the top of the list of cities most attractive to me.
I am emailing you because I would like to talk with you about the Phoenix area because I have never been there before. Also, any recommendations on companies I should apply to or specific people I should get in contact with would be greatly appreciated.
I have attached a copy of my resume, which highlights my accomplishments as a hard-working and ambitious student leader at OU. It also describes the specific field in which I would like to begin my career.
If you could email me back at your convenience or let me know when a good time to call is, it would be greatly appreciated. I love OU, but I am also excited for the next step and look forward to talking with you about Phoenix. Thanks for taking the time to read this email.”
This concept works in the exact same way if you are already out of school and looking for a new career opportunity; simply let the recipient know a little bit about you, the type of opportunity you are looking for and how they can be of assistance. They will be thrilled to hear from you and help you out in any way that they can – all you need to do is ask!
