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Presented to the graduating MBAs of Babson College, this simple checklist teaches six lifelong habits for career management. The habits are useful for anyone, do not depend on technology, and are based on my 14 years coaching people in job transitions.
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SIX KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL JOB SEARCH
FOR MBAs
Doug Hardy
CAREER MGT VS. JOB SEARCH
Career mgt is constant
Discipline & diligence
Brand yourself
Reach out continuously
Build a professional network
Onboard yourself
2
this IS your job - forever
KEY INSIGHT: Whatever you do for a living, you now have a second job, which is managing your career.
KEY HABIT: Daily routine that brings an ever-growing understanding of your place in the world of work today, and your opportunities tomorrow.
KEY TAKEAWAY: An understanding of job search as a business project with specific goals, methods and milestones.
3
stay productive
KEY INSIGHT: Measure productivity in terms of how much A-level work you got done each day, because the end point — a new job — is unknown, but progress toward it can be measured.
KEY HABIT: Asking throughout the day, “What is the most important task for me to be doing right now?”
KEY TAKEAWAY: Good time and project management become second nature.
4
WHAT IS YOUR PERSONAL BRAND?
KEY INSIGHT: You are not a job title but a unique combination of skills, experience, knowledge and temperament that is the answer to a business’s unique needs.
KEY HABIT: Matching your skills, knowledge and career ambitions to a changing job market.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Marketing yourself means building customer-focused messages.
5
REACH OUT
KEY INSIGHT: It’s not about you, after all — it’s about what the market (employers and their customers) wants to buy.
KEY HABIT: Curiosity! Listen, learn, and investigate the job marketplace until you can make a customized approach to each potential employer and network connection.
KEY TAKEAWAY: You will have a growing list of “next places” to go, including different employers and different jobs at your current employer.
6
MAINTAIN YOUR NETWORK
KEY INSIGHT: A professional network is built more by giving than taking.
KEY HABIT: Regularly making and maintaining professional connections over the full length of your career.
KEY TAKEAWAY: A professional community that is separate, distinct and targeted to your long-term professional goals.
7
Onboard yourself
KEY INSIGHT: You can take the habits you’ve learned and create a personal onboarding program based on exactly the skills and techniques you’ve just practiced to get the job.
KEY HABIT: Weaving job search methods into daily work from your first day on a new job.
KEY TAKEAWAY: The first few months on a new job is the time to transition your job search skills into lifelong career management.
8
PLACES TO PLAY
• Recommendations, Groups, outreach
• Participation must add value (not advertising yourself)
• www.visualcv.com
• Alumni communities (Babson et al.)
• Professional communities (e.g. FENG, BNI)
• Imagine concentric circles of influence
