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
Recommended
