Here are some facts to consider when looking out 2 years. The economy is currently fragile but continuing to slowly move upward. The unemployment numbers are flattening out, while employment is beginning to tilt upward, but not at an accelerated pace. The housing market is vacillating with a positive bias one month, only to move downward again the next month.
Which direction is the overall trend? The answer: Marginally upward. It’s what we don’t know that is pertinent, like: What will be the effects of ObamaCare on millions of people? Will corporations expand their growth, hold firm or pull back? How will the hiring marketplace respond? What industries will benefit in each scenario?
What all this means is that NOW is the perfect time to prepare a job search strategy for the next 6 to 12 months. Whether you act on your plan or not is a different question. But if you don’t have a plan in place, you can’t move quickly when the opportunity arrives. Do you have a career map? Is your resume prepared and compelling? What is your strategy to get to your next level position by 2016? What is your first step? What resources do you need?
No matter your function, level, skills, industry or experiences, organizations are looking for people who can either help increase revenue and/or assist to decrease costs. Employees who can contribute and affect these two variables of revenue and cost will be in greater demand than those who can’t. When you introduce efficiencies, performance improvement or more effective use of resources, you are affecting revenue and/or cost. So focus your attention on those elements in your approach to the marketplace. All functions can add to revenue or cost reduction. Some can achieve those results directly while others accomplish them indirectly in a support capacity.
Here are some preliminary steps you can take to prepare a job search strategy:
- Keep current in your field to stay ahead: technology, new approaches, higher skills
- Contact alumni groups and professional associations to make useful contacts
- Reconnect with associates and past employers to help find out what’s going on in the market and companies that may be looking for talent
- Draft a preliminary resume: Do you like what you see? How do you make it compelling?
- Have a coach help you put a persuasive and winning job search strategy together
- “Test the marketplace” – Find out what’s happening in your field
- Make an informed decision as to where you want to be in 2016 and take the first step.
Winners seldom count on pure luck to achieve their goal. If you want to be a winner, you have to plan to win.
Contact Bill Kaufmann as a coach. Send questions or your resume for a free evaluation to: mygreenerfuture1@cox.net Check Bill’s e-book: http://www.createspace.com/3884487