Planning your Job Search – tips for fast trackers ..

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career

May be read as a continuation of : Fast track career growth & job search: Challenges

Some suggestions that can help you plan better and act better on your job search efforts are outlined below. See if they can give you a direction.

The title reads – “for fast trackers” – however the suggestions may be applicable for every one – and are extremely relevantif you are have been on a fast track and are stuck.

When the thought of looking out hits you for the first time ?

  • Stop thinking of job switch unless and until its justified – decision to change jobs should not come all of a sudden. You need to evaluate your career, the possibilities, available opportunities etc.
  • If you don’t have the pressures of moving out or quitting your job from your existing employers, stay put and try to derive the best in terms of career growth and financial growth from your existing employer.
  • Keep a watch out for the time line for which your existing employer can give you career growth and opportunities.
  • If you feel your next move with your present employer is going to get difficult – start looking out in a well-planned manner. You need to research well – for most cases its not going to be as easy as uploading your profile on a job board or talking to some consultants.

Once you have decided:

  1. Start working on your USP, based on your experience – frame the USP in terms of competencies developed and the competencies that may support you to perform and deliver in your next job. You should be able to justify your strength on these competencies & skills at a later stage, during an interview if required.
  2. Make a detailed note of your experiences, your learning’s – and identify how these learning’s and experiences can be of value to your next employer and in your next job.
  3. Identify the kind of opportunities, that are aligned to your interest and experience, aligned to your expectations on compensation and can allow you to learn and grow for next few years – in the direction of your future career aspirations.
  4. Start identifying employerswho can afford you, appreciate your experience, abilities and keep a watch out for opportunities that come along. (Now this is an important part most of us keep missing almost all the time, we are not really in tune with possible opportunities.)
  5. Plan a justification for fast track growth, your compensation and the reason why you could get valued by your existing employers. You should be able to justify – as to why you were allowed all the good and impactful opportunities you got with your existing employers.
  6. You need to have a sensible and good sounding, and well reasoned justification for your reason to look out for another opportunity. Plan it carefully and plan it with facts and figures – these things cannot be a on the fly story. Stories may not go well most of the times and well all of us are not great story tellers.
  7. Networking !! This is important – staring getting in touch with your ex bosses, seniors from b school if you have been keeping aloof from your network. And well don’t just reach out and start talking about your efforts at job search. Just make yourself visible and keep yourself visible.
  8. Update your social network profile – LinkedIn specially– it has become a good hunting ground for head hunters, executive search professionals and prospective employers. See if you can land up recommendations form your colleagues, seniors, clients, senior professionals you have worked with etc. Incorporate your USP, competence areas and skill sets. Document your experiences as though they are supposed to reflect on you as a “brand”.
  9. Apart from the above, build your profile – resume, and well fine tune it keeping in view points I,II,III, IV above.

Now you are ready to ping the consultants , ex colleagues etc., and friends in your target companies, or companies where you would love to work.

Remember:A well grounded research on employers, opportunities, an understanding of your competencies, strengths and your ability to convey your “own” value proposition to an employer is going to be extremely crucial.

Have you read: Fast track career growth & job search: Challenges

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Praveen is the Founder & Principal Consultant of KHEdge, a boutique HR & Business Process Advisory firm. Over last 15 years he has advised & worked with promoters, founders, business leaders, HR leaders in areas of - Business Strategy, HR Strategy, Organisation Design etc.

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