He
who every morning plans the transaction of the day and follows out that plan,
carries a thread that will guide him through the maze of the most busy life.
But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to
the chance of incidence, chaos will soon reign.- Victor Hugo (1802-1885)
It’s
all about having a plan if you want to be successful. It’s the same thing as
building a house: if you don’t have a blueprint, it’s impossible to know where
to start. Strategic job search management is the process of linking your career
goals to a job search path.
It
is imperative that job seekers think about the type of job or career they’re
aiming for. Only then can they determine what their job search path will be.
Unfortunately, the ideal job may be more long term than immediate. This means
that the job seeker has to think more strategically about the jobs they take so
that each experience leads them closer towards that ideal job.
Essentially,
all of us will be conducting a job search throughout our lives. The better we
get at it the more successful we will be.
If
job seekers approach their job search strategically, they will be more
motivated to continue looking for work and be able to find the right job. In
today’s world, the job search really never ends. You’re constantly on the
lookout for jobs that will eventually lead you to your ultimate dream job. Each
opportunity you take should build upon your experiences that lead you down your
job search path.
The
unfortunate reality is that the job seeker may not get their dream job right
away. The job search path is essentially a road of direct and indirect job
related experiences leading up to that job. In order to reach that destination,
they will have to take positions that add to their experience and move them
down their path. Making these decisions along the path will be based on
criteria that they initially established when choosing to take a particular job.
The
first place to start when establishing the job search path is to determine the
dream job. Once the job seeker has decided on their ideal job, they can start
to lay out your job search path. The key is to only take jobs that are related
to the ideal job. These experiences will build skills and abilities that make
the job seeker more competitive and therefore more capable of traveling towards
the dream position they are seeking.
An
example path could look something like this:
Dream
Job:
Biology
professor in college
Job
Search Path:
Dance
instructor - lab technician - high school teacher - college professor
This
is a simple overview of the process for making a job seeker more strategic
about their job search. If they remain strategic in their planning, it may help
them become more confident and help with retention issues as they will realize
that in order to benefit from the job opportunity they will have to stay for a
period of time. Otherwise the experience will not be helpful in moving them down
their job search path. Utilizing job search strategies that move individuals in
this direction will not only make them more successful but will reduce the time
it takes to find a job.
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