12-point plan for job hunting

This is definitely one of the most complete processes that I have found so far to prepare yourself for job-hunting. I specially like the focus on your personal aspirations and the tricks given to identify them.

Full article by Liz Ryan at Forbes.

1. Decide what you want to do next, after you leave this job. You don’t have to look for a new job that’s just like the old one. You get to decide. Maybe it’s time for a big career shift!
2. Now, brand yourself for the job you want (not the job you’ve got)! Begin your branding exercise by writing about yourself (not for publication —  just for you). In your new job, what sort of work will you do? Write your bio as though you’re writing about yourself working at your new job, six months from now. You’ve already had experience in a lot of different subject matters, whether you’ve held the job title or not. Use the bio-creation exercise to reclaim those experiences and get them into your branding!
3. Will you update your LinkedIn profile? You’re in a stealth job search now, so you don’t want to raise alarms. You can set your Notifications to “off” so that your LinkedIn contacts don’t get notified about your profile updates, or you can live with the LinkedIn profile you’ve got throughout your job search.
4. Determine your salary requirement and your other requirements for your job search. Write about your ideal job. What is your target salary level, position title, daily commute, amount of travel per month, and so on? Write your expectations out on paper and talk about them with someone close to you. Determine your floor in each category. What is the lowest salary you would accept — and what would make that low salary worthwhile to you? Know what you want so the universe can bring it to you.
5. Write your Human-Voiced Resume to bring your new branding into clear focus for the benefit of hiring managers who don’t already know you. Remember — you don’t need permission to change careers. You need to give yourself permission!
6. Create a Target Employer List. You may already have target employers in mind, or you might decide to browse LinkedIn profiles to spot employers who are struggling with the very same kind of Business Pain you solve.
7. Learn about Pain Letters and then research and compose a Pain Letter to a particular hiring manager you’d like to start a conversation with.
8. Send your hard copy Pain Letter, attached with one staple in the upper left corner to your hard copy Human-Voiced Resume, directly to the first hiring manager on your Target Employer List, by post.
9. Activate your network. Check in with old friends and new acquaintances to begin expanding your sphere of influence.
10. Get some consulting business cards and begin passing them out to people you know (instead of the business cards your employer gave you).
11. If you are planning to use a Third Party Search channel in your job search (that is, to partner with one or more recruiters whose clients may be looking for someone like you), reach out to one or two trusted recruiters or friend-of-your-friend recruiters to talk through your resume with them. Your Human-Voiced Resume will probably not be your recruiter’s favorite, so you’ll need a traditional resume for recruiters as well as your Human-Voiced Resume to send to hiring managers directly.
12. Get a journal and begin writing in it every day or every other day. Write about your job search. Write about your ideas, dreams and feelings. You are growing new muscles. Hats off to you!

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