What’s your plan for today? What about tomorrow? Have a game
plan and a regular routine scheduled. This is your job. For example,
you may want to set up the morning to review emails, spend the next
section of the morning making phone calls, and the next section of the
day sending out emails for potential networking sessions. You must have a
daily goal, including writing a certain number of cover letters, dedicating
time to review your résumé and marketing plan, looking at the openings
at your highest prospect companies, and sending out a minimum number
of networking requests.
Regardless of the action, building regular routines will keep you motivated
when you wake up in the morning. If your first response when you
wake up starts with you blankly staring at your computer asking, “What
do I need to do?” then it’s time to take a step back and establish a plan.
You are most likely thinking tactically before you’ve thought strategically.
Stop what you’re doing and invest the time to set up a strategic plan*—
even if it takes an entire day. The invested time of organization and time
management will pay high dividends by making you more efficient and
having a clearly formulated plan each day. In fact, this strategic day in establishing
how the rest of your days will play out may be one of the more
important days in the entire job-search process.
*A Strategic Plan will vary based on individual needs and preferences.
Ultimately, it’s your plan of attack. You may want to establish a priority of
people you will be attempting to contact. For example:
• Go to family members (immediate and extended). Generate a list
based on instant ideas.
• Call closest business friends. Generate a list comprised of immediate
contacts.
• Contact friends not associated with the business you are interested
in, but who may have ideas about the job-seeking process.
• Send emails/make calls to inner network: mentors, mentees, outside
interest contacts (Toastmasters, local community/school, etc.),
past colleagues—those with whom you have a strong familiarity.
• Contact people at companies you’re interested in pursuing. Look at
LinkedIn and other sources to obtain details.
• Continue searching LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media
sites with connections to look for secondary contacts.
• Go to known openings or known opportunities.
• Review job openings on LinkedIn and other sources (write down
sources as they are obtained).
• Review LinkedIn contacts alphabetically.
• Go back to dormant contacts.
This list can go on based on your desires, and the order may be different
for you. However, it should be your starting point. Then, decide
how much time to dedicate daily to networking, sending emails to set up
meetings, exercising, and other activities that will consume your day.
Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):
- Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
- Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
- Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
- The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
- From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
- The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood
See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com. Book , eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only) purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com