April 2010
JOB SEARCH SUCCESS: DELUSION OR DETERMINATION?
by Susan Reynolds

There’s a wonderful proverb that if you repeat the same failed behavior, you should not be surprised to achieve the same failed result.  Job searchers are struggling to decide whether their strategies are fruitless.  Many of their strategies are flawed.  Some have thrown up their hands in despair, and have simply given up altogether.

Others are doggedly grinding away at their computers every day, hoping against fate that this will be the day that the perfect posting will appear, that it’s a real job, and that they will be the winning candidate despite the hundreds or maybe thousands of other competitors.

So are you deluded or determined?  It’s a matter of strategy and hard work.  Put together the right program, and work it like a hound, and you’ll prevail.  Sure, make adjustments based on feedback, but don’t abandon a job search that you’ve based on good strategy.

So what is this strategy?  Well, it’s not founded on putting in plenty of keyboard time.  It’s marketing.  Know what you can do and find your way to the right people to tell about it!  Yes, the economy is still not in your favor, but if you can beat your competitors to the organizations that can and are hiring, you’ll have the chance to make your case.  Be ready to reflect how your capabilities can fill their needs.  Know what you’re worth financially, and the results that they can expect from you.

So delusion is to just flog away, “waiting, wishing, hoping, and thinking” that luck will turn your way.  Determination is to greet each day with strategy, energy, and resolve.  You need a great marketing plan and then it needs to be executed!

Susan Reynolds is a senior partner at Newmarket Careers in Santa Clarita, a job search and career strategy firm geared toward managerial, executive, and senior level professional careers.  She can be reached at sreynolds@newmarketcareers.com or
661-702-1345.

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