Targets are very important in our job search efforts.  Targets can be businesses where you think you would like to work, job positions you think you would enjoy filling, or skill sets you have mastered with which you could contribute to a business' success.  Many people struggle with identifying targets ... it is real work to do so!  Perhaps looking at targets in a little different light can make the task less daunting.


Targets accomplish several key functions.  

First, taking time to develop targets causes you to slow down and really think about what you want in terms of your next job assignment.  What type of employer, what type of position, which of your passions and skills do you want to employ.  Spending time with God, in prayer, and perhaps with a mentor, will allow you to sharpen your focus on where God is leading you.

Next, think of targets as a key way of getting others to assist you in your search.  While people are usually eager to assist you with your search, you need to make it easy for them to help.  By sharing your target(s) with others, they are much more likely to think of a business or job position that they think is similar to a target you have shared with them.

Finally, consider targets as a way for Father to redirect your search efforts.  When we share a target(s) with someone, we are thinking about that target from the perspective by which we generated it.  The person with whom we are sharing the target do not have that perspective, so he or she brings their own point of view.  For example, if you share Tractor Supply as a target business with which you would like to work,  the person's response of "similar" businesses will be based on how he or she thinks of TSC and could very well be a business that you would not have associated with your target company.  This new connection may open a whole new area for your job search. 

To effectively use targets, remember key follow up questions:

• Why did you think of that response?  How do you see me fitting in?
• Do you know someone working there/doing that job?
• In your industry, what do they call someone who does that/those tasks?
• Can you introduce me to someone there?

The new year is off an running.  The Holidays create a change in schedule which sometimes places a drag on our job hunt routine.  It is time to get things back on track.  Remember that a person in full-time job search mode should be achieving a schedule of 15 events per week.  

So, what is an event?  An event as an activity which ties directly to your job search efforts.  An event is typically 90 - 120 minutes block of time.  An event can fall into any of the following types of activities:

• Profile Development - this speaks to all the things which result in your ability to present "who you are" to a potential employer or to someone interested in promoting you to the market place;
• Research - efforts spent to identify target industries, target businesses, even target job descriptions along with the time researching in support of interviews;
• Skill Development/Enhancement - this includes efforts to document skills already mastered and to enhance those skills with current/cutting edge enhancements or for particular application in targeted job positions.  Acquiring additional certifications can fit in this category;
• Networking (including 20 minute coffees) - the most important activity of your job search (if done effectively);
• Qualification/Negotiation - very important activities focused on the time after an offer has been made.

At Sabbatical Search, we teach participants to use a rolling schedule model to fill their calendars.  Join us this Monday to learn more about keeping your schedule full!