Four Questions You Need to Ask Yourself About Your Job Search
You have hopefully taken the time to really look at your skills and abilities, accomplishments, business values, motivators, and what has created satisfaction for you in the past within the workplace.
The outcome of all this work is a strong idea of what you would like to do in this next phase of your career.
The final analysis that needs to be done is to pass it through a marketplace reality test.
There are four questions you need to ask yourself: 1.
Does the job you want meet a need in the business world? Now that you have defined your ideal job, it falls within one of the ten primary functional areas of an organization, and there are many help wanted ads for that type of work, you know that there is a need for what you want to do! Even for what seems to be an obvious need, you may want to check the latest data to see whether the analysts expect this particular occupation to grow, stay flat, or weaken in the future.
2.
Can you make money doing what you want to do? Can you meet your needs in salary and benefits, as well as growth potential while pursuing your dream job? Make note of your minimum requirements, and your maximum requirements.
What is the average in salary and benefits for your chosen occupation? Happily, there is a great deal of free information on the Internet.
You can also ask intentional questions during informational interviews with people working in your targeted industry.
3.
Are there enough positions open to launch an all-out job search? While you may have identified an ideal job, it is a good idea to look at four to six possibilities that seem interesting.
Your dream job may be too specialized for many openings, or there may be so many openings and options you may have a difficult time planning your search.
So, where do you go to get this information?
Do you have a realistic expectation for the time it will take for your job search? Most of us underestimate the time it will take to become re-employed.
The general rule is 3-6 months for a professional or manager, regardless of the economy or other factors.
You can also estimate that it will take one month for every $10,000 of salary you were making at your previous job.
Your research is complete and you have your answer.
Your dream job is feasible, it is possible to make the amount of money you need to be financially successful, there are enough openings for you to be strategic in your search, and you know approximately how long it will take you to land your job.
It's a launch!
The outcome of all this work is a strong idea of what you would like to do in this next phase of your career.
The final analysis that needs to be done is to pass it through a marketplace reality test.
There are four questions you need to ask yourself: 1.
Does the job you want meet a need in the business world? Now that you have defined your ideal job, it falls within one of the ten primary functional areas of an organization, and there are many help wanted ads for that type of work, you know that there is a need for what you want to do! Even for what seems to be an obvious need, you may want to check the latest data to see whether the analysts expect this particular occupation to grow, stay flat, or weaken in the future.
2.
Can you make money doing what you want to do? Can you meet your needs in salary and benefits, as well as growth potential while pursuing your dream job? Make note of your minimum requirements, and your maximum requirements.
What is the average in salary and benefits for your chosen occupation? Happily, there is a great deal of free information on the Internet.
You can also ask intentional questions during informational interviews with people working in your targeted industry.
3.
Are there enough positions open to launch an all-out job search? While you may have identified an ideal job, it is a good idea to look at four to six possibilities that seem interesting.
Your dream job may be too specialized for many openings, or there may be so many openings and options you may have a difficult time planning your search.
So, where do you go to get this information?
- Industry associations
- Trade publications and magazines
- Labor market information for your local area
- Local Chamber of Commerce
- State and local Department of labor websites
Do you have a realistic expectation for the time it will take for your job search? Most of us underestimate the time it will take to become re-employed.
The general rule is 3-6 months for a professional or manager, regardless of the economy or other factors.
You can also estimate that it will take one month for every $10,000 of salary you were making at your previous job.
Your research is complete and you have your answer.
Your dream job is feasible, it is possible to make the amount of money you need to be financially successful, there are enough openings for you to be strategic in your search, and you know approximately how long it will take you to land your job.
It's a launch!