Before you begin your job search campaign you must have a Personal Marketing Strategy. A personal marketing strategy provides you with a game plan for your job search campaign.

You should look at the job search as a marketing campaign, with you, the job seeker, as the product. Every product, even the best ones, won’t succeed without a strong marketing strategy. This begins with a comprehensive, yet flexible plan. First you must know to whom you are marketing. You must identify the types of employers who would be looking for an employee with your qualifications. Are they all within a certain industry? Are there many industries that hire employees with your background?

Career Management – Locating Job Leads

Next, you must decide what sources you will use to locate potential employers. Everyone you speak to will have a different opinion on this. Some people feel that classified ads are a waste of time and that networking is the only way to go. Others believe that executive recruiters will get them the job they want. To use an old cliche, you should leave no stone unturned. Use all methods of tracking down potential employers.
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The time has come for a career change. You wish to switch careers and it’s the only thing on your mind these days. Bored, fired, low pay or high ambition, there are any number of reasons for a career change. First things first! Don’t fret. A career change is not as bad these days as it was made out to be in the olden days when there were fewer options for employment. But now, with highly paid jobs available and new skills that can be learnt over a few weeks, things have changed drastically. Many people have given up seemingly secure banking, government jobs, etc. and have opted for software jobs, creative jobs and even freelance options. All you need then is a bit of courage, a dash of self belief and some clarity of thought and you can join the band of people who have successfully changed careers.

If you are on the edge of changing careers, here are a few things you may want to do to get more clarity on your thought process. As always we must begin the process at home, i.e., with ourselves. Firstly take an honest look at why you want to change your career. Junk the trash about bad boss, bad conditions, etc. because these reasons do not help you in your decision making process. Instead identify aspects about the job that you want, about qualities within you that you feel can be commercially and creatively expanded. In simple terms find out what excites you – meeting people, negotiating, writing, traveling, sports, communicating or whatever else.
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You would think the tough part would be over now since you have successfully passed the interview stage and have in your hands a signed contract for your new job. This may not be the case as the final step, while not difficult in the same sense as the others, can often be the most emotional. We are talking about the resignation.

If you’ve enjoyed working at the company you are about to leave, resigning can be a nerve-wracking and heart-wrenching process. But if you keep in mind the reasons you decided to leave in the first place, and realise that looking after yourself and your career is very important, then resigning doesn’t have to be such a difficult process. In contrast to a disgruntled employee, you have the opportunity to turn this into something which may benefit you in the future by making the execution of your resignation a highly professional undertaking which holds you up as an example of a desirable employee or business partner.
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It’s important to be clear about your reasons for wanting to change jobs. In this way you can firstly determine whether making the move is the right course of action for you and, secondly, you will be asked by potential future employers the reasons you are leaving your old job. The answers you give and the impression you create are vital.

Your reasons for looking for another job may be many and varied but it is likely that several of the following factors will be involved and it is important that you think about them before you commence your search.

How do you feel about your salary? Perhaps you feel you are not being paid enough for your current responsibilities or contribution to the business. Or you feel there are simply higher salaries to be earned at other companies or in other industries. Either way, what you are paid for the work you do is one of the single more important things to consider.

The size of the company you work at may prevent you from moving up the corporate ladder, or perhaps you are not being given the opportunities you feel you deserve. Opportunities for career progression help maintain motivation and drive you to strive for personal and professional improvement. This is important for your own well being as well as your satisfaction in the workplace.
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Once you’ve completed career planning exercises, the next step is to develop a picture of yourself and your career over the next few years. Once you’ve developed the mental picture, the final step is developing a plan for achieving your goal.

Below are career planning steps:
1. Identify your next career move. If you have been examining multiple career paths, now is the time to narrow down the choices and focus on one or two careers.

2. Conduct detailed career research and gather information on the careers that most interest you.

3. Pinpoint the qualifications you need to move to the next step in your career or to make the move to a new career path. If you’re not sure, search job postings and job ads, conduct informational interviews, research job descriptions.

4. Compare your current profile with the qualifications developed in step 3. How far apart are the two profiles? If fairly well-matched, it may be time to switch to a job-search. If fairly far apart, can you realistically achieve the qualifications in the short-term? If yes, move to the next step; if no, consider returning to the first step.

5. Develop a plan to get qualified. Make a list of the types of qualifications you need to enhance your standing for your next career move, such as receiving additional training, certification, or experience.
Develop a timeline and action plans for achieving each type, being sure to set specific goals and priorities.

http://www.quintcareers.com/career_plan.html

Every job-seeker needs to take the time to step way from the day-to-day grind of work and spend quality time reflecting on your career and developing some plans for your future. Whether you love your current job and employer or feel frustrated and confined by your job, career planning can help.

To help you with your career planning, consider using the following exercises to their fullest potential.

Life Management Skills – Analyze your current/future Lifestyle

Are you happy with your current lifestyle? Do you want to maintain it or change it? Be sure to identify the key characteristics of your ideal lifestyle. Does your current career path allow you the lifestyle you seek?

Life Management Skills – Analyze your likes/dislikes

What kinds of activities — both at work and at play — do you enjoy? What kind of activities do you avoid? Make a list of both types of activities. Now take a close look at your current job and career path in terms of your list of likes and dislikes. Does your current job have more likes or dislikes?

Life Management Skills – Analyze your Passions

Reflect on the times and situations in which you feel most passionate, most energetic, most engaged – and see if you can develop a common profile of these situations. Develop a list of your passions. How many of these times occur while you are at work?
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