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We think there are five phases to job search
We suggest following these phases in this order. Don't skip to writing a resume and applying for jobs online without reviewing our phases.
Mindset
The right mind set will make the next phase so much more fruitful and enjoyable.
Assessment
We suggest giving yourself the gift of time and spending a few weeks in self assessment. This will bear fruit in the next stage.
Plan the work
You have a lot of work to get done. There is a lot of thinking and writing in this stage.
Act
Finally, you’ll reach the stage of putting it all into action – essentially networking and interviewing – until you reach successful employment.
Land
Celebrate, send thank you’s, make yourself available to other job seekers, practice everything you learned in job search in your new job.
MINDSET: You have to get into the right mindset to tackle your job search
Job search is a major stressor in life.
Job loss is rated close to death and divorce in terms of the loss that is felt and it’s emotional toll. We say that when you lose you job, you lose your community, your title, your pay and your routine. That’s a significant amount of loss to cope with. To regain clarity of mind, you have to deal with the grief associated with job loss.
Everyone is different. Everyone feels grief differently. Everyone needs to take time to grieve about their situation, to work through the anger and fear so you can let it go. There are five stages to grief. Google it. Work through them. Talk to a few people. Pray. Journal. Scream. Breathe. You need to get to a point where you are leaving the past behind you and ready to face the future head on and head strong. Soon, you’ll be able to accept the situation and move onto a more positive frame of mind and excitement for the journey ahead of you. This is a gift you give yourself that will keep on giving. You have to get into the right mindset to tackle your job search.
But, wait. There’s more. Before you start working on your resume and applying for jobs, there are a few things you need to deal with from your last job so that you can put all that baggage behind you. Consider this cleaning out the closet. Its like cleaning off your workspace before you start a project. Spend just a few moments checking off the items on the following list to help you decompress, get organized and develop the right mind set for your job search journey. A few minutes planning and thinking will save much time and angst down the road. Worker smarter, not harder. Spring cleaning and putting your “house” in order will help you get into the right mindset to tackle your job search.
Use this checklist to ease yourself into this new situation you are in. Process what this change in employment status means for you in the short-term and reframe your situation?
ASSESSMENT: Give yourself the gift of time
Taking time in self-assessment will bear fruit for the next phase.
We suggest giving yourself the gift of time and spending a few hours or weeks in self-assessment. This will bear fruit when you are ready to write your resume.
Do you know who you are? Are you able to articulately describe your strengths, your values, wants, desires personally and professionally? In job search you are marketing yourself. You need to be able to identify for the customer the features and benefits of the product (you). This is called your brand. What do you have to offer the employer? What is your value proposition to the organization? Most people are not able to readily and articulately define these items. Yes, these are essential to writing your resume and deciding which jobs to pursue.
There are many exercises and assessments (again to google) that can help you clarify your values, interests, skills (abilities, talents, knowledge) and personal style (personality type). You may even have them from your past work experiences. Consider all the other jobs, volunteer experiences, and committees you have served on. What traits made you thrive? Where have your actions moved the needle on something you were working on for your last company?
Consider these methods:
- List your greatest accomplishments – personal and professional. Take a walk down memory lane. What was happening at the time? Why was it hard? Who was involved? What did you do? The team? What was the outcome? Do you see patterns in those successes?
- Create a vision board.
- Discern your personal mission.
- Be mindul and meditate, listen to your thoughts.
- Ponder your truth, your authentic self.
- We grow when we get out of your comfort zone and trying something new.
- Revisit or take CliftonStrenghts, MBTI, DiSC, or any other assessment you have done.
- Ask silly questions like if I were a crayon what color would I be or what is your spirit animal or if I won the lottery what would I do and why.
Where do I start, you ask? We say with a piece of paper. Journal. Take notes. Scribble thoughts. What moments stand out? Circle them. Cross some out. Circle those that excite you. Pull them apart and smash them together until you find themes that define who you are.
This is the gift you give yourself because the process, the journey and the destination are exhilarating! And, throughout your job search, this knowledge you are gaining about yourself keeps giving. It provides you all the information you need in all different aspects of your job search.
You need to plan the work and work the plan.
It is hard work to find a job or navigate a career change. Working through the process requires diligence, persistence, faith, knowing when and how to ask for help, and taking care of yourself. 40Plus coaches not only educate and support jobseekers in the “nuts and bolts” of how to land a new job, we respectfully hold you accountable to your job search goals. Think of yourself as a project. And every successful project has a plan. We think having a plan and working the plan (aka achieving goals) is integral to reducing the time it takes to land a new job.
YOU ARE THE PROJECT!
WORK THE PLAN: Job search project plan
You and your job search are now a project. In fact, you're a marketing project. And the product ... is you.
As we shared in #9 of the job search checklist, you need to set your job search up as it if is a project. You need to set the objective and timeline. Then you need to set milestones and weekly task goals in order to achieve that objective on time.
But first, like any project, you need a vision or an objective of what you’re trying to complete and you need a deadline. (Anyone familiar with running projects will call this the project charter.) For our purposes, the project charter is your definition of SUCCESSFUL EMPLOYMENT. What do you want next in your career? So, let’s write your vision . We call this your “definition of successful employment.” And let’s review a list of milestones and items that you’ll need to accomplish. (This includes your resume – We told you we’d get there!).
Definition of Success Employment Pillow Card
Jeff Percival, a job career coach for 35 years, and good friend and supporter of 40Plus, taught us a foundational exercise that is integral to your job search project plan.
His Pillow Card Power is a concept developed over 35 years to help individuals transform negative self-talk into positive affirmations, thereby enhancing self-confidence, belief, and focus. We learned that you have to let your mind work for you. It is an intentional, daily practice where before you go to bed , you picked up your Pillow Card form your pillow and read aloud and visualized for 30 seconds your Pillow Card definition of successful employment. While you you sleeping, this crowded out all the self-doubt and worry and loaded your subconscious with self-assurance and positive thoughts. In the morning, you picked up your Pillow Card and read it again before you placed it back on your pillow. This loaded your day with hope, positivity and the belief that you would be successfully employed.
Your subconscious mind plays a powerful role in helping you achieve your goals by influencing your thoughts, behaviors, and habits, especially goals that are specific and clear.
You have to write it, believe it and say it repeatedly in order to achieve it. Your subconscious will prioritize and work on solutions that you are focused on.
We bet you have practiced this in other parts and times of your life. We encourage you to do it now for your job search.
Here’s what to do:
Brainstorm all the details you hope to have in your next job. Title, location, commute, remote work, salary, detailed benefit wishes, type of manager, culture, etc, etc, etc. Follow Jeff’s (and ours) advice and write “I am successfully employed” on one side of a 3 x 5 card and on the other side summarize your definition of successful employment. Most importantly, write the date you know you will have employment. Then place this card for on top of your pillow. Read it before you go to bed and when you wake up. Daily. Each day you will be closer to reaching your job search goals.
Things to know before you write your project plan
Philosophy: When we introduced the project plan, we called it a marketing project. Job search is a marketing campaign. You are selling a product and the product is YOU! You need to become the sales rep who understands the benefits and features of this product you’re selling which is you. A sales campaign encompasses determining the strengths, weakness, the value proposition to your future buyer (employer), committing to a sale and believing in your product, and preparing the marketing collateral and literature. Then you need to come up with list of prospective buyers, practice your pitch, land the interview and close the deal.
5 Phases: We discussed the first 4 phases. You’ve worked on your mindset, and attitude and set your plan. One more phase and we’ll let you loose to write your resume and apply for jobs online until your heart’s content. Well, not really if you attend our networking support groups). Read on and then click on the checklist. You will achieve Phase 5 – Land.
Act! Finally, we have arrived to the place you want to be. Your resume.
See. We’re keeping our promise. You are now ready to dive into writing or updating your resume. You’ve read about the three phases that we suggested you get squared away before you get to work on your resume. When you work through your mind set, spend time in self-assessment, and plan the work, you’ll have the building blocks to jump start your job search and write your resume and apply for jobs that are the right fit. You are armed with a vision and a brand that will serve as the consistent theme through everything you write. We suggest you follow our lead and work on all the recommended collateral that is listed in this checklist. You’ll have to be disciplined and schedule chunks of time in your calendar. Add this to your plan you started. Believe the experts and all the job seekers that have gone before you who applied this strategy. This will be more fruitful than endlessly wandering around job boards applying for jobs that won’t pan out. Stay focused and you’ll land an exciting opportunity.
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