Column: Job Search 1: Preparing to Find a New Job

Whether you are just starting to think about changing jobs or are being forced to do so by external events, job search is easier if you put together an effective plan. It takes work, time, and smarts. This article is the first in a series designed to help you find the position you want where you can succeed.

Step 1: Figure out what you really want to do.

Your skills and interests change, the job market changes. Start your search by looking carefully at what you want to do. Have your job interests and needs also changed?

Often people who have been laid off simply update their old resume with their recent job and rush to find the exact same or a one-step-up job. Others are not sure what they want, but they need a job, so they put out a resume that is not focused. Both types are likely to be less than fully happy with the new job once they get started.

So how do you figure out what you really want to do?

First, take a good look at all of your experiences. Pay particular attention to those that made you feel you achieved something and you enjoyed. These tell you what your strengths are. Success comes from using your strengths.

Think about what you read regularly and what that tells you about your interests. Look at your volunteer work for guidance too.

While you are thinking about your experiences, ask people who know you well for ideas and suggestions. What do they think are your strengths and what types of work would fit? Don't just ask current or past co-workers. Mentors, relatives, good friends, and people from other groups/organizations you are active in can all add ideas. Once you have collected several people's ideas, look for patterns that can help you think about your interests and potential.

Second, look at career information guides. There are several sources. Your college may provide information for alums through their careers office. Good online sources include:

• the most comprehensive job-hunting guide on the web: http://www.rileyguide.com/
• another good source from Richard Bolles: http://www.JobHuntersBible.com
• the 'grandmother' of all job descriptions/qualifications - the dictionary of occupational titles and information: http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocoiab.htm This BLS site also links to a career guide to industries and employment outlooks for specific types of jobs.

Third, some people find tests on preferences useful adjuncts to this career research process.

• Fairly generic personal style and work preference tests are available on the web; see http://www.2h.com/Tests/personality.phtml
• Local colleges and adult education programs often offer career interest tests, such as the Strong-Campbell Vocational Interests. They may also help you identify your personal style through instruments such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. A shorter quiz, similar to the Myers-Briggs, is at http://www.keirsey.com. There also are general career guides tied to these, two are Paul and Barbara Tiegar's Do What You Are and Type Talk at Work by Otto Kroeger and Janet Thuesen.

Broaden your ideas by looking at a wide range of job listings on Monster.com or DCJobs.com. Pick out those that appeal to you and analyze why.

Step 2: Figure out the conditions you need to succeed.

Years ago, I interviewed at a major consulting company's NYC offices. I walked through an endless floor of taupe and grey rooms and 'cubes'. All exactly alike. Long before I got into the interviews, I knew I would not succeed in this environment no matter how good I was at the work.

You need to think about your needs and desires in terms of your work. Perhaps you want to work in a very small firm or a very large one, maybe at a non-profit dealing with some issue close to your heart. Or you want to contribute to the country through public service. Think about who you are and what makes you happy and energetic.

Start with your values - and yes, this means you have to think about them first. Consider making a list and then sorting them in order of importance. You could start with ideas like autonomy, wealth, integrity, respect, family, balance, health, personal growth, recognition . . . whatever is important to you.

Then get to the practical aspects your values and preferences may raise in the job hunt. For example:

• Is a good salary the most important thing to you at this point? Are you willing to work the associated long hours or travel extensively to get it?
• Do you want some flexibility in your hours or the ability to telecommute at least some of the time?
• Do you want a place where you can learn a variety of things or one where you will develop great depth in your defined area?
• Do you want the comfort of procedures or the chaos common in new organizations?
• How far are you willing to commute? Do you have commitments or interests that affect your work location choices?
• How important is it that the workplace include some social life--or keep out of yours?
• Do you have organizations or jobs you will not consider because of your values? Or ones you prefer because they espouse your values?

Think of what matters to you and include all those values in your job hunt.

Step 3: Painting your first canvas

Gather what you have learned about your work preferences:

skills and interests and experiences you want to use career areas and jobs which look like a good match your values and restrictions

From these create a 'picture' of what your next ideal job looks like. Be as detailed as you can be. What are the critical "must have" aspects? What are "nice to have" enhancements? What strengths will you use? (It is by building on our strengths that we succeed.) You can do this in words or develop a visual aid or whatever method works for you. But take the time to really define what you want to do, in what type of environment, with what kind of results.

This picture will become the basis for your job search.

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