8 KEY STRATEGIES TO CAREER FULFILLMENT
Creating a Career Plan
1. DISCOVERING YOUR ASSETS:
Skills, Interests, Passions, Knowledge, Abilities, Values, Experiences - Corporate and Entrepreneurial
Highlight Your Unique Professional Characteristics -
The first and most important step in your strategy toward marketing yourself is to do a thorough analysis of yourself - looking carefully at every area of your life.
Remember if you were going to sell a product e.g. Pepsi you would find out all you could about the product - analyze it from every angle, so you could compete in the marketplace. Well, it's the very same when you are creating a career marketing plan for yourself. Get a new notebook or a loose-leaf, or your keyboard and go to work - evaluate 5 specific areas of your life:
Educational Years, Work, Recreation/Leisure or Hobby, Volunteer Activities. and Self-Employment
Take one area at a time and jot down all you can think of:
- Things you have done in your life (experiences) - break down into:
† Jobs you have done (entered data into a computer, filed office correspondence)
† Hobbies you have done (planned and sketched a garden)
† Education you have completed (researched and published article)
† Volunteer work you have done (Captained boys soccer team)
† Entrepreneurship
- Things you could do (abilities)
† Paint the living room
† Help my teenager with high school algebra
- Detail accomplishments in your life - 5 areas: Work, Hobbies, Education, Volunteer, Self-Employment
† Awards and honors you have received (Employee of the Month)
† Anything you have achieved while going against specific odds (Perfect attendance even though you are disabled)
- Write down things you are absolutely passionate about - 5 Areas. Work, Hobbies, Education, Volunteer, Self-Employment
† Example: I positively love to cook
† I have a passion for gardening, indoor and out
- List values you cherish: (See examples below)
Personal Business Psychological
Commitment Accuracy Creative
Calm, peace Accountability Decisiveness
Goodness Excellence Respectable of others
Positive attitude Orderliness Harmony
Knowledge Reliable Resourceful
Loyalty Responsiveness Will to succeed
Openness Safety Innovative
- Record transferable skills you may have developed in 5 basic categories: 5 areas: Work, Hobbies, Education, Volunteer, Self-Employment
Below is a list of five broad skill areas, which are divided into more specific job skills: We each have from 500 to 800 skills. Did you write concisely in college? Did you facilitate a group discussion at a volunteer meeting? How about reporting information on your garden/hobby? Did you negotiate in one of your past jobs?
Communications:
· Speaking effectively
Writing concisely
· Listening attentively
· Expressing ideas
· Facilitating group discussion
· Providing appropriate feedback
· Negotiating
· Perceiving nonverbal messages
· Persuading
· Reporting information
· Describing feelings
· Interviewing
· Editing
Research and Planning:
· Creating ideas
· Identifying problems
· Imagining alternatives
· Identifying resources
· Gathering information
· Solving problems
· Setting goals
· Extracting important information
· Defining needs
· Analyzing
· Developing evaluation strategies
Human Relations:
· Being Sensitive
· Listening
· Conveying feelings
· Providing support for others
· Motivating
· Sharing credit
· Counseling
· Cooperating
· Delegating with respect
· Representing others
· Perceiving feelings, situations
· Asserting
· Developing rapport
Organization, Management and Leadership:
· Handling details
· Coordinating tasks
· Managing groups
· Delegating responsibility
· Teaching
· Initiating new ideas
· Coaching
· Counseling
· Promoting change
· Selling ideas or products
· Decision making with others
· Managing conflict
Work Survival:
· Cooperating
· Enforcing policies
· Being punctual
· Managing time
· Attending to detail
· Meeting goals
· Enlisting help
· Accepting responsibility
· Setting and meeting deadlines
· Organizing
· Making decisions
- Take tests online as recommended by Dick Bolles, author of What Color is Your Parachute
John Holland SDS (Self-Directed-Search)
http://www.self-directed-search.com
The Career Interests Game
http://career.missouri.edu/
The Career Key
http://www.2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/l/lkj
Personality Type
http://www.personalitytype.com
The Keirsey Character/Sorter/The Keirsey Temperament Sorter
http://www.keirsey.com
Resource Materials on Personality Type
http://sunsie.unc.edu/personality/faqmbti/html
Enneagram Personality Dynamics
http://www.9types.com
The Enneagram: An adventure in Self Discipline
http://www.ennea.com
The Birkman Method
The Princeton Review Career Quiz
http://www.review.com/career/careerquizhome.cfm?menuID=0&careers=6
For entrepreneur testing I recommend The Wall Street Journal Center for Entrepreneurs
http://www.startupjournal.com/specialreports/smallbusiness/start.htm
- List any Self-Employment Experiences in Jobs, Hobbies, Volunteer or Educational Areas
† Example: Started a lemonade stand as a child
Resources for Those Seeking Self-Employment
Free Agent Nation http://www.fastcompany.com/online/12/freeagent.html
Backdoor Jobs http://www.backdoorjobs.com/
Inc. Online's Guide to the Internet http://www.inc.com/internet/
Entrepreneur Magazine's Small Business Square http://www.entrepreneurmag.com/
Small Business Administration http://www.sba.gov/starting
Yahoo! Small Business Information http://www.yahoo.com/
Business Resource Center http://www.greatinfo.com/business_cntr/bus_res.html
iVillage: Work From Home http://www.ivillage.com/work/
Freelance Online http://www.FreelanceOnline.com/wwwboard.html
Congratulations, you have completed the first and most time-consuming strategy on your path to new, more fulfilling employment! Take a brief time off and review all your work before moving on to the next step. As you move forward, you may think of other things you will want to add to your evaluation, just do so and go on.
2. EXPLORING DIVERSE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
† Visit the Onetcenter.org
† Career Exploration Guides
† Work Importance Locator (WIL)
† Work Importance Profile (WIP)
† Visit SBA.gov and/or Entrepreneur.com for self-employment assistance
3. TARGETING EXCLUSIVE MARKETS AND FUNCTIONS
† Choose at least 3 specific job functions to pursue from strategy 2.
4. DESIGNING A SUITE OF CAREER MARKETING DOCUMENTS
Develop resumes, cover letters and other documents for your branding library
† Traditional Resume/s, Networking Resumes, PowerPoint Resumes
† Executive or Professional Biographies
† Profiles: Leadership, Marketing, Technology
† Training Addendum
† Resume Addendums
† Achievements Summary
† Branding Statements
† Customizable Cover Letters
† Follow-up and Thank You Letters
† Print Portfolio
† Electronic Web Portfolio
† Job Proposals
† Special Reports
† Reference Dossiers
† e-Resumes
5. SHARPENING NEGOTIATING SKILLS
† Learn the art of salary negotiation; read/study Jack Chapman's Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make a $1000 a Minute
6. STREAMLINING INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES
† Don't be surprised by interview variations, be prepared
† Review Online and Practice Various Interviewing Techniques: Extreme Interviewing, Phone Screening, Group Interviews, Behavioral Interviewing
7. GENERATING JOB OFFERS
† Discuss job benefits, expectations
† Compare different proposals
8. EVALUATING, AND ACCEPTING A POSITION
† Letters of Acceptance, making sure everything you have discussed in down on paper
† Verbal and Written Contracts
You have completed a personal Career Marketing Plan - good for you! Be certain to keep all your notes from these exercises and on a regular basis, get them out and review them - this is all about the positive side of you - we hear enough negative these days! You have given yourself a truly competitive career advantage, and reaped the rewards!
If you have read through the entire How to Plan and feel overwhelmed, don't give up, just call ResumeOptions and ask for Janice! I would welcome the opportunity to work with you on your journey toward fulfilling work. 507.645.4393 or Email: Janice@ResumeOptions.com.
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