A STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS

Many job hunters try to maximise their chances of success simply by approaching as many employers as possible with a standard CV and covering letter.  While this can work, it is usually too haphazard an aproach for people at a managerial and professional level.  If your career is important to you, you need to choose a role and company in which you can flourish  -  and you will usually have limited time in which to do this.  You are therefore  most likely to be successful if you:

• Set your Goals.
• Decide on a strategy to reach them
• Focus on the best opportunities.

SETTING YOUR GOALS

Setting clear goals is a vital first step in your job search.  You may already know exactly what you are looking for  -  if not, invest some time in deciding what you really want.  The obvious basics are:

• Type of work
• Responsabilities
• Development opportunities
• Location
• Minimum salary and benefits
• Organisational culture.

There may be other points that are important for you.   For example, you may want to work for a company that will pay for your  MBA, you may want exposure to international business, or you may feel strongly about the ethics of the companies that you work for.

WHAT KIND OF COMPANY?

Take some time to consider the organisational culture that will best suit your working style:

• Formal or informal.
• Fast moving or traditional and unchanging
• Secure or risk and exciting
• Family friendly or long working hours
• European, American or Asian.

This will help you to get a clear picture of the kind of organisation to focus your search on.  The organisations where you can work most effectively will also be the ones that will most want to take you on.

• Large corporations. good promotion prospects and job security.
• Smaller companies   for the older job seeker.

Permanent or temporary?

Don´t forget that permanent jobs are not the only option. Consider whether temporary/locum roles or contract work would suit you.  Many excellent senior roles are now offered as fixed - term contracts, and working as a contractor may enable you to:

• Greatly widen your prpfessional experience.
• Increase your marketability and independence
• Increase your earnings  -  often dramatically.

In today´s world of downsizing and redundancies, a career as a contractor can actually be more secure than one as a permanent employee, if it enables you to increase your marketability and save money against the times when work is slack.

FINDING THE BEST OPPORTUNITIES

Looking through the job advertisements in your newspaper or trade magazine is one way of finding new job opportunities, but a surprising number of vacancies are never advertised in this way.  There is a hidden jobs market and many senior posts are filled through:

• Job hunters directly appoaching the company.
• Agencies
• Head - Hunters
• Contacts.

You can maximise your chances of success by considering all the options and deciding where you are most likely to find the best opportunities in your field.

Advertisements.

The easiest way to find suitable opportunities is often to look through the job ads.

Advantages.

• No effort required in finding out where vacancies are.
• You have some information on the vacancy.
• It is easy to compare different opportunities and pick the best.

Disadvantages

• Dozens or even hundreds of others may reply to the same advertisement
• Many vacancies are never advertised

PHOTOGRAPH

Occasionally, you will be asked to send in a photograph of yourself.  This is usually to help the employer remember which candidate is wich at the interview stage.  But be aware of the deep importance of first impressions.  Senior people should never send in a snapshot or a picture taken in a photo booth.  For the right result, you will need to use a profesional photographer.

Claudia Tatiana  Palacio  Vasco.

Business Administrator

International Marketing Specialist

Freelance - Assistant - Consultant

TP - 07362 Ministry of Economic Development.