Goal Setting

Career Planning

During the average lifetime an adult will have many jobs, several different careers and will spend half their waking hours working. Yet, that same person will spend more time watching television in one week than they will spend in their lifetime planning for employment! Employment is more than a job. It shapes a big part of your life and deserves consideration. With the frequency that people change careers, it also deserves reconsideration throughout your work life. Career planning is a vast topic which we will not attempt to cover. If you have not planned your career, you are encouraged to do so now. Career counselors are available through schools, employment service providers and private organizations. There are many books available through the library or local book store.

Job Search Objective

You must have a job goal if you are to conduct an effective job search campaign. You cannot set out on your quest for employment looking for just anything. If you do, you will find yourself wandering through your job search wasting a lot of effort. Employers will quickly discern that you do not know what you want. This is very dangerous. It is comparable to a salesperson trying to sell a product without knowing its features. Salespeople know what their product can do and they know the market for their product. You must do the same. You need to target your job search campaign to those employers who need your skills and can offer you the opportunities you are seeking. 

Simply saying that you are looking for a good job that pays well is not enough. That is what most job seekers want. You need to identify the specific types of jobs for which you are qualified. This will help to focus your effort to those employers who support your employment objective. Furthermore, when you approach an employer it is critical that you tell them what it is you see yourself doing. You need to tell them the kind of work for which you are looking. Do not expect them to analyze your qualifications and tell you where you might fit into their organization.

As you establish clear objectives for your job search, conditions of employment, wages, location, hours, and benefits are important considerations. You may be looking for job security or advancement potential. Take the time to think about what you want from that next job. 

Look for ways to expand your opportunities, not limit them. This means you may have to make some choices. Goals should be realistic and attainable. Keep this in mind when considering your expectations. The more criteria you put on the next job, the fewer the opportunities that will meet those criteria. A good strategy is to write down all the conditions that you would like in a job, then categorize them as "required," "desired" and "optional." If during your job search you find that you are not getting interviews, or that you are not finding jobs that meet your expectations, you should reevaluate your criteria for employment.