Establish Career Direction: By John Karras, Job Transitions, Inc.

Many people have too much direction! They put too much emphasis on job titles. People will even screen themselves out of a position based on a job title. Disregard job titles for the time being. In order to execute a successful job search or career transition, you need to concentrate on the day-to-day responsibilities of the position you want to target, regardless of the job title.

Job titles can be ambiguous. A "manager" with one particular company will be responsible for different day-to-day responsibilities than a "manager" with another company. To find a suitable position, it is important to identify the day-to-day responsibilities you would LIKE to perform on a regular basis.

To begin the search or transition process, you will need to complete two groundwork exercises. The first exercise aims to help you define clear goals and direction for your search, while the second assists in prioritizing your key marketable skills or attributes towards that target. These “Points of Marketability” will be valuable in shaping your resume and enhancing your interview performance.

DREAM JOB LIST

The first step to a successful job or transition search is to brainstorm what you like to do. Think of it this way: If you were hired by an organization and the first day of work your supervisor said the following:

"Welcome aboard, glad to have you with us. Here is a blank sheet of paper. I want you to write down what you would LIKE to do for us and that will be your job."

This person has just given you the opportunity to create your own dream job. Notice that the supervisor did not ask you to list the specific job experience you have. Do you think you could do this?

In essence, this suggests that one's decision should be guided by the specific tasks and responsibilities they wish to perform on a daily basis. You should be more open and flexible when trying to decide your career direction. Focus on the day-to-day responsibilities you would LIKE to undertake in your next role. This has nothing to do with specific job experience. What you are trying to do is to create a dream job. Then, effectively present your background and relevant work experience to help you obtain a position that closely aligns with your ideal career objectives.

Many people struggle with this. They can list a few things, but it quickly gets more difficult to think of additional items. When creating an ideal job, include every detail you can imagine.

Create a list of positive items you are looking for in your next position. Avoid listing negative items such as I do not want to work with budgets. If you do not want to be responsible for a certain responsibility, just don’t include it in the dream job list. Your list should include two areas:

1) Specific day-to-day job responsibilities.

2) Items that are external to the job itself, but are important to you. These items could be things like location of the job, commute time, amount of travel, a specific benefit the company needs to offer, or the hours you must work.

Each person will devise a different list with many diverse interests and ideas. The key to creating a successful list is to remember that all ideas on the list are items that are important to you in your next position.

The following are some examples of items that might be included in a dream job list:

• Close to home.

• Which will allow me to work in a team environment.

• Which is very structured and has a formal training program.

• In a manufacturing environment / finance related industry / customer service related business.

• Where I am the final decision maker on company policies and procedures.

• Which will utilize my verbal presentation skills / written communication skills / analytical skills.

• Where I go to the same office every day / work remotely.

• Involves less than 50% travel.

• Where I can utilize my computer or technical expertise.

• Where I design and implement the budget.

• Where I implement policies and procedures.

• Where I am involved in the hiring process for the company.

• With a large / small company.

There are three other important strategies to consider when developing your dream job list:

1. Do not target a certain number of items to be included on your dream job list. It doesn't matter whether there are five or fifty five items. Get it to the point where it is difficult to think of the next item. When you reach this point, set a goal of thinking of one or two more points. This will get your subconscious working on it. You might wake up some morning and another item pops into your head. You might be at a restaurant having dinner and another item comes to mind.

2. I recommend you create this list by yourself without any feedback. Even though the people you trust might come up with excellent, well-meaning ideas, but these ideas will automatically skew the list to what THEY think you should look for in your next position.

3. Avoid listing words which are really job titles -such as manager or supervisor. They really do not tell you anything. When you come up with a word like that, break it down to what you really mean. For example, when you list manager, do you want to:

• Develop the budget?

• Be the final decision maker on budgets?

• Perform evaluations on employees?

• Be responsible for developing policies and procedures?

• Be responsible for scheduling?

Although managers can be responsible for these and other day-to-day responsibilities, so do certain other job titles. By breaking down words like manager and supervisor, you will be able to identify additional day-to-day responsibilities you would enjoy doing. This exercise is designed to frustrate you a little. Have some fun in developing this list. It is designed to require you to do some soul-searching on what you would enjoy doing in your next position. When completed, you will have a better understanding of yourself and what you are going to target in your next career position.

Your direction might be as general as looking for a position that is close to home and working with people. Now you can target positions close to home and will get you involved in Customer Service, Sales, Marketing or other people orientated jobs.

On the other hand, this exercise might give you very specific direction. Your direction might be to secure an opportunity where you work for a manufacturing organization, where you are the final decision maker on strategic planning, where you develop the department's annual budget, and where you are the final decision maker on who gets hired. You can now target positions which will involve you in these functions in a manufacturing environment.

Whether your direction is general or specific, you are now ready to proceed to the next step. If you feel you already know what your direction is before you start your search, you must still complete this groundwork exercise as it will help you evaluate interviews and formulate good questions to ask the company during the interview process.

At the end of the search process, the dream job list will help you critique interviews enabling you to make the most important decision of all - should you accept a job offer?

Instead of using a "pro and con" approach, which many people use, you will be able to evaluate the information gained in the interview against the dream job list. Additionally, it will help you formulate good questions to ask the company during the interview. Ask them questions that will get you the answers to the material on your list.

Looking for a new job or #career change? With a 5-Star Google ranking based on client evaluations, every resume we touch is tailored to tell your story and get results. Book a free resume review and consultation. www.jobtransitions.net     

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