Insider Secrets: How To Get A Job -- Get Prepared Inside and Out (Part 1)

Get Prepared, Inside and Out
"Help! I need to get a job." Are you a professional finding your career in freefall, or know someone who is? You might want to follow this series of four posts.

My intention is to help you get there faster. I have asked one of the nation's top Fortune 500 recruitment experts, Nicole Spicer, to share insider secrets, tips and tricks to make your job search successful.

The first step is to get real. Take the quiz to see how you fare.

Are You Prepared To Get A Job In This Market?
Are you prepared to take a salary cut, quite possibly a severe decrease?
Are you prepared to do work you thought you had progressed far enough in your career that you wouldn't have to do again?
Are you prepared to have a full-time job finding your next job?
Are you prepared to consider and apply to many different opportunities?
Are you prepared to accept the harsh reality that there is a serious dearth of open positions?
Are you prepared to do whatever it takes, stay open to all possibilities?
Are prepared to do a fearless inventory of who you are, personally and professionally?
Are you prepared to reach out and ask for help from family and friends? 


If you didn't answer yes to each one of those questions you are out of touch with today's job market.

Step Up and Step Out

Many folks are feeling that finding a job right now is an impossible task. That isn't true. The paradigm has shifted. In order to get a job, you will need to step up and step out. Step up your game and step out of your comfort zone.
If you are not personally empowered and professionally self-aware you will not stand out among the other 500 competing applicants for the position. There are two over arching components that are systemic to a successful job search; believing in yourself and being able to promote your self professionally.

Inner and Outer Marketing
In this market you will have to know how to market yourself from the inside out. "As a recruiter, the first thing I notice in a "star" candidate is his/her confidence. It shows up early on paper and later in person. A trained eye can spot them with the first email, phone call and as they walk through the door." says Fortune 500 recruitment expert, Nicole Spicer www.OARIP.com.

So first you have to ask yourself: am I aware of my power and will it show up for me throughout the job search process?

This is not about your ego or telling someone how good you are, it is about knowing your personal power and being confident in your abilities. It is authentic; you cannot fake it (or at least not sustain it for long if you do.) If you hesitate on this concept you probably are not there - yet.
The good news is, it can be learned.

First: Your Personal Empowerment

You Are Mayor
What is it like inside your skin? Regardless of outer circumstances you have the power and responsibility to be good to yourself. It may sound cheesy, but you are the only person that can empower you. Most decisions to hire a candidate are made in the first 10 seconds. The only way to really show up is to be empowered.

Listen To Your Self
Are you so busy tweeting and texting that you have lost track of who you really are? Take at least 15 minute each day to honor the authentic wisdom of your body, mind and Spirit. I know of many a client who has gotten a job by following a "hunch."
Don't Be The Lone Ranger
Get and give support as part of a team. Mammals are pack animals. During a job search, time of stress (or any time for that matter) you need to be part of a group. Women in particular thrive when they 'Tend and Befriend' as the landmark UCLA study found.

Be Accountable
Tell someone your goals. Check in with them daily if possible. It is very easy to watch the last the episodes of Oprah instead of making sales calls if you don't. Although the statistics vary by study, most reports show that goals that have.

Second: Your Outer Marketing

Professional Promotion - Burn Your Resume!
"Don't rewrite that resume! I hate "the" resume. One size does not fit all, not in a bathing suit and not in a resume. Long before an employer meets you (if you can get that far) they will see your career profile. Burn your resume. Spicer instructs those looking for a job to write a "Professional Promotional Profile." Take it seriously, take in your entire professional career and invest some time in writing it.

Ancient History
The Professional Promotional Profile is your work bible.
Create a timeline of your entire professional history. Go back to your very first job. Write down everything you have done since then.

Organize
Your Professional Promotional Profile into action statements with the results whenever appropriate.

Head's Up
When you see or hear about a position you would like to apply for, you will pull (cut and paste) all your relevant experience off your PPP into specific document(s) for that position.

From your Professional Promotional Profile (PPP) will flow all other career documents - one of many custom profiles (resumes, if you must) specific to the position you are applying to, cover letters germane to a specific job, bio's for business networking websites, executive summaries for direct introduction and stimulating conversations for those interviews.

Once you have completed your PPP it will be easy to develop every other document you might need to promote yourself or might be required in your search. You will be at the ready with details fresh in your mind of everything your career has spawned, making it easy to sell yourself on paper and in person.

Next week we will dive into: How To Burn Your Resume To Get A Job.

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Do you have job search questions? Ask Eli a question at info@elidavidson.com or go to http://www.elidavidson.com today.