| Volume 3, Issue 4 | April 2000 |
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| 5 Steps To Your Next Job Notable Quotable |
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STEP ONE: Setting Your Goals
What’s so hard about that? Sounds simple, doesn’t it? So why do we have so much trouble explaining what kind of job we want? Because goal setting, especially when it relates to jobs, is a very emotional process. Our jobs are not just a place to work. They determine our standard of living, our place in society, and our personal identity.
In America, it seems, you are what you do. Goal setting can be very complex, depending on the circumstances of your life. This section will give you an outline on the process, as it relates to job search.
Want a good job? Set a good goal.
- W. Edwards Deming
Last, a good goal is important for your own happiness. Remember the saying, “Be careful what you ask for - you may get it”? Well, if you say you will take “anything,” those are the kinds of offers you will get. And very few of those jobs will fit your real goals for salary, location, co-workers or promotion.
Words that every job seeker should have in their Working Vocabulary
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The following article is the first in a five part series. With the New Year comes many resolutions...perhaps your’s is to find a new job. Whether it’s a permanent position you seek or temporary work, hopefully these steps will help you focus on your next opportunity! Written by Amy Lindgren, it was taken from CareerPath.com. This article discusses Step One: Setting Your Goals. Next month will be Step Two: Gathering Information.
Remember the old saying, “If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?” This is especially true in a job search. If you don’t decide the kind of job you want, you may not recognize it when it comes along.
Goal setting is also important from the employer’s point of view. If you don’t know what you want, how will they? An employer today will not take the time to “fit you in” to their company. You must decide what you can - and want to - do for them, then sell them on the data.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
It is not enough to do your best;
you must know what to do, and THEN do your best.
The job title or position desired is the most important part of a job search goal. Without this you don’t know what to ask an employer for. Imagine shopping or a car without any idea what you want. Should it be a family car or a sports car? New or used? What model do you prefer? Without this basic information, you don’t even know which car lot to visit. It would be so much easier if you knew that you wanted say, a late-model Ford with four doors and cruise control. Now you can start shopping!
Your job search will be most effective if you have a job title in mind. Then your friends can keep their eyes open, employers can tell you if that job is likely to open up, and you can ask for help from temporary agencies, job hotlines, job search counselors and headhunters. This will shave months off your job search. If you can’t settle on a job title, you can at least name the industry or department you are interested in. It’s fine to have more than one job title in mind, but keep it down to two or three. Too many job goals are the same as having none at all! Remember, you can always change your goal if the first one doesn’t work out.
Wages are the most emotional part of the goal setting process. No one wants to work for less than they are worth. Still, sometimes you have to take less in order to get the job you want. Before you can do that, you need to know your absolute bottom line - based on your needs, not your pride. This figure is not for the employer, but for you. You need to know your range. Otherwise, you may lose opportunities in your job search.
Define the range you want to work within. Do you want to work close to your home so you can walk to work? Then this is your target area. Would you draw the line at a 40-mile commute to work? Then this is your outside ring of job search.
The work conditions you want are usually closely tied to the job title or industry you choose. Sometimes, though, deciding the work conditions can help you choose job titles.
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