Could a strategic plan make your job search up to 30% more effective?
Does having a strategic plan for your job search even matter?
The average American changes jobs 12.3 times over the course of his or her career. So take heart: if you’re job-searching or job-changing, you aren’t alone.
Given how often we change jobs, does having a strategic plan for your job-search even matter? Absolutely! Here are 3 statistics that illustrate this point:
In a study of 1100 job-searchers, people who had a strategic plan for their job-search were 30% more likely to receive a job-offer -- and 26% more likely to become employed -- than those without.
In a separate study, people with a focused job-search strategy received 23% more job offers, than those whose job-search was haphazard. As this study concluded, “the higher the use of the focused strategy, the higher the number of job offers.”
Not only did people who proactively planned their job-searches receive more offers -- but the offers themselves were for more money and at more satisfying positions.
Our guest expert, nationally-recognized productivity & leadership coach Ellen Faye, reminded us that, “Anything with a plan is much more effective. It’s like target marketing. You want to narrow your scope so that you can focus on finding and applying for jobs that are a great fit for you. Having a strategic plan will ensure that you’re spending your time, energy, and effort on the areas that matter most.”
Step #1: Articulate your aim.
A strategic plan for your job search starts with articulating your aim. In other words, what do you envision for the next phase of your career?
Articulating your aim ensures that your “why” aligns with your “what.” 70% of college-educated workers get their sense of identity from their jobs, so it’s critical that your job aligns with who you’d like to be.
As you brainstorm what you’d like the next phase of your career to look like, consider these questions:
What type of work do you find meaningful, worthwhile, useful, or valuable?
What do you want to accomplish through your work? Serve others? Entertain others? Inform others? Make others’ lives easier or better?
Do you want to do exactly what you’ve done before? Or are you among the 83% of job-seekers who’d like to pivot to something different?
Think about the specifics of your dream job. What’s your preferred work environment? Your perfect schedule? Your ideal company culture? Your best type of boss? Your ideal projects or deliverables? What would a great day at work look like?
Now that you’ve brainstormed, find the “golden thread.” In other words, what key ability, interest, or passion connects what you’ve enjoyed most about your past positions? (For instance, perhaps you’ve worked in education, marketing, and non-profits, but the “golden thread” that runs through these endeavors is connecting with others.)
Step #2: Be self-aware.
Plato said: “Know thyself.” Aristotle said: “Knowing thyself is the beginning of all wisdom.” And Comte said: “Know yourself to improve yourself.”
These philosophers said, “Know yourself,” and science bears this out. People who were open to learning about their personalities were 11% more effective in their job-searches, than those weren’t.
As you craft a strategic plan for your job-search, consider your personality:
Are you introverted or extroverted?
Will you feel energized as you network with others?
Or will you gain energy by being alone?
Do you learn through intuition or observation?
Will you do best if you leave time to daydream?
Or will you feel better if you concentrate on concrete research?
Are you a thinker or a feeler?
Will you excel in a highly-structured environment (thinkers)?
Or will you do better with moderate structure and plenty of blank space (feelers)?
When is your energy level the highest? Are you a lark? A night owl? Or do you shine at midday?
What type of physical work environment will help you thrive?
Do you need noise? Or do you love quiet?
Do you need your physical workspace to be in order? Or are you most creative with a little clutter?
Where would you focus best? Sitting at your desk? Standing at your kitchen counter? Walking around the park? Or driving around in your car?
Step #3: Be action-oriented.
Now it’s time to tackle the meat of your strategic plan: your actions.
Job-seekers who set incremental, specific, and quantifiable goals were 19% more successful, than those who didn’t.
Remember: you have an 8.3% chance of getting interviewed when you apply to a job. As a result, the most successful job-seekers apply for at least 10-15 positions each week. So let’s back up from that number. To apply for 10-15 positions each week, you need to apply for 2-3 positions each weekday. And in order to apply for 2-3 positions each weekday, you need to find those job openings; research those companies; tailor your cover letters; and submit your documents. Not only that, but you need to follow up on any applications you’ve already got in your pipeline. And finally, you need to cultivate and expand your network.
To succeed at the items above, use a calendar, a checklist, a spreadsheet, or all three to manage the specific, incremental, and quantifiable actions that you’d like to take each day.
Calendar: Block out time to tackle your high-priority job-search tasks.
Checklist: Here is a weekly checklist that I created to help my clients with their job searches.
Spreadsheet: Here is a spreadsheet that I created to help my clients track their job-search & networking efforts.
Step #4: Be accountable.
People who checked in weekly with an accountability partner achieved 33% more goals, than those who didn’t.
So be accountable! Pick an accountability partner, whether that’s an encouraging friend or a credentialed coach. Then, ask if you can update that accountability partner once a week on the specific actions you’ve taken. For instance:
How many positions did you apply for?
How many applications do you have in your pipeline? What stage are each at?
How many people did you reach out to?
What did you do to cultivate or to grow your network?
What is one thing you could do to improve your job search in the week ahead?
and finally …
For 20+ years, we’ve helped clients advance their careers, both through productivity & leadership coaching, as well as through award-winning resume & LinkedIn profile writing. How can we help you?