Do
not underestimate the importance of having a game plan. The mind acts in peculiar ways. One of those
peculiarities is that whatever the conscious mind tells the subconscious, the
subconscious tends to push you in that direction. In that regard, the subconscious is amoral, it
does not evaluate decisions—it merely finds ways to execute them.
One
needs to be mindful what messages become embedded into the subconscious. (Here
is where that timeless saying, be careful
of what you ask for, applies.)
To
bring intangible thoughts into the
realm of reality, they have to transition into something tangible. When thoughts
remain intangible, the mind tends to nest them into nondescript categories like
things to worry about. A written
strategy or detailed checklist is tangible.
You can see it, re-read it, physically amend or consciously improve it.
By
way of illustration, we will use the unplanned job-hunting method. Off-times,
this involves consciously fretting, worrying and obsessing over how to proceed.
As the days and weeks slip away, little gets accomplished. The conscious mind has
convinced the subconscious to pursue this unproductive course.
Outwardly,
the jobseeker’s behaviors manifest themselves in terms of becoming visibly
irritable, frustrated and annoyed. None of these outward behaviors has anything
to do with conducting a productive job search. The subconscious has sent the
jobseeker in the direction the conscious mind instructed it to do.
A
written game-plan strategy activates the conscious mind to pursue a proactive
course. Worries and other concerns now shift their focus to the written plan.
Previous nondescript priorities become reallocated. In constructing your
strategy, keep the following in mind.
First, there will be competition. Most of
that competition will perform similar to amateurs. However, 20% will be serious
jobseekers that will pose a formidable challenge.
One must be mentally prepared for that to rank among the contenders.
Second, the serious competition will have
a strategy. This might include having a list of potential employers who could
use their skillsets. They will compile a comprehensive to-do checklist. One
needs to match them tit-for-tat.
Third, the serious competition will practice
for interviews, and will not relying on amateur method of faking it or happenstance.
They follow well-rehearsed interviewing strategies.
Fourth, these players educate
themselves on the organization they intent to interview with. They won’t be caught
off-guard when asked, “What do you know
about our operation?”
Fifth, they show up dress for the
occasion—dress for success, if you
will. In short, they look and act the part for which they are applying. Is your
interviewing wardrobe ready?
Sixth, they carry with them whatever
they need to the event, which often includes an interview checklist. No “I’ll get back to you with that,” or “I didn’t bring that.”
Seventh, they preprogram themselves to
offer no excuses or lame woe-is-me scenarios. (Employers are worn weary hearing endless
excuses disguised as plausible rationale.) [1]
The
preceding represents an overview of things to consider in designing your
written strategy. The realistic to-do checklist of mandatory chores can be
expansive. Five of the often-overlooked items include:
1.
Checking all three of your credit reports (Experian, Equifax and Transunion), and
correcting even the smallest errors and inconsistency. Failure to do so has
cost many a jobseeker prized opportunities. (Employers will not forewarn you of this, but when your résumé states
one thing, and your credit reports states something else, be prepared to suffer the
consequences.)
2.
Checking whatever appears on publicly
available documents—especially court and driving records. These are more
difficult to correct than credit reports. Surprisingly, many legal encounters and
traffic infractions are often ignored. What is not ignored is lying about it. That is the disqualifying portion. (Claiming ignorance is another disqualifier.)
3.
Networking represents a time consuming
chore. Most do not take it seriously, and some only superficially dabble at it.
If you are seriously planning to be found or discovered, you have to be out
there actively promoting yourself and your skillsets.
4.
Gathering quality references are seriously undervalued.
As a result, most jobseekers slap together a hodgepodge of easy-to-locate names,
or assemble a list of friends. Both of these options are losing strategies.
Pretend you are the employer who wants to hire qualified applicants. Now what
type of references would you assemble?
5.
Creating well-focused material. A résumé cluttered with off-topic,
non-relevant fillers is viewed by employers as a time waster. Those that know
what it is they want to accomplish and tailor their presentation accordingly
get the interviews.
The
instant you write down a job-hunting strategy is the moment it becomes real.
Now you can look at, read it, study it, perfect it and check-off your progress
as you proceed. The jobseeker who methodically inches forward makes more progress
than the multitudes of jobseekers who shuffle their valuable efforts back-and-forth
waiting to be discovered.
To
visit James’ website, click here. To
visit his LinkedIn account, click here. Copyrighted © 2015 by Robert James.
[1] Here is the
link to a short related article on this topic, entitled Think Like Employer, click here.