It’s August 6 … Are You Ready to Execute a Post-Labor Day Accelerated Job Search? For the next few weeks, I’ll countdown some of the best strategies for preparing to launch an all-out offensive, that is, plan for a successful job search! If you’ve taken the opportunity to spend a week or two in quiet contemplation (interspersed around exciting travel adventures? tranquil getaway? or rewarding family vacation time), you’ve hopefully jotted a few notes down about what is important to you in terms of your next career move. This might take the form of "must-haves" in your next position, non-negotiable points or key criteria essential for you to say "yes" to an offer. If you haven’t done this exercise, even informally, or to add to the list you’ve already begun, you might consider self-brainstorming to come up with those attributes and environment you perceive to be critical to your professional happiness, personal job satisfaction, and long-term career management plans. Some ideas to contemplate (perhaps ranking 1 to 5 with 1 being not very important to 5 being absolutely essential):
With the answers (rankings) to those factors, and numerous others you’ve undoubtedly considered, you’ll be in a good position to move onto the next step in accelerated job-search planning over the next week or so!
– Jan Melnik, MRW, CCM, CPRW, President, Absolute Advantage