[SixFigureStart] September 15, 2008 Newsletter/
Overview Of The SixFigureStart 6-Step Job Search Process
In this issue:
About SixFigureStart
Main Article: The SixFigureStart Six-Step Job Search Process
News and Upcoming Events: Conde Nast’s Portfolio.com and Scott Bradley teleclass
About SixFigureStart
SixFigureStart offers career coaching by former Fortune 500 recruiters and specializes in coaching college students and young professionals. SixFigureStart uses proprietary strategies and exercises to help you:
Identify what you want – passion, balance, legacy
Build a strong brand – resume and cover letter, presentation skills, online presence
Communicate effectively – networking, interviewing, negotiating
Navigate for the long-term – promotions, lateral moves, mentorship
Founded by two professionals with over 40 years of combined HR and business experience, SixFigureStart coaches have recruited for start-ups through global blue chips, including leading the entry-level hiring efforts for Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Pfizer, and Time Inc. We have hired thousands of people and bring you the insider’s view into how the hiring process really works and what employers want.
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The SixFigureStart 6-Step Job Search Process
SixFigureStart defines a thorough, proactive job search as following six steps:
Step 1: Identify your targets
At its simplest, this means identifying the industry, function and geography that you want for your job. Specificity is the key. Banking is not specific enough. Banking as an industry could mean finance, management, sales, or a variety of functions within banking firms. Banking as a function may mean corporate finance in a bank or the finance function of a consumer products company. Finally, are you looking in your current area or thinking of relocating or both?
Step 2: Create your marketing campaign
Many candidates think this means a resume and a cover letter. However, there are numerous other ways to build your brand: online profile; portfolio/ samples; business card are just a few.
Step 3: Research companies and industries (secondary research)
Knowing about companies and industries is critical. This secondary research must precede live, primary research. You need to speak intelligently about your targets and be viewed as a prospective colleague, not an outsider.
Step 4: Network and interview (primary research)
Many candidates jump to networking and interviewing early in a search. However, this is step 4 in the SixFigureStart playbook because you need to be prepared before you talk to people for potentially the only chance you get.
Step 5: Stay on track
Keep your contacts and next steps organized. Stay motivated. Troubleshoot your search regularly.
Step 6: Close and negotiate offers
We don’t close with getting the job, but rather with getting the offer. You may or may not want a specific job, and deciding that is a longer decision. However, you always want an offer, even if you ultimately don’t take that job. By focusing on the offer, not the job, you keep yourself enthusiastic and energized throughout the search process.
Caroline Ceniza-Levine, co-founder of SixFigureStart, was former head of campus recruiting for Time Inc, and has also recruited for Accenture, Booz Allen & Hamilton, Citigroup, Disney ABC, Oliver Wyman and TV Guide. Schedule a complimentary consultation with a SixFigureStart coach at 212-501-2234 or email info@sixfigurestart.com.
News and Upcoming Events
SixFigureStart recently debuted what will be a bimonthly career column for Conde Nast's Portfolio.com: http://www.portfolio.com/interactive-features/2008/09/Classified-Information. In each post, we give an insider’s view into what a job posting really means. Check it out and let us know if there is a posting out there you’d like us to deconstruct in a future column.
Another exciting debut will be October 7, 7p EST, when SixFigureStart hosts a guest speaker for the first time in its teleclass series: Scott Bradley of Networking Effectively, Gen Y marketing entrepreneur and blogger. Scott has mastered the skill of networking online and offline. Forming win/win partnerships with everyone he works with, he looks to change the world for the better one contact and partnership at a time! Scott is going to talk about networking strategies at career fairs:
· The Biggest Mistake people make when at a career fair
· How to make recruiters more likely to extend you an interview
· How to navigate the floor at a typical career fair and stand out amid the noise
Please email info@sixfigurestart.com to reserve your space and get the call-in details. If you can’t make that date and time, register anyway so we can email you the call-in instructions for a playback of the teleclass.
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All information is copyright © SixFigureStart 2008