It’s important that you maximize and utilize all the resources at your avail, including recruiters, websites and your network. All of this hinges on what sets you apart from your peers. What makes you memorable?

Your Personal Brand
Of particular importance is your capacity to reinvent, enhance and/or develop your personal brand. Ask yourself: How do others see me?  What does my network know about me and my talents?

You have to begin a process of self-promotion. In essence, you need to market yourself! This can be done passively (through web based tools liked Linked-In) or more aggressively, applying more strategy to your ‘in’ person brand (networking functions, changing your look, key message development).

Possessing a good personal brand sets you apart from your peers and allows you to maneuver more competitively when looking for a new job opportunity.  Remember, you always need to work and add to your personal brand.

Career Change Self Assessment
In preparation to exploring new jobs or a new career path, you first need to have some clear ideas as to what you want to do. Take this Career Self Assessment and start the process to becoming more focused and strategic in your job search.

• What are the top three compelling reasons that I want a job change?
• What will I need in my next role to make me feel happy and fulfilled?
• What are the top three functions I need or would like to see in my next role?
• Am I looking for progression?  What does that look like? Do I want to lead people?
• What would the ideal culture look and feel like for me?  What am I looking for in my next leader?
• Am I looking to move into a similar industry?
• Am I looking to move outside my current industry?  If so, how can my “talent” (skills, knowledge and competencies) help another company (in a different industry)?  What would be a company/industry that could use my talent?
• What type of compensation do I want?
• What am I willing to concede or give-up to find the right company and the right role? (IE:  location, compensation, schedule, etc).
• Do I need any courses or designations in order to elevate myself and attain the job I want?  What’s the timing on this and am I willing to put the necessary time in to get the right education/requirements?  Can I work towards this while I have my current job as a readying step?
• Do I already know what I ultimately want to do and do I have a plan that will help me get there?
• What’s a deal breaker for me?
• What’s the minimum salary I will consider in order to get with a great company in the right job?
• Do I now anyone currently in that industry that I could gain intelligence or get an introduction from?

Job Exploration – I Am Not Sure I Know What I Want To Do?
If you are still having trouble not knowing that exactly you want in way of a position, go to an online jobsite (IE: www.indeed.ca) and surf the different areas you may be attracted to. Don’t worry about the requirements or get bogged down with the specifics – this is a job dreaming exercise.

Writing down the jobs titles and industries you click on and/or open (even if you don’t want the job after reading it).  A pattern will start to occur and it should tell you a story about what you are attracted to or help you determine a path you may want to go down.

I Know What Job I Want.  How Do I Go About Finding It?
Once you answer some of these questions and become clearer about your direction, then you can commence your search in a more strategic manner, utilizing the following recommendations to increase your capacity to be successful:

Online Searches
There are several jobsites, like www.indeed.ca, where you can  can set up “notifiers” using key words, allow new jobs, that contains those words in the title or advertisement body, to come to you daily. Several jobsites now ‘crawl’, catching a multitude of job related websites, recruiters and agencies job boards , and employers careers sections, making it a one stop shop for you and negating the need to spend hours on the net.

Social Media
Sites, like Linked-in, can give you some insight on specific companies and lead you to the HR and/or hiring official’s name so that you can phone and/or submit your resume directly to that person). It also helps HR and recruitment professionals find you so that they can present job and employment opportunities.Ensure that you promote yourself well and fill in the information necessary to give you a higher rating. Requesting testimonials that detail or highlight your talent, of which can add to your profile, increase your value and credibility greatly.

Key Message Development
Develop your key message or “30 second commercial”. This is extremely important.

• Provides a snapshot of who you are
• Tells people what makes you great
• Gives people an idea of what you want in a job
• Its flexible and you an utilize it anytime including during the commencement of an interview, when you are networking and.or when you are out with friends or are in a more casual setting

You never know what is going to lead you to that next job, so be ready!
Maximize your opportunities, network and your personal brand – you will be pleasantly surprised with the outcomes.

Reminder: Develop a Focused and Professional Resume

• You need to craft your resume in a manner that is befitting to the job you are applying.
• Research the company and use there language in your resume.
• Make sure there is an obvious overlay between your resume the job you applying for, giving priority to those same areas that are in the job advertisement.
• You may want to set up your resume in a functional fashion vs. historical if you are going outside your experiential area but within a transferable skills area.
• Your resume should have measurable information it – numbers are more believable than qualified information.
• As per the point above, you need to know exactly how you made a positive impact in the company’s you have been employed in
• Your resume needs to have depth – this means not just WHAT you have done but WHAT RESULT it had for the company
• Only go back 10 years and be careful not to inadvertently age yourself.