Interview Doctor

job search marketing plan

Job Search Tip: Create a List of Target Companies

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Learn how and why it’s important to create a list of target companies.

Katherine Burik is a Job Search / Career Coach and, in this video, she shares her tips on how and why you need to make a list of target companies. This list is the corner-stone to your job search marketing plan.

Get more Job Search Tips from the Interview Doctor and Interview with confidence. Get your free copy of the “Career Advancement Tips Sheet” for more tips on how to put together a great job search marketing plan and create the career you want!

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Creative Job Search Marketing Plans Make You Stand Out

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Everyone looking for a job needs a plan – a job search marketing plan. Our plans might be different but that is fine if you have a plan.

Leigh March is doing something unusual in her job search marketing plan to differentiate herself from the job search competition!

Leigh’s name came up when I reached out to my first and second level LinkedIn connections who have the words “seek” or “in transition” in their LinkedIn profiles. I sent her an invitation to connect, with a note asking what she is doing to find her next job. We started a lovely conversation!

Leigh created a movie using iMovie with voiceover describing how her digital marketing experience can help companies solve problems. It is very clever! She sends that video to folks she reaches out to, then she sends her resume if there is further interest. The video sparks discussion, which is necessary to build relationships on LinkedIn. She also has a video and graphic resume!

have a creative approach to your job searchIt is hard to imagine that anyone would have a problem with Leigh’s approach but Leigh estimates that about 5% of people are not nice. That has been tough. But Leigh considers every bit of feedback.

Sometimes she discovers that the person making a negative comment has a less professional LinkedIn profile than hers, which makes her feel confident! She takes negative feedback with a grain of salt. She said, “When you put yourself out there on social media or network, you have to accept the bad with the good and not be discouraged.”

Some feedback offers ideas she incorporates into her job search marketing plan. Sort of a crowdsourcing approach to job search marketing plans!

Regardless of the feedback, Leigh finds this is a great way to start conversations with people she doesn’t know yet. Leigh says, “The video has opened the door to several networking opportunities, which in turn has created several liaisons in companies of interest.” She is tracking her progress, her outreach and her successes. Setting goals and tracking progress is a solid part of her plan.

I applaud this creative job search marketing plan! Leigh’s approach demonstrates she is strong, has interesting ideas, and is not afraid to step out into the limelight.

You don’t have to specialize in digital marketing to create an outreach plan that is a little different. I am not a digital media specialist, but I learned how to create videos and animate PowerPoint presentations just by looking at YouTube videos. You can too if you want to differentiate yourself from the other folks competing for the job you want.

What are you doing to differentiate yourself from others in your job search? Do you have a job search marketing plan or are you just floating along, sending your resume to the black hole of job postings?

In your job search marketing plan, don’t forget to prepare for video interviews.

Shine! At your next Job Search Video Interview! Click here to watch and listen to Katherine Burik in these video vignettes as she prepares for a video interview. See her mistakes and learn best practices. Listen, enjoy, prepare!

Life is full of tough job search choices!

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Life is full of choices. Should I wash the car or go to the movies? Should I buy that house or this one? Bacon or sausage with your breakfast platter?

The options are astounding, sometimes even overwhelming. Some are big decisions, others are small but every time we decide to zig instead of zag, we are making choices that impact our lives. Most times we are unaware of the impact a choice will have on our lives.

Job search is full of choices. We must make choices but how can we be sure we are making the right choice? Will either option bring me to the right place?

Recently a client, Marcus, reached two job search decision crossroads.

First Crossroad. He received a job offer from his number two company. His top choice seemed to disappear into the wind after a few seemingly successful interviews. Should he take the offer in hand from Company #2 or wait to see what happens with his top choice, Company #1?

Marcus has a family to support. He was out of work for months and feeling nervous. He tried stalling Company #2 while prodding Company #1 but for reasons beyond the hiring manager’s control they were stuck. Then Company #1 got a new president which put a monkey wrench in all hiring.

Marcus felt he had no alternative but to accept the offer from Company #2 even though he was not thrilled. About the best he can say is that it pays well and looks good on the resume.

Interview Doctor sometimes wrong choices bring us to right placesSecond Crossroad. I bet you can guess what happened next. A month after Marcus accepted the offer from Company #2, Company #1 came back to him. “Can you come in next week with an interview with the hiring manager? Things settled down and we still want you.”

Should Marcus take the interview and potential job offer after starting work with Company #2 only a short time earlier? Some people couch this choice in terms of loyalty. Loyalty? Why should Marcus feel any loyalty to his new employer? Companies (any company) are not very loyal to employees these days. They hire and fire at will. Shouldn’t the employees have the same option?

What does it hurt to talk to another company? Shouldn’t we always have our feelers out to protect ourselves and advance our careers? It’s just a simple conversation.

Is Marcus happy at Company #2? Could he be happy? What could he do to be happier? Is the grass greener at Company #1? Will leaving Company #2 after such a short time harm Marcus’s his reputation? Is he burning bridges?

Here are some tips to making these choices:

  • Compare both jobs to the list of preferences you made at the beginning of your job search in your job search marketing plan. You should always make job selection decisions based on an unemotional list of preferences, not on emotion-laden spur of the moment when you get an offer. If Company #1 is still a better option than Company #2, I would proceed with interviews.
  • Do an extra thorough investigation of the people, responsibilities and expectation at Company #1 to be sure you will enjoy the job and thrive in the environment. You don’t want to jump away from Company #2 and be unhappy at Company #1. You also don’t want to make this important decision on money alone. If you feel completely sure that Company #1 is better then you must proceed.
  • Imagine yourself ten years from now. Will you regret not taking this opportunity with Company #1? Then you must proceed.

If you decide to proceed with interviews and potential job offer with Company #1, handle the situation with Company #2 very carefully.

Be gentle but firm when you talk to your boss. Give her plenty of advanced notice. “Boss, a company I pursued during my job search just made me an offer I cannot refuse. I love it here but I owe it to my family to make the decision that is best for my career. I will be leaving in two weeks. I really appreciate everything you have done for me. Thank you.”

Do not use this other offer to negotiate a better package from Company #2. They will always doubt you in the future. If you want the offer from Company #1, then take it, but be respectful of Company #2.

Be very conscientious about transitioning your work to someone else. Like the Girl Scouts say, leave your campground cleaner than when you found it. It is the least you can do to ease the interruption your unexpected departure will cause. This careful handling minimizes the bridge burning possibilities.

Sometimes the wrong choice brings us to the right decision. Company #1 or Company #2? Make your decision based on factors important to your career and your family and you cannot go wrong!

To help with making the right decision and help in your job search, check out The Interview Doctor’s free training, How To Use LinkedIn To Get The Job You Want.

A Job Search is Marketing – Who knew?

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job search is marketingOnly by being very specific with a targeted marketing search can a job seeker network effectively.

For years I’ve been coaching job seekers to organize their job search around target companies that fit their geographic, size and industry preferences.

Great advice, right? Of course it is.

Job search is marketing on a very personal level. You have to get up close and personal with the right people in your target companies to build the relationships necessary to open up opportunities in your target businesses.

Do I do that myself? Of course not. I rely on social media marketing, the equivalent of submitting job ads, to find clients. What am I thinking?!$?

Growing a business is marketing on a very personal level, just like job search. So why am I not taking my own advice? I have no earthly idea. But it is time to do just that!

Identify the target

I outlined my target market in my target geography, Northeast Ohio. Then I went to ReferenceUSA to find businesses. I entered some criteria matching my geography and size, pressed “Search” and ZAPPO WHAMMO I have a list of businesses. 238 pages of businesses with 5,942 results. Wow, who knew?

That is too many so I narrowed my criteria to reduce to a manageable number of businesses. I reduced the geography and company size which reduced the results to 708 businesses that match my needs. I can start with that.

I sorted the businesses by SIC and NAICS codes that describe the businesses’ major and minor business categories. This reduced the number to 393 business in my focus areas of manufacturing, paper, plastics and wholesale distribution in my geography of Northeast Ohio. Could I focus on other business or geographic areas? Sure but for now I need to be very, very specific.

Implement a marketing plan

I propose to target 10 to 15 companies per week. I will see who I know in the company by researching in LinkedIn then connect with the business leader. Then I can start communicating in a way to build relationships.

Job search is marketing. Someone once called it a project plan without an end date. But as a project we can create steps and set regular goals for action. The regular contact with target companies and people will lead to conversation, more relationships and more opportunities.

How have you targeted your geography, companies and people? What resources have you used? How are you reaching out to make connections and build relationships with people in target companies? What impact has this activity had on your job search?

How is job search marketing similar or different than other project plans you’ve worked on in your business life?

Share with others and we can all grow!

If you would like more tips on a successful job search, check out a replay video of our recent job search training – it is free and has tons of job search tips in it.

Whether Chicken or Egg, you still need a Recipe!

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In our last post we learned about Joan who left the workforce ten years ago to raise her son. Now she is ready to get back into the workforce.

She is most concerned about stability. She wants a company that will be around for many years where she can make a good living to finance her son’s college education and her own retirement.

Last time we asked what you thought. We got some really interesting responses. Most people completely sympathized with Joan’s dilemma. Some people had been in that same position before themselves.

how to structure a job searchThe consensus was that Joan needs to figure out what she wants first then find a stable company where she can do it. I completely agree.

This is the beauty of sharing in social media. There is always someone out there who has had that experience who is willing to share what worked and what didn’t. We can learn from each other!!

Whether preparing chickens or eggs, we still need a recipe. We need a plan. In this case, Joan needs a Job Search Marketing Plan!

Here are some steps Joan can take to find the job she wants:

  1. Understand what exactly she wants. No one will help her find a job that makes her happy that uses her many skills if she doesn’t know what that is. Knowing what you want in very specific terms is the foundation of the Job Search Marketing Plan.
  2. Build job search materials around that ideal job. The more specific the better. Start with the resume, then the LinkedIn profile then the extra marketing materials. Use a scalpel to remove the unnecessary bits and leave the experiences and accomplishments that support the ideal job.
  3. Outline the dream company. What kind of people? What kind of products? What geography, size and structure?
  4. Identify which companies in your geography fit that profile. Prioritize them according to the ones that you like most. We start with the top priorities and work our way around.
  5. Research those companies.
  6. Identify people who work there.
  7. Now you can start networking. Reach out to people who work in those companies. Add them to your LinkedIn connections, start talking to them. Ask questions. Try to get coffee. Reach out in a way that makes them value you as a person because you value them. Talk professional to professional.

Joan started in the middle. She doesn’t know what she wants. She started reaching out blindly. That usually does not work.

As our readers know, Joan will be more successful if she does the planning first. Then she can reach out in a more methodical fashion to network her way to the job of her dreams. Or at least the job she can do in a stable company where she can achieve her personal financial goals.

The Interview Doctor can help Joan put together her plan. We are all pulling for you Joan!

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