Eliminate trial and error by using
a step-by-step action plan

ver the years, we have seen equally talented people produce widely varying results. One will struggle while the other moves with speed. Those who move rapidly usually have had the benefit of a game plan—a step-by-step track to follow.

In today's competitive arena most people will never get enough interviews with a hit-or-miss approach. This leaves too much to fate. Think of it this way. Chances are you're marketing a "product" with millions of dollars of earnings capacity remaining in your career. That much value deserves your best effort. Besides, job hunting is a numbers game. So, why take a chance at doing a lot of things haphazardly, without a well-designed plan?

Since job hunting is a matter of having the numbers on your side, your action plan should be targeted to produce 25 to 35 responses that result in a phone discussion. The goal is to have several offers maturing at the same time, and you have to be realistic about rejections in the interview process.

Similar to any company who is about to market a new product, a good plan can cut job hunting time in half and save money. It also helps people produce better results, and when people generate a lot of activity in a concentrated time period, they feel better and do better. Much better.

The components of a personal marketing plan

To begin with... (1) Surface the right information about yourself and set clear goals; (2) pinpoint what you should be marketing, especially your transferable skills; (3) identify industry alternatives to target; (4) if you have liabilities, you need strategies to neutralize them; and (5) you need a step-by-step game plan... an action agenda... to get your story told to all the right people. Here's a recap of what our plans cover:

Job hunting goals: Surface all critical information about yourself and then decide on the goals that will advance your career. This includes specific job titles and income goals.

Liabilities & solutions: You need to identify liability issues that might restrict your success... and arrive at ways for minimizing their impact in all written materials and conversations.

Assets, transferable skills & how to market them: All of your assets and skills need to be identified. Then, they need to be incorporated into your resume and letters, and your personal marketing website

Industry alternatives: More and more people are changing industries. The key is to identify industries with characteristics that match those where you have experience.

Action plan for getting interviews: You want to lay out a step-by-step plan... a weekly agenda... that will guide your search. This is your complete track... a game plan. This includes a plan for interviewing and negotiating (your approach to these important matters)... which should be decided on in advance.

What some people say about having a marketing plan

"I felt getting organized, and giving me a clear path to follow, was particularly valuable."
"My marketing plan was rich with detail. No stone was left unturned. For someone out of work, having a routine and keeping busy is critical."
"The marketing plan provided a needed structure for my entire job hunting process. It was my reference bible."
"My marketing plan was similar, but not as detailed as, to what my firm prepares when launching a new product. It seems to be the cornerstone of your philosophy and certainly saved me a great deal of time."
"I was unemployed for some time and just drifting. Having a marketing plan... a game plan to follow tripled my effort."
"I don't know what I was thinking of before. Once I had an action plan to follow, it gave a whole new direction to my search."
"Having a plan reduces the pressure of job hunting."

These are all discussed in the sections that follow. However, for the purpose of thinking about your action plan, you might give consideration to the following:

Respond to openings — select as appropriate

• From 2,000 newspapers
  
• From 2,100 trade magazines
  
• On 1,500+ job boards
  
• On 300,000 employer websites
  
• On 3,500 recruiter websites

Contact employers by email, fax or 1st-class mail
Decide if you will follow a "micro" approach, focusing on your best 100 - 200 prospects, and repeatedly working at getting an interview. Or, if your budget allows, use a "macro" approach and make contact with 1,000 firms or more. Some people do both.

• Decision makers at growth firms
  
• Decision makers at other key employers

Contact middlemen by email, fax or 1st-class mail

• Select from 1,000 premier recruiters
• Select from 10,000 local and national recruiters
  
• Select from 2,800 venture capitalists

Uncover and respond to leads

• Employers receiving new capital
• New executive appointments
  
• New contracts being awarded
  
• Planned relocations announced
  
• Record sales and profits achieved
  
• Announcements of growth expectations
  
• Word of new local business operations

Network on an expanded basis

• Your contacts
• Influential alumni
  
• Targeted executives by industry

Other

• Post your resume on job boards
• Make direct employer contact by phone
  
• Pursue "create a job" approaches

No one needs to take all these actions, but a balanced
campaign produces better results. The chapters that
follow go into more detail on your main options.

Having an action plan can help you get a lot more interviews.

Recapping this chapter. Why do major corporations develop marketing plans to sell their products and services? It's all about saving time and money. Job hunting is a numbers game. And, the more contacts you make... the greater the number of situations that will come your way. Action plans help keep you on track.

Quick action steps. We prepare custom action plans for our clients, but on your own do the following: list your goals, skills, industry options and liability solutions. Then, list all the action steps you're going to use... as reviewed in the following chapters. Relative to contacting employers directly, decide if you will start with a "micro" approach or a "macro" approach.

If you take a micro approach, target your best 100 to 200 prospects, and find a way to keep contacting them until you have a discussion with the right person. Start by sending your material 1st class mail as indicated in chapter 11. Follow up with as many as possible by phone. Then, go back to ones that don't respond with an email letter with a link to your website. Remember, you can also get into these organizations by networking, by using the phone or by following up on a news event about the employer. Continue contacting your best prospects until you can have a conversation with an executive. Follow your plan daily for 8 weeks. Make it your measuring stick.

"It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark." — Howard Ruff

"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." — Thomas Edison