Get The Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring: Take Charge of Your Career, Find a Job You Love, and Earn What You Deserve

Chapter 18. Why You Can't Afford Not to Have a Strategic Plan

If you're serious about getting a job when no one's hiring, you'll need more than determination, a strong mindset, and a dash of luck; you'll need a strategy and a system to implement that strategy. The Career Potential^SM coaching process I use with my private clients involves five distinct phases. But to make it even easier to understand this model, you can distill your strategic plan into two fundamental stages:

• Preparation and Research. You'll handle these phases primarily on your own or with a career coach. They involve introspective exercises, research, thinking, writing, planning, and the creation of your Job Search Survival Toolkit. This stage is an inside job.

• Implementation and Activity. You'll be out in the real world, contacting new people, networking, having meetings, talking with recruiters, interviewing, negotiating, and ultimately landing a new position. This stage of the work is the outside job.

This book is designed to help you get clear on your desired career path, create the best possible set of job search tools, and implement a productive and successful job search campaign. That's what we're about to embark upon—with you as the client and me as your Virtual Career Coach.

Haphazard job search activity without a strategic plan is nothing more than a recipe for disappointment and a prolonged period of career pain. With the economy and job market in a tailspin, we want to get you headed in the right direction ...