How to Reach Your Next Job Faster with Fewer Potholes, Roadblocks

Complacency damages your career more than lack of qualifications. The most obvious roadblock you'll encounter on the race to find your next job is usually regrets about skills, education, and professional knowledge. However, be careful that you don't possess an inner smugness that rests on past successes. Complacency will trick you to believe that employers will find you without any effort on your part to find them. You'll be anesthetized to job search urgency by this false sense of security. Overconfidence costs you money and opportunities if you decide to sit back with a Jack Daniel's and idle your time away until the phone rings. It won't.

Job seeker loses $30,000 and top management role while waiting for "right opportunity. Rich Connell, senior consultant for R. L. Stevens & Associates Inc., a leading international career marketing firm headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, regretted a huge blunder he made during his earlier career adventures. "I lost a high level management position and $30,000 in commissions and bonuses because of job search complacency," said Connell.

After being suddenly downsized, Connell admits several valuable months vanished while he waited for the "right" opportunity to magically appear. He didn't take his search seriously. These tactical errors took him out of the marketplace and off the hiring radar at the critical start of his sales career. Employers didn't know he was available. He missed a great position that was significantly more suitable and provided larger financial reward than the one he settled for because he ran out of leverage. "In retrospect, I should've jumped right back into the market and not wasted all that time. If only I had started my search sooner and gave it more attention. Losing $30,000 and a management fast track was an expensive teacher to learn how to conduct a successful job search," he lamented.

Now wiser and more successful from the experience and lessons learned, Connell from his ninth-floor office overlooking Indianapolis, Indiana strongly encourages job seekers to not postpone a career transition to wait for non-existent "perfect conditions." Don't delay your search any longer, for any reason. Get serious and get on with it, he says.

Regret for time wasted can become a power for good in the time that remains. We often in hindsight, look so long and so regretfully upon the closed doors that we don't see the one which has opened for us. Use these ten tips to anticipate and plan your next job search move. Your foresight here will convert regrets, disappointments and fears into much needed fuel to strengthen your chances to reach your next career destination faster:

1.Develop a sense of urgency to move fast on opportunities. Measure the value of everything you do against the results you expect.

2.Recognize and exploit cycles and trends in your industry.

3.Update your knowledge continually through coursework, news and blog reading, and active participation in trade association activities.

4.Segment your targeted employers and focus on those who can benefit the most, immediately, from what you are selling.

5.Anticipate how you can differentiate your product (you) from every other similar product (your competition) in the marketplace.

6.Analyze your competition thoroughly through strategic market research; be clear about where you're strong and they're weak.

7.Make a list of all the reasons why an employer should hire you. Translate them into personalized solutions, organize them by priority and memorize.

8.Identify the primary objections to why an employer might not hire you and then develop bulletproof answers to those objections.

9.Refuse to let the fear of rejection hold you back. Don't take rejection personally.

10.Never forget that whatever got you to where you are today is not enough to keep you there.

Hot career advice: Don't let other job seekers gain tactical advantage because your paralysis of analysis or inertia derailed momentum. Anything less than total commitment to excellence becomes acceptance of mediocrity.

Use career campaign foresight to continually deal with and calculate your future. By doing so you'll fast forward to your next career pit stop and avoid most job hunting potholes and roadblocks. Remember: It's not about where you've been. It's about where you're headed. Be alert. Look ahead.

Marta L. Driesslein is a senior management consultant for R.L. Stevens & Associates Inc. (http://www.interviewing.com), a career marketing firm and organization celebrating over 24 years of providing strategic marketing solutions for its clients' career transitioning needs. Email inquiries and comments to publicrelations@rlstevens.com.


More Resources

Aptitude Tests Reveal the Difference Between Your Aptitude & Ability
Aptitude tests measure your skills, abilities, values, interests and personality in order to help you determine which careers you might be best suited for and eliminate those that you are not.Aptitude tests are some of the most important tools to anyone considering a career change.
In Control - Inside Tips on Interview Success
No, you can't control how the interview will be conducted, nor can you control the outcome. But you can influence it greatly by the way you present your personality and your skills.
How to Receive Multiple Job Offers After You're Fired
Ask survivors of the most popular reality television shows and they'll tell you "If you have to eat a cockroach, don't spend too much time thinking about it." Keep focused on the end-game and move on.
Why You Should Never Complain About Former Bosses
You're at a job interview. You're doing great, answering questions left and right.
Building Your Army of Supporters: How to Build Strategic Relationships in the Work Place!
Once you have accomplished your task of getting in the door and getting the job the real job of career advancement begins!You will soon learn (if you haven't already elsewhere) that corporate politics are ALWAYS surrounding you. If it is not your boss who is fearful of you taking his job it is your co-worker who wants to ensure that they are seen "better" than you when promotion time comes calling.
Cracking the Connection Code: Networking for the Introverted
We've all heard it before: "Just get out there and network!" If it was that easy, we would already be doing it. So why is it so hard? Well, you're an introvert, aren't you? Enough said.
Searching for Jobs Online
Searching for jobs online is easier than ever, but also more confusing than ever. Any Internet user doing a job search online will find that they can choose from hundreds of national employment listing web sites and the numbers can often be staggering.
Whiners Need Not Apply
Sometime last summer I decided to host a pity party and invite all my friends. Well, not all my friends, exactly.
What To Do
Ever had that perfect life when everything seems perfect yet you wanna die. I am in the situation where I have the perfect imperfect world.
Searching for an IT Job
Looking for an IT job is one of the easiest to perform due to the incredibly high demand in the IT field. As the Internet grows, corporations network through Intranets - even the advancement of science has the demand for anyone with IT skills at an all time high.
How to Recoup From Missing the Most Important Meeting of the Year
Sometimes missing a critical meeting just can't be helped. Despite the advance planning, you just cannot make it to the meeting.
Booster & Drainers
Like huge anchors on cruise ships, other people can hold you down. Not intentionally, but their negativity impacts you.
Interview Quicksand
How will you respond when you're asked the following two questions?1.What type of boss do you like to work for?2.
3 Questions No Job Seeker Ever Wants To Be Asked?
Employer and interviewers expect you to answer tough question during interviews. Take a few minutes to brainstorm on how you might elaborate on the following answers.
Tips for Building a Successful Career
1. Develop excellent work habits - for example, meet deadlines and don't procrastinate.
The Top Ten Strategies of A Great Interview
You've just received a call to interview with your dream company. Do you know how to prepare for the interview so that you'll feel confident, have a good experience and set yourself apart from others? Try following the steps below and you'll not only be well prepared, you'll present yourself as a true professional.
Job Hunting Tips: Assessing Personal Value
A week out of work is a vacation. You can sleep late in the morning, revel in your newly found free time, shop when the stores are empty, and get around to those chores you have been putting off for too long.
Free Resume Examples: Untold Wealth In 10 Minutes!
Doesn't every job search start with Google?Way back in another lifetime, I was looking for a job after one of my startups failed. Conveniently, everything went to pot in early 2000.
How to Write a Better CV (UK), or Resume (USA and elsewhere)
The first point to make is that the terms "CV" and "Resume" (with or more often without the French acute accents over the e's) are virtually interchangeable in the UK; they mean the same thing, but if anything the norm is CV. In the USA and elsewhere, the CV (Curriculum Vitae to give it its full title - literally "Life Study") is a different animal - a dry listing of qualifications and experience more suited for a university faculty listing for example.
Career Killers to Avoid
Many professionals and managers are so involved in day-to-day crises and fighting fires that they forget about a key leadership characteristic: self-management. Effective leaders are first of all effective in managing themselves - their time, their focus, their emotions and their careers.

More Careers & Employment Information:

Related Articles

Stand Out From the Crowd with Simple Marketing Methods
Although today's job market can be very competitive, many job seekers overlook simple techniques that will catch potential employers' attention. Apply these eight ideas to stay ahead of your competitors and get hired now!1.
Job Search Blurts
I coined this word to draw attention to the nervous and apprehensive way of saying something in the job search that makes you feel like a buffoon. A "blurt" is a catchy way of saing: Gaffe.
Make Your Résumé Sizzle with Success Stories
In today's competitive job market you can't afford a résumé that fizzles. Power up your résumé with solid success stories.
Do You Have What it Takes to be a Successful Petite Model?
Want to break into the petite modeling industry but wondering if you have what it takes to succeed? There are lots of magazine and commercial modeling opportunities for good modeling jobs. Take this quiz to find out if you qualify to be the next top face in the petite modeling industry.
The Pros and Cons of Telecommuting - As Seen Through The Eyes of a Seasoned Telecommuter
Janelle Delacorte has been happily answering calls for the Home Shopping Network and various infomercials since November 2004.Several nights out of the week she tucks the kids in to bed, turns around, takes 20 or so odd steps, and arrives at the office.
Ten Things To Do When You Really, Really Hate Your Job
1. Begin focusing on what you want instead of how much you want to escape.
Your Job Search -- a Marketing Campaign?
The successful job search is really just a personal marketing campaign. And the same techniques used in infomercials and junk mail can help you get hired, too.
Job Interviews: Plan Your Appearance to Make a Great First Impression
Your personal appearance is a critical component of that all-important first impression when you walk into the room for your interview.So plan ahead!Some people don't think about what they're going to wear until the morning of the interview.
Job Interviews: How to Answer the How Do You Handle Stressful Situations? Question
When answering the "How do you handle stressful situations?" question during an interview, the best strategy is to give some examples of stressful situations you've dealt successfully with in the past.Everyone faces some form of stress on the job now and then.
Tell Me About Yourself
The need to tell people about yourself may present itself during an informal conversation with a colleague, on the Little League field with a neighbor, on the phone with a past acquaintance, or in a face-to-face meeting for a job opportunity. "Tell me about yourself" is a favorite question that has befuddled many an unsuspecting candidate.
The Top 10 Mistakes Job Seekers Should Avoid In Contacting An Employer
There are numerous tools and resources available to guide job seekers through the steps of a career transition. These tools are very useful and suggest much that you should do.
Searching for an Executive Job
A job search for executives is far less complicated today than it has been in the past. Anyone who is looking for an executive job can simply look to the Internet where there are hundreds of employment websites, with many specifically geared towards executives.
How to Terminate an Employee and Live to Tell the Tale
1. Employee Backdrop in AustraliaThe whole arena of Industrial Relations and the interaction between employer and employee is conducted within the complex framework of various statutes, state and federal, regulations and rulings and common law.
The 6 Stages of Modern Career Development
Career experts say that people will change careers (not jobs) 5-7 times in a lifetime. This being true, career management is an important life skill to develop and cultivate.
Necessary Psychological Skills When Working in the Executive Protection Field
The "hard" skills necessary for an executive protection specialist (EPS) and/or personal protection specialist (PPS) are often perceived as being that of a policeman or (elite) soldier. Though there can be certain similarities i.
Sweeping Up Worms
With the opening of a new venture and numerous reporters arriving in an hour, it felt like one of those "chickens with heads off" days. We were close, but not ready.
Settling Successfully Into Your New Job
The euphoria of getting a new job can sometimes be overcome by apprehension about what comes next. After all, you're "the new kid on the block," and there's much to learn--about your new job duties and much more.
5 Things Every New Caterer Should Know
It has been over twenty five years since I started a small catering company that specialized in International Tapas, tiny silver trays of finger foods to delight the eyes and satisfied the stomach. These little morels were tasty, light and filling.
Three Myths About Resume Writing
Your perspective on resumes - what they are and how they function - will doubtless influence how well you can write your own. To create an outstanding resume, begin by questioning and replacing some of the commonly held assumptions about resume writing.
You Are Lucky in Your Career!
You Are Lucky in Being Satisfied in Your CareerJust for fun let's you and I, reader, considerthat you are satisifed with your current career.It's good to find out why.