Excerpt from “How Hard Are You Knocking, Landing a Job in a Rebounding Economy” by Timothy Augustine with Lisa Mangigian (Published Jan 2012)
Throughout our research, we found one common denominator among successful job seekers. That common denominator is preparation. Whether you are evaluating your target positions, researching growth industries, connecting with your personal or professional network or simply putting the final touches on your resume, the key to a successful job hunt is preparation. As you prepare for your unique job search, the first critical step is to understand yourself and evaluate your strengths, weaknesses, passions, interests, and unique skills that you bring to a position and company. A job hunt first begins with understanding yourself. After all, only you know what you want and who you are. Not until you have assessed your strengths, preferences, and motivations can you take the next step and explore all of your options and opportunities. If this sounds like too much pressure, rest assured, we can help you through every step and keep you accountable in making progress. We believe that the tools, techniques, and strategies outlined in this book will help you solidify your goals, identify your unique value proposition and help you land your dream job.
We broke down the entire job search process into step-by-step chapters that provides you with the necessary information such as the expectations of a hiring manager, best practices from success stories and insider’s tips for each step along the way. There are also assignments and chapter checklists to keep you on track. We understand the difficulty of the job search process and we don’t want to sugarcoat this challenge. At times, you will feel frustrated and even encounter some setbacks. The job search process can be stressful. Use this guide to help you navigate the process and provide you with the confidence needed to compete in a challenging market.
Job hunting is an active sport; it’s not for the faint of heart! We want you to be fully informed before you begin. You will need to do some preparation work prior to starting your search such as an internal assessment. An internal assessment is a tool that forces you to consider, analyze and answer specific questions about your unique skills, abilities and interests. We have found that this assessment is one of the most important first steps you can make to build a winning strategy.
How are you approaching your job search?
