Happy March, lovely readers. Continuing our Hey Miss Jane career coaching series, let me share a recent (and typical) conversation I had with a lovely chap who was taking advantage of our career transition support post his redundancy. We’ll call him Fred:

Fred: Jane, I don’t have time for this career stocktake nonsense; I just need a resume!
Jane: Sure, I can help you craft that, Fred, but what kind of job are you targeting?
F: I don’t care, as long as it’s a job!
J: What sort of jobs are you interested in?
F: I don’t know, I just know I don’t want to do what I’ve been doing.
J: This is your golden opportunity to find your bliss, so what kind of job interests you?
F: I don’t know?
J: Ok, so what sort of jobs have you been searching for on the job boards?
F: Anything and everything, I don’t know where to start!
J: This might feel a bit out there but assuming pay or prestige were not significant, what might your ‘magic wand’ job look like?
F: I DON’T KNOW! I just know I need a resume so I can get a job.

Fred has just had the rug pulled from under him; he’s anxious, worried he might need to sell the house, sell his firstborn, sign up with Centrelink (none of which will happen, but hey, he’s still processing, so cut him some slack darlings). Here is where services such as what I do come in handy.

It’s my job to (a) reassure him that he will find another job, (b) help him figure out what that next job looks like, (c) help him create a tailored resume that sells him to that job, (d) help him hit the visible and hidden markets to find that job, then (e) interview with confidence to put that baby in the bag (and that firstborn back in her mother’s arms). We’ve got this, Fred!

Speaking of Fred:
Fred: So why is it so important to have a work target?
Jane: So that you know what to search for (hugely time-saving), can pitch your verbal commercial (so that your friends, network and recruiters understand what you’re looking for and can help), and craft a resume that proves your capacity to do that targeted job.
F: I need a drink
J: Me too, but it’s only 10 am. Coffee?

By now, you’ll have identified that a generic resume won’t cut the mustard because it’s likely selling you to what you used to do, not what you want to do next. Oh! And have you heard about scan bots? That sneaky application software that searches for keywords aligned with the job ad to determine if your resume even deserves to get to the read pile?

Back to Fred:
F: That makes sense, but how do I figure out what I want to do next?
J: Let’s start by doing a bit of a career stocktake.

Career Stocktake?

So what does a career stocktake entail? Well, young grasshopper, let me tell you! (Fred’s already been there, and he’s landed the job of his dreams, another success story, but stop with the bragging girl!)

Here’s what I recommend:
Grab a whiteboard (or the fish and chip paper, or your iPad mindmap app, whatever).
Now draw these circles, along with their headings on your whiteboard/paper/app:

Right, now that you have the framework, here’s where you start:

Who am I?

• On a separate page:
  • draw two overlapping circles titled ‘Interests’ & ‘Skills’
  • jot down all of your natural interests (stuff that interests you) in the interests circle
  • jot down all your natural skills (stuff you’re good at) in the skills circle
  • are there any that sit in both circles? jot them in the overlap
  • you’ve now found your strengths (good at and love to do = strengths)
  • Now add those strengths to the ‘who am I’ circle
• Next:
  • Ask folk to share with you what they consider to be your top 5 personal characteristics. How do they compare to your own perceptions? These are also strengths – jot ’em down in the ‘who am I’ circle
  • Add the industry-specific knowledge that you’ll want to take with you? Add that too.
• Now:
  • Think about your values – what’s important to you intrinsically? (you’ll find lots of Values lists in Google Images, see sample below). Pick your top 5 and add these to the ‘who am I’ circle

• Then:
  • take a walk down memory lane and think about all your past jobs. What were the highs? The lows? What specifically made the highs high and the lows low? Jot them down, then add the highs to your ‘who am I’ circle
• And:
  • think about what you personally need from your next employment to be at your best e.g. open-door policy, flexibility, team-focused culture etc some of these may overlap with your values – that’s ok. Add them to the circle
• Finally:
  • what does your time look like? Has it been balanced between work and play? What are your personal and family goals? Where do you see yourself and your family in 5 years, 10 years? Jot these important points down in the ‘where am I going’
  • NB: You can put key findings in more than one circle, this is your mind map and the more information you have, the easier to plan your career and from there, determine your next work target

My Ideal Position

Now craft up what your ideal position should look like. That might go something like this:

• These are the top 5 strengths I’d like to use moving forward (what I offer)
• These are the top 5 things I no longer want to do moving forward (what I don’t want)
• These are the top 5 things I’ll need from my employer in return (my needs)
• And here’s my top 5 on how I want to feel in my next work (my values)
• Based on this information my objective is……e.g. to secure a logistics role in a large multinational operation where I can lead a team, the company must have…. and…..(my target)

You’ve now determined your work target. You may have more than one and that’s ok for now you’ll be exploring circle two ‘Where am I Going’ and three ‘How Do I Get There’ to help you refine your target and ultimately land that ideal job.

AND! You now have a comprehensive understanding of yourself and what you offer. You now have the targeted focus for your commercial, your Resume, your LinkedIn profile, your conversation with Recruiters and with your network, PLUS the answers to a myriad of interview questions.

Back to Fred:

Fred: Wow, Jane you may have just saved me from jumping into a job for the sake of a job, this helped me work smarter not harder toward landing my job and now here I am six weeks in and loving it! Let’s stay in touch?

Jane: Congratulations Fred, I’m so thrilled for you (as she fist pumps the sky to another happy camper)

Now be a Fred and go forth and conquer young grasshopper.