I recently received a call from a senior marketing executive who, for the first time in his career, found himself facing the challenge of looking for a new employment “opportunity.” He was fortunate. His career had been very successful and rewarding. On a regular basis, advancement opportunities had been presented to him for consideration and he was lulled into a sense of well-being, thinking there would always be another step or place for a man of his talents. This time he was caught by surprise when his company was acquired by a competitor and his services were no longer needed. His call today was a call for help … imagine a man who had marketed large regional and national brands saying, “What do I do?”
Looking for a new position should be thought of as working “full-time”. The only difference is, you are, at this time in your life, self-employed and selling a service -- your talents. It is a big task, requiring all the organizational, planning and selling skills you have developed over the course of your career.
Your goal of finding a new position is a big task. It is not a task that is accomplished in one step. Use your project management knowledge to break the goal into a series of smaller, achievable activities. Determine and map out these activities in a logical and systematic process, from calling a specific number of people each day, to time devoted to researching the market, to personal development time (exercising and relaxation). Schedule these activities in a planner or a calendar/task list so each activity is assigned a time and made a priority. Yes, it would be wise to schedule a “status meeting” with someone to review your objectives, tasks, and the results achieved to increase your accountability to yourself. By planning and writing down activities in a formal manner, you are disciplining yourself and developing a system to measure progress, evaluate productivity, and review your performance.
Developing a plan and a system for documenting implementation is only as productive as the plan is implemented. Many times, plans for seeking new employment opportunities are well crafted and documented but not implemented. It is very easy to be diverted from implementing your plan if needed information is not available, a family issue arises or you get involved working at home. Would you permit these interruptions if you were working at a company office? I doubt it, and I doubt you would be sympathetic with subordinates who use excuses for not getting a task accomplished.
My recent conversation with this above-mentioned executive seeking advice on finding his next opportunity was simple and to the point: You need to use all your skills and talents, and direct that knowledge and experience toward developing a process to successfully sell yourself. Prepare, plan, implement, monitor, and you will achieve your goal.
Gary W. Yaekle, PHR and CPC, is the founding Partner of Yaekle and Company, an executive recruiting consulting firm specializing in the identification and recruitment of sales, marketing, advertising and public relations executives.
