Job Search Objective and Alignment

The importance of having a Job Search Objective is hard to overstate. It is quite simply what we're out to get. Having an objective helps to organize and prioritize - to see the trees given all the forest. Without it, determining criteria and reaching conclusion is difficult. Furthermore, plotting a route is next to impossible resulting in a near guarantee of getting lost among the trees.

Yet just having an objective is only half to it. You must use it. This means working your search plan as if it were both the destination and the compass that assists in getting you there. Know that clouds will roll in and the terrain will become unexpectedly rough and difficult. You will be tempted to drift off course or jump for low hanging fruit. Don't. Stay on track and give your objective a chance to guide your route and actions along the way.

However, there's something else to consider, the connection between your objective and you. More precisely, the alignment of your all-in marketing (all that you are and do as a job seeker) and the objective you are aiming to achieve. Simply put, to maximize the odds of finding success the integration these two should be seamless and complete.

You have to be or credibly seem to be on a path to becoming what it is you are out to accomplish. The sum total of your past (experience, training, and education) + present (real time contact whether face-to-face, phone, email, or text) must match with your objective. If not, there's misalignment which sends up red flags. Recall the hiring formula (your past + your present interactions) = a leap into the future by the prospective employer. There will be no leaping if there's misalignment.

Those in alignment will be the first considered. There will be few if any red flags associated with them. They will not seem out of sync or in any way "off". They will be liked and seen as a good potential fit for the job.

In order to effectively align marketing with objective, first consider what it will take to do so. This means going beyond your desire to land a particular job. Take it further. How do you see the fit? How do you think the other person sees it? Remember, no one has the ability to look inside your head or heart to determine what you feel or want. They can only see what you do.

Your marketing do is the way you roll. Make certain, in every way possible, that  your outwardly pointed do is in alignment with your objective.

Travel well.
John Jeffrey Lundell